Australian Swimming Trials 2024, day 1: Titmus, McKeown each fall just short of world records; McKeon on the plane to Paris
Ariarne Titmus came so close to breaking her own world time. She wasn’t to be outdone by Kaylee McKeown though. And Australia’s most successful Olympian is also on the plane to France. All the action from night one of finals at the Australia Olympic Swimming Trials.
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The Australian Olympic Swimming Trials are under way with Australia’s best swimmers racing the clock and their competitors to secure a ticket. Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown both getting the event off to a fast start.
Titmus comes so close to a new world record
– Julian Linden and Robert Craddock
BRING on Paris.
Ariarne Titmus is off to her second Olympics and ready to shock the world again.
Even faster than she was when she won gold at Tokyo in 2021, Titmus reminded everyone why she is the best middle-distance swimmer on the planet with a stunning performance to win the 400m freestyle at the Australian trials.
Leaving nothing to chance, stormed to victory in three minutes 55.44 seconds – just 0.06 outside the world record she set in winning gold at last year’s world championships after being under world record pace for the first 350m.
“Swimming that close to the record gives me good confidence,” Titmus said.
“The goal isn’t to swim my best here. The goal is to just book your ticket so I’m excited to see what I can do now in Paris.”
McKeown on quest to be queen of the pool
– Todd Balym and Robert Craddock
KAYLEE McKeown’s quest to become the undisputed queen of the pool is firmly on track after Australia’s Olympic golden girl stamped herself the woman to beat in the 200m medley with a dominant performance that booked her ticket to Paris.
McKeown claimed a thundering medley victory at the Australian Olympic trials in Brisbane on Monday night with her time of 2:06.63 the fastest in the world this year while
Brisbane teen Ella Ramsay secured her Olympic debut placing second in 2:09.32.
“It’s always hard to tell, when you’re in the middle of the race you kind of just switch off and I focus on trying not to get DQ’d so it felt as good as it could be,” McKeown said of her medley performance.
The performance puts McKeown on a collision course with Canadian teen Summer McIntosh and reigning world champion Kate Douglass from the USA in a Paris showdown that could catapult Australia’s Tokyo golden girl to a historic new high.
McKeown won three gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, a medley relay gold to match her backstroke double, but no Australian has won three individual gold medals at a single Games since Shane Gould in 1972.
By adding the 200m medley to her backstroke repertoire, McKeown now has that stunning dream alive.
She is undoubtedly the most durable star of our swim team and will enter Paris comfortable in her status as one of the biggest names in world swimming.
“As you get older you grow and you learn more and from the last Olympics to this Olympics I have learnt a lot and I’ve grown a lot,” McKeown said.
“Whether that’s because of my move (from Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast) or definitely because of my coach (Michael Bohl) and teammates around me, I feel like I am in more control of my emotions so I’m excited to see what the rest of the year has in store.
“Everyone puts the Olympics as this big thing, for me I’ve just learnt it’s a pool in a different city, a different town so at the end of the day it’s just me diving in and doing what I can do best.”
McKeown credited her coach Michael Bohl as the driving force behind her push for an individual treble.
“I wish I kind of went to (Bohl) sooner, but that’s all you can say in hindsight,” she said.
“I really love him as a coach. He is a good person and very level-headed. I couldn’t thank him any more for what he has done for my swimming career and it’s not done yet.
“I think he is a great coach.
“If all goes to plan I think the training I’ve done and the coach I have we are setting ourselves up pretty nicely.”
McIntosh won the Canadian trials last month in 2:07.06, which was just shy of her world junior record from a year earlier of 2:06.89, while Douglass won the 2024 world titles in Doha in February in a swift 2:07.05.
Paris will be the first time McKeown has truly eyeballed McIntosh and Douglass given last year’s dramatic world titles when she was disqualified in the semi-finals for what was deemed an illegal backstroke to breaststroke turn.
That decision, she was one of three in the race to get disqualified for the same infraction, ultimately cost the Australian a chance to win a fourth individual gold medal of the meet to go with her sweep of the three backstroke races.
McKeown will look to defend her Olympic gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke in Paris, with the medley a new addition while she could yet be considered for the 4x200m freestyle relay as she looks to replicate or better for triple Tokyo gold haul next month in France.
RECAP all the action from night one of finals.
09:35PM: And that brings to a close the first night of finals with nine certainties for the Australian swim team.
09:34PM: “That’s just the box ticked”, Elijah Winnington tells Channel Nine after the men’s 400 metres freestyle final.
09:32PM: A dog fight it was between Winnington and Short who eyeballed each other for almost the entire 400 metres of the freestyle event and are both on the plane to Paris, qualifying under 3.44.00.
09:31PM
“A dog fight between Elijah Winnington and Sam Short” - Matt Thompson on Channel Nine.
09:22PM
Patterson set for third Paralympics
- Todd Balym
Paralympic gold medallist Lakeisha Patterson won the 400m freestyle in 4:45.79, setting herself up for the chance to win a three-peat of gold medals in the same event in Paris.
“To qualify for my third Paralympics is really exciting,” Patterson said.
“That is the goal. It’s pretty big, obviously the Paralympics anything can happen and I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
09:20PM Another Paralympic veteran Lakeisha Patterson is off to her third Paralympics after winning the 400 metres multi-class freestyle.
09:18PM
Paralympic legend off to fifth Games
- Todd Balym
Veteran Brendan Hall is off to his fifth Paralympics, winning the 400m freestyle in 4:16.17.The 31-year-old powered home to claim the win just a few days after he and his partner announced they were expecting their second child.“A few people are probably sitting there going, can this guy move on,” he joked.“I still have a little bit of fire left in me.”
08:59PM:
Emma McKeon qualifies but still has ‘doubts’
- Todd Balym
Australia’s most successful Olympian Emma McKeon is off to her third Games, conquering self doubts to secure her path to Paris after winning the 100m butterfly at the Olympic trials in 56.85s.
McKeon was the breakout star of the Tokyo Olympic Games, winning four gold and three bronze medals, including a third place in the 100m butterfly.
Just a week after she celebrated her 30th birthday, McKeon said she was thrilled to make her third Olympic team having toyed with the prospect of retirement after Tokyo only to push through and battle the younger brigade threatening her crown.
“I’m stoked, that is what the Olympic trials are about trying to get yourself on the team and it’s nice to do that on the first night,” McKeon said.
“Yeah I’m 30 now, it’s been a long time on the team - 14 years actually. I made it when I was 15, I was so young.
“It’s important to remember even with 15 years experience on the national team you still have doubts and have to battle those and it’s completely normal.
“I kept swimming after Tokyo because I knew I had more to give both physically and mentally and overcoming those self doubts is important.”
She was the only swimmer to post a qualifying time, with Alexandria Perkins taking second in 57.33s and Brianna Throssell third in 57.42s.
Perkins will be at the mercy of selectors when the team is named on Saturday night, although typically Australia prefers to take two swimmers in the 100m events as back-up for medley relay selections.
08:49PM: After four golds in Tokyo, Emma McKeon is headed to her third Olympic Games with Southport’s Alex Perkins’ spot now in the hands of selectors after just missing the qualification time in the 100 metres women’s butterfly.
08:45PM:
“I’m lost for words” - Williamson wins 100 metres breaststroke
- Todd Balym
World 50m champion Sam Williamson made it third time lucky when he booked his ticket to Paris by winning the 100m breaststroke in the fastest time ever swum in Australia with a time of 58.80 seconds.
In a promising sign for Australia’s medley relay prospects, Willamson dipped below the 59 second barrier twice in the day in a consistent performance that gives the relay team a stronger outlook in an event where the team should seriously contend for the medals.
“Being a part of that really is a massive privilege,” Williamson said.
“I know Rohan head coach has had the dream of the goal of seven medals across all seven relays, so to have two world class breaststrokers now scratching the surface of what’s possible. I think it puts us in a really good spot.”
West Australian Josh Yong also scraped his way onto the Olympic team in 59.48s, just 0.01s under the very tight qualifying times.
Yong could hardly believe he had snuck in under the qualifying time, ensuring he too was on his first Australian Olympic team.
It was a moment he’d only ever considered “in my dreams.”
“I’m lost for words. Honestly I was just really happy with the swim,” Yong said.
Williamson, 26, won the 50m world title earlier this year but that’s not an Olympic event so this is his first time at the biggest event swimming.
“I still remember the 2016 Olympic trials back when they had semi-finals. I was 17th, so I missed out on getting a night swim and then going to Tokyo trials three years ago now,” he said.
“And yeah, missing out on a spot on the team. So to come away with that swim...That’s what we’ve been practising. It’s what we’ve been hoping to execute. So to actually execute it under that pressure just puts me in a really good spot moving forward.
“It’s been years. It hasn’t been something I’ve thought about over the last few months. It’s definitely been something I’ve been slowly chipping away at over the last few years.
“So to finally get it right is pretty exciting. But we’ve got six weeks of work, so six weeks to just try and get it right because it’s not a slow time by any stretch of the imagination.
“But knowing what some of those guys are throwing down to the rest of the world, there’s still a lot of work we can do.”
08:31PM:
Two more tickets stamped for Paris, and the first of Australia’s male swimmers are on their way following the 100 metres breaststroke with Victorian Sam Williamson and Joshua Yong both on the plane.
08:28PM: Ruby Storm and Jack Ireland have won the two 200m metre multiclass finals. Next up is the 100 metres’ men’s breaststroke final.
07:58PM: More fast times in Brisbane. Kaylee McKeown books her ticket to Paris with a swim half a second outside Katinka Hosszú 200 Individual Medley world record.
07:47PM: “I was thinking about three years ago standing on the blocks. Can’t wait to continue the family legacy in Paris this year,” Lani Pallister (via Channel 9). Pallister overcame an eating disorder in recent years and is now going to emulate her mum Janelle Elford as an Olympian.
07:41PM: Ariarne Titmus has come so close to breaking her own world record falling just six one hundredths of a second short in the final of the 400 metres freestyle.
07:39PM: And they’re off in the first of the finals.
07:32PM: The women’s 400m metre freestyle final is the first of five finals for the able-bodied athletes and not too far away. Ariarne Titmus starts from lane four after a blistering heat. More below.
Australian swimmers who qualified for the Paris Olympics on Monday
Women’s 400m freestyle
Ariarne Titmus 3:55.44
Lani Pallister 4:02.27
Women’s 200m individual medley
Kaylee McKeown 2:06.63
Ella Ramsay 2:10.96
Men’s 100m breaststroke
Sam Williamson 58.95
Joshua Yong 59.48
Women’s 100m butterfly
Emma McKeon 56.85
Men’s 400m freestyle
Elijah Winnington 3:43.26
Sam Short 3:43.90
Titmus makes an early statement in heats
– Julian Linden
Ariarne Titmus sent a chilling warning to her big-name international rivals about her intentions for the Paris Olympics with a blistering performance on the opening morning of the Australian swimming trials ahead of big first night of finals in Brisbane.
As expected, Titmus easily won her 400 metres freestyle heat to cruise into the final as the fastest qualifier but it was the time she posted that was most impressive and would not have gone unnoticed by American legend Katie Ledecky and Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh.
Despite easing up in the back of her race, Titmus stopped the clock at 4:01.57, more than five seconds clear of her nearest rival Lani Pallister setting the scene for what the Tasmanian-born super star could do in the final on Monday night.
Titmus’ time was the second fastest she has recorded in a morning heat — just a heartbeat outside the 4:01.39 she managed at last year’s world championships before she went on to break the world record in the final.
Her morning heat time would have been good enough for silver at this year’s world titles in Qatar and Titmus said she surprised herself with how easy it felt.
“It was a good little hit out. I tried to set up the first three laps of my race and then I switched off,” she said.
“I just feel really excited. I split 4:01 usually at the heats internationally. It was quite cruisy but to do it here domestically when I don’t really have to go like that, I was quite surprised when I turned around to see that because I really switched off the second half of the race.”
MEN’S 100M BREASTSTROKE
Sam Williamson posted the fastest time by an Australian in more than a decade to storm into the final as the fastest qualifier.
Williamson shaved more than a quarter off his personal best to win his heat in a slick 58.95, well under the qualifying time for Paris.
Only two Australians have gone quicker — Brenton Rickard and Christian Sprenger — both over 10 years ago.
“Hitting four digits, sneaking under the minute for a breaststroker is always a pretty big achievement,” Williamson said.
“So to sneak under 59, there’s not a lot of guys around the world that have done that so to be up in that calibre is really impressive, and I’m just really happy with all the work I’ve done and hopefully it puts me in a good spot moving forward.
“It’s been a goal of mine. That’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and just trying to work on how to execute. I’m just happy I’ve done it.
“Sprenger and Rickard are both heroes of mine, I’ve idolised those guys from a very young age so to be nudging their shoulders is pretty special.”
WOMEN’S 200M INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Rising teenage star Ella Ramsay qualified fastest by winning her heat in 2:10.96, more than a second ahead of Australian record holder Kaylee McKeown, who went through the motions to safely qualify.
Jenna Forrester was third quickest.
WOMEN’S 100M BUTTERFLY
Emma McKeon dipped under the Paris qualifying time when she won her heat in 56.75.
Alexandria Perkins also went under, posting the second best time of 57.48, just ahead of Brianna Throssell.
MEN’S 400M FREESTYLE
Elijah Winnington, the 2022 world champion, coasted to the fastest time of 3:45.72, with Sam Short, the 2003 world champ, second in 3:48.66.
“Obviously I want to get on that team,” Short said.
“I’ve never been on an Olympic team before so it’s a dream of mine so there’s a bit more nerves in the stomach but nothing I can’t really handle.”
Listen to the full En Route to Paris podcast here.
Australian GOAT begins quest for 32-year-old Olympic first
– Julian Linden
After a lifetime of breaking through barriers, it’s no surprise Emma McKeon’s last appearance at the Australian Olympic trials could include one more amazing watershed achievement.
Already Australia’s greatest Olympian with a record 11 medals, McKeon is on the verge of becoming the oldest woman to make the Olympic swimming team in over three decades.
Although she’s only just turned 30, it’s still rare for women in their 30s to make the Aussie team. The last was the great Lisa Curry, at Barcelona in 1992.
While nothing is ever guaranteed in the cutthroat world of elite swimming, it would be a huge shock if McKeon didn’t qualify for Paris, which would be her third and final Olympics.
She’s entered in three events – 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly – and needs to finish top two to secure an individual swim or top six in 100m freestyle to book a spot in the relay.
Although she hasn’t been swimming as fast as when she won an unprecedented seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics, McKeon looks to have a good chance as she’s currently ranked No. 1 in Australia this year for 100m butterfly and fourth in 100m freestyle.
Her first event at the trials is the 100m butterfly, taking place on Monday. If McKeon wins the final, she will get the added bonus of securing a place in the medley relay for Paris, a race Australia will be heavily favoured to win a medal in.
If she makes the 4x100m freestyle relay, McKeon will have a genuine shot at another rare feat with the Aussies strongly tipped to win gold for the third Olympics in a row.
Only three female swimmers, none of them Aussies, have ever won gold at an Olympics after turning 30, but few would bet against McKeon, who has earned her reputation as the GOAT the hard way because she fearlessly tackles massive programs that few others would even contemplate.
Under the guidance of master coach Michael Bohl, McKeon’s success and longevity can be traced back to her devotion to hard work.
She usually does nine swim sessions a week, plus three gym sessions, pilates and extra training on her skills, particularly her starts and turns.
When her training sessions end and everyone else leaves the water, she often stays back to work on all the little, technical things that can save tiny fractions of seconds and be the difference between winning and losing.
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