Mollie O’Callaghan wins 10th World Championships gold medal, Harrison Turner makes history

Mollie O’Callaghan has produced a stunning swim to claim the tenth world championships gold of her career, as a 21-year-old Queenslander made history in a new Australian record time.

Mollie O’Callaghan has produced a stunning swim to win the women’s 200m freestyle final and claim her 10th World Championships gold medal.

READ: O’Callaghan wins gold | Turner makes history | Short forced to withdraw

MOLLIE REIGNS

The reigning Olympic champion in the event qualified second-fastest after comfortably progressing through the semi finals, and on Wednesday night, she showed no signs of the nerves that have often followed her before big races.

The 21-year-old produced a fantastic start off the blocks to lead early, and despite being pushed by America’s Claire Weinstein, O’Callaghan’s incredible ability to pull away off the turns saw her claim the world title by a body length.

The Australian touched the wall in a time of 1:53.48, beating out China’s Bingjie Li, who claimed silver, by over a second. Weinstein claimed bronze, while Australia’s other qualifier, Jamie Perkins, touched the wall in seventh.

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Mollie O'Callaghan celebrates after winning gold in the 200m freestyle.

O’Callaghan’s immediate reaction appeared as though she was frustrated by the time, but she quickly hopped out of the pool to grab an Australian flag and celebrate the win with the Dolphins’ coaches.

While the time was over a second outside of Ariarne Titmus’ world record in the event, it was still the fastest time swum by a woman this season. And speaking to Channel 9 after the race, O’Callaghan stated that her initial plan for this year was not to compete in Singapore.

But now, she will stand on top of the podium to claim yet another gold medal.

“I really wanted it, to be honest,” O’Callaghan said. “I always want it, no matter the race. I think that’s why we’re swimmers at the end of the day.

Mollie O'Callaghan celebrates with coach Dean Boxall. Picture: AFP

“Honestly, coming here was one of the last things I thought I would do at the start of the year. If you told me I would become world champion again, I would be shocked. So it’s quite unbelievable to be able to stand on the podium for my country again.

“I’ve dedicated my whole life to this from school years, and kind of skipping school. But literally day in, day out, coming to the pool, being at the pool for five hours in the morning, coming back, doing it again. It’s giving up all those little things to dedicate it to this moment. It’s all worth it in the long run for me.”

The victory continues O’Callaghan’s incredible record at international meets, leaving her on track to become the most decorated Australian swimmer of all time. Only Ian Thorpe (11) has more world championship gold medals than O’Callaghan, who will be looking to at least equal Thorpe by the end of the week in Singapore.

Mollie O'Callaghan reacts after winning the women's 200m freestyle final. Picture: AFP

After the win, O’Callaghan also said it had been a “difficult” time since the Paris Olympics and paid tribute to her team for getting back on top of the podium once again.

“Heading into this week has been a whirlwind,” O’Callaghan said. “Having a long break after the Olympics was well needed, and then coming back from injury myself.

“I am so thankful to have an amazing coach to guide me through this difficult time. I know it has been hard for a lot of people to come back after the Olympics, but I am very grateful to have good support from the team to get me through this mentally and physically.

“A positive environment definitely makes a world of difference. It is nice to come to a pool and feel at home. To know that everyone supports you, no matter what. I am very thankful to have such a strong team behind me.”

O’Callaghan is the second Australian to reference the joy she has rediscovered in the pool as playing a role in her victory, after Kaylee McKeown credited her mindset shift for helping her claim the 100m backstroke title on Tuesday night.

It means Australia now has four gold medals in these swimming world championships in Singapore, with O’Callaghan, McKeown and the two 4x100m freestyle relays, to stay on top of the medal tally.

TURNER MAKES HISTORY WITH ‘DIRTY GOLD’

Harrison Turner has broken a 16-year Australian record in the men’s 200m butterfly final to claim a remarkable bronze medal at the World Championships in Singapore.

Australia had never previously won a medal in the men’s 200m butterfly, and with Turner the eighth-fastest qualifier for the final, that streak was expected to continue.

However, the 21-year-old produced an incredible early pace to put himself in medal contention at the 100m mark when he turned in third. Competing in his first long-course Australian team, Turner slowly began to be hunted down by the rest of the field.

Although America’s Luca Urlando ran away with the gold medal in a time of 1:51.87, Turner managed to do enough in the final lap to hold on for bronze in a time of 1:54.17. As he turned to view the scoreboard after the race, the Australian punched the air in disbelief.

Not only did Turner win Australia’s first-ever medal in the event, but he also broke Nick D’Arcy’s Australian record that had stood for over 16 years.

Harrison Turner set a new Australian record. Picture: Getty Images)

For Turner, it has been an incredible rise after starting the season with a previous PB of 1:57.22. He shaved nearly three seconds off that time during the Australian trials, before setting another PB on Tuesday during the semi finals.

However, he knocked another half a second off his PB in the final as he claimed his “dirty gold” on Wednesday, a result that was clearly as good as a win for the youngster, who also produced a post-race interview for the ages.

“If you told me I was going to win, I mean, sorry, a bronze medal at the start of the year, with a PB at 1:57, I’d be like, ‘Nah, you’re dreaming,” Turner told Channel 9.

“I’m lost for words. Being in lane eight, I just snuck in and I thought, you know, I got a lane, I got a chance. And yeah, I never would have imagined to sneak into bronze.

“I was out and when I didn’t see really anyone to my side I was like, ‘Geez, I might actually have a chance here’. And then I saw the boys coming at the last 50, and I just dug, I dug as hard as I could.

“Dirty gold, let’s go!”

KING KYLE HUNTING ANOTHER GOLD

Kyle Chalmers comfortably won his semi final of the men’s 100m freestyle, but will have his work cut out to defend his title from the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.

Chalmers led from start to finish to win his race in a time of 47.36, but the Australian was in the slower of the two semi finals, which will impact his lane placement for Thursday’s final.

In the end, Chalmers had the fourth-fastest time, with America’s Jack Alexy to race from lane four after setting a new American record. Alexy won his semi final in a time of 46.81, with Romanian star David Popovici just behind him in 46.84.

The pair were keen to set a fast pace and both finished sub-47 seconds, a mark that has eluded Chalmers so far in his career.

Surprisingly, the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Pan Zhanle failed to qualify for the final, finishing as the 10th-fastest swimmer in the semi-finals. A poor second lap proved costly as he finished a second behind Alexy.

It continued a shocking World Championships for Pan, who also failed to progress out of the heats for the 200m freestyle.

“To put it plainly, I just wasn’t in good shape today,” Pan said. “I’ll continue to work hard.”

Chalmers was the only swimmer from the first semi final to qualify for the final. Fellow Australian Flynn Southam was unable to join Chalmers or match his heroics from the 4x100m freestyle relay on the opening night, touching the wall in a time of 47.90 to finish 12th fastest.

DEKKERS QUALIFIES FASTEST FOR 200M FLY FINAL

Elizabeth Dekkers has blitzed her semi final in the women’s 200m butterfly to finish as the fastest qualifier for Thursday’s final ahead of the likes of Summer McIntosh and Regan Smith.

McIntosh is the strong favourite for the event, but it was the 21-year-old Australian who will get lane four honours for the final after qualifying fastest with a time of 2:06.13.

She finished 0.09s ahead of McIntosh, who took out the second semi final narrowly ahead of Smith.

Dekkers wasn’t originally in Australia’s team for the world championships after finishing third at the national trials. However, Abbey Connor withdrew from the team for personal reasons, opening up an opportunity for Dekkers, who claimed silver in the event at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.

“I’m trying to just look at this meet like a bonus,” Dekkers told Channel 9. “I wasn’t meant to be here.

“This year has been really interesting for me. Lots of injury, and I’m really excited to see what I can produce with no pressure and just having fun.”

Dekkers will be Australia’s only representative for the final after Brittany Castelluzzo narrowly missed out on qualifying. Although she finished third in the same semi final as Dekkers, Castelluzzo was the ninth-fastest qualifier and will be the first reserve.

She was narrowly beaten out by 12-year-old Chinese sensation Yu Zidi, who claimed the last place in the final after finishing eighth-fastest.

But Dekkers will have her work cut out for her in the final with McIntosh in sensational form. The Canadian set a new world record of 1:59.32 earlier this season, nearly seven seconds faster than Dekkers’ time in the semi final.

MARCHAND CREATES HISTORY

French superstar Leon Marchand has shocked the world yet again, taking over a second off the 200m Individual Medley world record in an incredible semi-final swim on Wednesday night.

The Olympic champion had his sights set on breaking the world record in Singapore, pulling out of several other events to prioritise the medleys.

He produced sensational backstroke and breaststroke legs in the second semi final to put himself in a position to eclipse Ryan Lochte’s mark. And to the cheers of the adoring Singapore crowd, the Frenchman remained a body length ahead of the world record mark throughout the freestyle leg to smash Lochte’s 14-year-old record in a time of 1:52.69.

He will have a chance to go even quicker in Thursday’s final as he looks to follow on from his record-breaking heroics.

Australia’s two competitors, William Petric and David Schlicht, were unable to progress through the semi finals to the final.

AUSSIES CAN’T REPEAT RELAY SUCCESS

The Australian mixed 4x100m medley team was unable to follow on from the success of their men’s and women’s freestyle counterparts as they finished fifth in Wednesday’s final.

The Dolphins brought in the big guns, with Australian record holders Kaylee McKeown and Matt Temple being brought in for the backstroke and butterfly legs, respectively. They teamed up with Nash Wilkes (breaststroke) and Milla Jansen (freestyle) to try and claim another medal from lane six.

But it was the Russian athletes in lane one, competing under the Neutral Athletes B banner, who stormed home to lead from start to finish to claim gold.

The Aussies had a lot of ground to make up with the majority of teams starting with their best male backstroker, meaning McKeown touched the wall in seventh. Temple, in particular, produced an incredible butterfly split of 50.26 to get the team back into third for the final leg.

Jansen couldn’t quite replicate her heroics for the opening night as she swam another solid leg of 53.13 to grab fifth position.

GOOD TIME FOR GOEDEMANS

Sam Short’s devastating withdrawal from the 800m freestyle might have been a massive blow to the Dolphins team, but it also created an opportunity for 21-year-old Benjamin Goedemans to compete in his first major final.

Goedemans was the ninth-fastest qualifier for the 800m freestyle from the heats, but after Short was hit by a bout of gastrointestinal illness from food poisoning, his Aussie teammate got to step into lane eight as the first reserve.

The Australian youngster capped off the race by finishing seventh in a time of 7:50.72, which included beating the reigning Olympic champion, Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, who had been battling with appendicitis before the meet.

Goedemans said that he only found out that he would be a part of the race approximately four hours before the event, but relished the opportunity to be a part of the final.

“Dean (Boxall) called me probably ten in the morning to say I might be on,” Goedemans said on Channel 9. “And I probably found out around 2.45 this afternoon that I was definitely in the final.

“I didn’t swim this morning thinking, you know, I wasn’t going to race. So I had to change a few things. But yeah, just straight away locking away when I had Dean call me.”

Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi took out the event in a time of 7:36.88, which was also the third-fastest time for the event in history, while the German pair of Sven Schwarz and Lukas Martens rounded out the podium with second and third, respectively.

Originally published as Mollie O’Callaghan wins 10th World Championships gold medal, Harrison Turner makes history