Livestream: Cameron McEvoy, Emma McKeon appear on final day of national short course swimming (Australian Short Course Nationals)

It’s been quite a night at the national short course swimming championships with Emma McKeon and Kyle Chalmers winning. Watch the two 50m freestyle finals. Catch the REPLAY of the session.

Cody Simpson might have just done enough to earn a spot on his second national team claiming the Australian title in a race he had swum just two times before.

The former pop star, coming off the Commonwealth Games, had struggled to break into the top two in his previous races at the national short course titles – but a surprise performance in the men’s 100m IM might just be enough to get him a spot on the team for his first World Championships.

Simpson qualified as the fastest Aussie into the final but was far from the favourite to take the title.

Cody Simpson impressed in just his third 100m IM race. Pic: Getty.

He put his butterfly skills to good use in the first leg and was sitting second after the first 50m.

It was a close race and Simpson managed to put his flippers on for the freestyle leg to touch in second behind American Grant House in 52.67 seconds.

“That is pretty cool, it is my third 100 IM ever so that is pretty awesome,” a stoked Simpson said post race.

“I put down some PBs all week so it was nice to finish it off with a good swim.”

Just 16 men and 16 women will be selected for the World Short Course Championships – with just one standout performance this meet Simpson’s spot is far from secure.

The team is expected to be announced mid next week.

Sprint king Kyle Chalmers ruined Cameron McEvoy’s fairytale comeback in the hotly contested two-lap dash on the final night of the national short course titles.

The 50m freestyle win was Chalmers third national title from the event. While not as quick as his Australian record, set in 2021, he cruised home in the final lap to touch in 21.06 seconds.

Kyle Chalmers cruised home in the 50m freestyle.

American Justin Ress took out second with Aussie Grayson Bell finishing third and under the required qualifying time for worlds.

Olympic medallist McEvoy, back after a 12-month break, finished in fifth, in his only short course race.

Chalmers said he was looking forward to a two-week break before getting back into training.

“The 200m (freestyle) was (my favourite event), I haven’t done it for a while. It was hard but it was fun,” Chalmers said.

After pulling out of the last three short course events, Chalmers said it was the chance to compete in front of a home crowd in Melbourne in December that “motivated him to get back in the pool”.

Emma McKeon went hard in her last race of the short course meet – coming home first in the 50m freestyle.

She started strong, gaining a good lead in the first 25m. Meg Harris and Madison Wilson were able to close the gap in the final leg, proving how great the depth of Aussie women’s freestyle swimmers is. But it wasn’t enough to keep McKeon from touching first in 23.61 second.

It is the end of a massive 12 months for McKeon including an Olympic and Commonwealth Games campaigns.

Emma McKeon proved too strong for her rivals in the 50m freestyle. Pic: Getty.

Lani Pallister capped off an amazing meet with another title and Australian record – finishing the 800m race 26 seconds ahead of the next fastest competitor.

Pallister, who won bronze in the same race at the Commonwealth Games, didn’t get to compete in it at Worlds after contracting Covid mid competition.

The 20-year-old, who trains under Michael Bohl, had a clear lead by the 50m mark and didn’t turn her jets off.

She touched in 8.07.37, three seconds quicker than the Australian record she set in November 2020.

It is her second Australian record from the meet, after cracking the 1500m pace earlier this week.

Breaststroker Jenna Strauch, on the back of an impressive season which included two silver medals at the World Titles in Budapest, had to work hard to take the Australian title in the 200m race.

Strauch was pushed to the limit by Miami swimmer Mikayla Smith, who finished just four tenths of a second behind the favourite.

“I knew I was going to have to work for it,” Strauch said.

Jenna Strauch had to work hard to win the 200m breaststroke title. Pic: Getty.

“It’s been a breakout year for me, I’ve been working really hard at it. It has been a real mental challenge over the last couple of meets but it will just prepare us for what is to come over the next two years.”

The men’s 200m breaststroke went to Samuel Williamson, who had to race to the front from lane zero, touching in a personal best time.

American star Beata Nelson executed another world class swim in the women’s 100m IM finishing in 58.14 – well ahead of the Australian swimmers who all touched in over the one minute mark.

PREVIEW: McEvoy returns after 12-month absence

Olympic medallist Cameron McEvoy will emerge from a year-long sabbatical to dip his toe into the water in the 50m on the final day of the Australian short course championships in Sydney.

McEvoy, the former sprint king who headed into the Rio Olympics a gold medal favourite only to be beaten by then-teen wonder Kyle Chalmers, has added plenty of muscle to his once-svelte frame to form a “new vessel” he will trial over the two-lap dash on the final day of the championships,

Catch his race LIVE on KommunityTV on Saturday as part of a huge final day of action.

Cameron McEvoy is in action on Saturday night.

McEvoy, who made his Olympic debut in London aged 18, won bronze at his third Games in Tokyo last year and while many thought he was likely to retire afterwards, the Gold Coast product has recharged his batteries following a year-long break and will re-emerge in the 50m on Saturday representing the Manly club.

McEvoy will be among the athletes to watch on the final day of the titles on Saturday.

Here are the top five events to watch on the KommunityTV coverage on Friday, with heats from 10am and finals from 6pm.

Men’s 50m freestyle

The 50m had never been McEvoy’s pet event, but with the added muscle mass he could challenge in the two-lap splash and dash. He’s going to have his work cut out just to make the final, with Chalmers among a crack field that includes US visitor Justin Ress, Olympic butterfly representative David Morgan and fastest qualifier Ashton Brinkworth, fresh from the US national championships.

Women’s 50m freestyle

The field for the women’s sprint is worthy of an international final such is the depth and quality of the entrants. From multi-Games medallist Emma McKeon to world champion Mollie O’Callaghan, Olympic relay gold medallists Madi Wilson and Meg Harris and late-blooming sprint star Holly Barratt, it’s an all-star race and just making the final will be an achievement.

Women’s 200m breaststroke

World championship silver medallist Jenna Strauch should have the field covered here but the race for the minor medals - and a spot on the Aussie team for the Melbourne world championships - will be tight behind her. Tasmanian Matilda Smith, Brisbane’s Tayla Lumley, Nunawading Swim Club’s Reidel Smith and Ashleigh Oberekar from the Hunter Valley are ranked no.2 to no.5 on nomination times that are within 1.3sec of each other, with someone’s dream of an Australian team likely to be made on Saturday night.

Mollie O'Callaghan will also be in the pool on Saturday.

Men’s 200m breaststroke

After a packed racing schedule over the past two months, world record-holder Zac Stubblety-Cook has stepped back from this meet and won’t compete in his pet event. Southport teen Yannik Zwolsman holds the fastest nomination time and will be attempting to hold the rest of the field at bay to win a gold cap for the Melbourne world championships.

Women’s 50m backstroke MC

She may be one of the youngest competitors at the meet but Gemma Sellick is likely to win plenty of plaudits when she dives into action in the 50m backstroke multi-class event. At just 12, Sellick has plenty of room to improve if she’s to reach the heights of international para swimming competition. But the athlete in the same class as just-retired champion Ellie Cole (S9) has a tough task overcoming national champion and fastest-ranked athlete in the event Hannah Price, one of the Aussie para team’s guns.

Head to KommunityTV to watch all the action with heats from 10am on Friday and finals starting at 6pm.

Saturday’s action rounds out the final day of the meet, from which selectors will name a 32-member Australian team for the world short course titles in Melbourne in December.

With as many as four members of that team to be representatives currently at the Junior Pan Pacs in Hawaii, the national team will not be named at the completion of Saturday’s finals, with Swimming Australia likely to announce the squad next week.

Originally published as Livestream: Cameron McEvoy, Emma McKeon appear on final day of national short course swimming (Australian Short Course Nationals)