Australian Swimming Trials, Day Five: Mollie O’Callaghan wins 100m freestyle, Shayna Jack gets her full redemption story
Mollie O’Callaghan has prevailed in the 100 metres freestyle, Shayna Jack gained her redemption and Emma McKeon will not defend her Olympic gold medal won in Tokyo. Recap all the action from night five.
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Welcome to our live coverage of night five at the Australian Olympic and Paralympic swim trials headlined by a women’s 100 metres freestyle final so stacked with talent, it could not fit in a four-time Olympian. But her sister is there and has qualified for the relay heading to her fourth Olympics.
Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Meg Harris, Bronte Campbell, then Emma McKeon sixth in the 100 metres freestyle final for women. Superstars everywhere and surprises.
And 200 metres breaststroker Zac Stubblety-Cook will be in Paris to defend his gold medal. Scroll for a full recap.
Mollie O’Callaghan rebounds, Shayna Jack gains full redemption
– Julian Linden and Todd Balym
Mollie O’Callaghan rebounded from the disappointment of her gut wrenching loss in the 200m freestyle to win a dramatic 100m freestyle final at the Australian trials and head to Paris with the wind back in her sails.
Live table of day five of the Swimming Trials below and see all the results in our live table.
Shayna Jack completed her own redemption story by finishing second to secure her first individual swim at the Olympics while Meg Harris, Bronte Campbell, Emma McKeon and Olivia Wunsch sealed places in the Australian 4x100m freestyle relay after Cate Campbell missed a place in the final.
O’Callaghan was an emotional wreck after she lost her 200m world record to Ariarne Titmus on Wednesday but showed no lingering effects as she beat a world-class field to win the blue-riband sprint in 52.33 seconds, with the first seven finishers all going under the brutally tough qualifying time for Paris.
“I’m not too happy with the time to be honest,” O’Callaghan said.
“I’m happy about the spot. At the end of the day trials are to make it on the team. So I’m pretty stoked with that. You know, there’s always that little extra you want.”
O’Callaghan won two gold medals at the last Olympics in Tokyo as a teenager, albeit swimming in the relay heats, and said she deserves her chance to swim in the finals this time.
“Yeah, it’s revenge,” she said.
“I was really disappointed missing that spot because I was too inexperienced. This time they can’t really leave me out.”
Jack was beaming with pride at the prospect of going to the Olympics after she missed the Tokyo Games while serving a ban for a doping offence she says she was innocent of.
“I honestly have no words. It probably wasn’t a swim that I actually thought I was capable of,” she said.
“I just wanted to fight to the wall, that’s what I’ve been doing for years. Just to touch that wall and come second, yeah, as you can see I’m not – I’m quite emotional.
“Going to my first Olympics as an individual swimmer, it’s amazing.”
“I was already asking the girls what to pack. I’m truly excited. It will be a completely different experience for me. I’ve definitely got that fire in my belly after watching the girls and guys do an amazing job at Tokyo 2021. Now it’s my turn.”
Harris, who also won two relay gold medals as a teenager in Japan, finished third in 52.97, 0.45 slower than her heat time which would have got her an individual swim.
“That’s what happens. You have to be able to back up,” Harris said.
“These girls were able to do that. To be part of the relay will be amazing.”
Campbell was fourth in 53.10, joining her sister Cate, Emily Seebohm and Cam McEvoy as the only Aussie swimmers to qualify for four Olympics but it was a bittersweet moment after Cate missed the final, all but ending her chances of making a fifth Olympics though she still has the 50m freestyle to come.
McKeon, who won the 100m freestyle gold in Tokyo, won’t defend her title but will be part of the Australian relay which is strongly favoured to win the gold medal for the fourth time.
“I always wanted to be part of 100m free in Paris and definitely thought I was capable,” McKeon said.
“But I think my body probably hasn’t been held up because my shoulders as well as I would have wanted them to in the prep so I definitely didn’t get what I know I needed in there but everything I did in training like I did to the best of my ability and gave everything that I had.
“To be part of the relay that’s what I want.”
Scroll for all the action from night five of the Australian Olympic and Paralympic trials.
09:39PM:
Brutal qualifying standards strike again
– Todd Balym
Australia’s brutal selection policy has claimed another scalp with Matthew Galea winning the 1500m freestyle but falling four seconds shy of the qualifying time.
Galea touched the wall in 14:58.96, but it was 4.7 seconds off the time set by Australian selectors to justify selection for Paris.
Galea was inside the official Olympic qualifying time set by World Aquatics but won’t get the chance to go to Paris under the Australian criteria.
Galea was dejected after the race knowing he’d fallen short of securing Olympic selection.
“Bit disappointed with the swim. I gave it everything I had, which is the best you can do,” Galea said.
“I think I’ll definitely take a bit of a break, it is much-needed … work harder for the next team.
“I’d love to make the worlds next year and then you know Commonwealth Games and world championships and hopefully back for Olympics in 2028.”
Australia will still have an entrant in the 1500m in Paris, however, as Sam Short has already qualified for the team and posted a qualifying time but sat out the final as he recovers from a serious bout of gastro leading into this meet.
09:28PM: Dolphins’ head coach Rohan Taylor has told Channel 9 that Sam short’s battle with gastro in recent weeks has meant he had to miss the 1500 metres freestyle final for men, hoping that others would not go under his qualifying time. He ‘put in the cue in the rack after the 800 metres freestyle. It appears Short may still be a strong chance to compete in his much-loved 1500 metres with Matt Galea again another victim of the stringent qualifying standards just missing the time, after one of the hardest races on the programme.
09:08PM: No Sam Short in the 1500 metre freestyle.
09:07PM:
O’Callaghan wins 100m freestyle, McKeon will not defend her crown
– Julian Linden
Mollie O’Callaghan rebounded from the disappointment of her gut wrenching loss in the 200m freestyle to win the 100m freestyle final at the Australian trials and head to Paris with the wind back in her sails.
O’Callaghan was an emotional wreck after she lost her 200m world record to Ariarne Titmus on Wednesday but showed no lingering effects as she beat a world-class field to win the blue-riband sprint in 52.33 seconds, well under the Olympic qualifying time.
Shayna Jack finished second to secure her first individual swim at the Olympics after missing the 2021 Tokyo Games while serving a ban for a doping offence she says she was innocent of.
Meg Harris, who won two relays gold medals as a teenager in Tokyo, finished third in 52.97 while Bronte Campbell was fourth in 53.10, joining her sister Cate, Emily Seebohm and Cam McEvoy as the only Aussie swimmers to qualify for four Olympics
Emma McKeon, who won the 100m freestyle gold in Tokyo, won’t defend her title but will be part of the Australian relay which is strongly favoured to win the gold medal for the fourth time in a row after she finished fifth.
Teenager Olivia Wunsch came sixth to also book a spot in the relay.
Cate Campbell missed out on a place in the final by 0.01 after finishing ninth overall in the heats, all but ending her chances of making a fifth Olympics though she still has the 50m to go.
08:49PM: Where to look?! But Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack book the individual spots. No individual spot for Emma McKeon, she will be part of the relay.
08:39PM: The 100 metres women’s freestyle final is next. “It’s just superstars everywhere you look” – Giaan Rooney on Channel 9.
08:35PM:
Start to finish win guarantees debut Games
– Todd Balym
Bradley Woodward guaranteed his Paris selection with a start to finish victory in the 200m backstroke to win in 1:56.22.
Woodward had earlier in the meet finished second in the 100m backstroke, but fell short of the tough qualifying time.
The 25-year-old left no room for error in the 200m final, leading all the way to storm home under the QT as his training partner Se-Bom Lee secured the second spot by also dipping under the required QT.
“Three years ago I was in a good position and unfortunately I was a bit sick and had about the worst meet in the last eight years,” Woodward said. “That was hard but definitely lit the fire for the next three years.”
Lee fought hard to get his hand on the wall, just touching out Joshua Edwards-Smith by 0.08s to claim a spot on the plane to Paris in 1:57.02.
“Last 25m, I was burning and I was crashing,” he said. “I was like just try and get my hand on the wall. That’s what we’ve got to do here.”
08:25PM: 25-year-old Brad Woodward and Se-Bom Lee are off to their first and second Olympic Games after the 200 metres backstroke final. Mitch Larkin may have swum his final race.
08:09PM:
Teenage breaststroker books another race for Paris
– Julian Linden
Rising teenage all-rounder Ella Ramsay booked herself another swim at this year’s Paris Olympics after winning the 200m breaststroke at the Australian trials.
The 19-year-old – whose father Heath raced at the Sydney 2000 Olympics – stormed home on the last lap to win in 2:22.87, under the official qualifying time.
Jenna Strauch, who raced the event at the last Olympics in Tokyo, finished second in 2:24.04, outside the qualifying time but could still swim the event at Paris if the selectors exercise their discretionary power.
Strauch won the 100m breaststroke final, outside the qualifying time, but is expected to be picked for Paris because Australia needs a breaststroker for the women’s medley relay.
Regarded as one of Australia’s best newcomers, Ramsay finished second in the 100m breaststroke and was runner-up in the 200m individual medley. She still has the 400m individual medley to come.
“I didn’t know hoi this week was going to pan out but I’m really happy with how it’s going so far,” Ramsay said. “I have my main event, the 400 IM. Everything is building up to that nicely.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself but leading into this year, I just wanted to have fun, train hard and see what I could put together this year.”
08:05PM:
Hance dedicates qualification to late Dad
– Todd Balym
Ben Hance has dedicated qualification on his second Paralympic team to his father Tony who died three months ago.
Hance had just won the 100m backstroke multi-class race in 57.36s when he asked poolside commentator Giaan Rooney if he could take the microphone to address the crowd and Australia.
“I’ll get serious for a second actually. Look, this year has been the hardest year of my life,” he said.
“Three months ago my dad died.
“I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never dealt with death in my whole life and just the focus of everything is out the window so going to the Paralympics is the best thing to happen in a really s**t year.”
Hance’s mother Fiona said it was a credit to Ben that he was able to pull himself together and keep training through the heartache of losing his father.
“Ben has just coped wonderfully, as best he can,” she said.
“He gets up every morning in that pool and I’m really super proud of him.
“If you knew Tony, he would have been the loudest one here.
“He will be in heaven having a couple of Pina Coladas. He was so proud of Benny, always there. He was wanting to go to Paris.”
07:51PM: Ella Ramsay books a berth in the women’s 200 metres breaststroke holding out Jenna Strauch.
07:47PM: “It’s still surreal, I am very happy,” said Yong of making his first Australian team in two events.
07:47PM: “It’s still surreal, I am very happy,” said Yong of making his first Australian team in two events.
07:45PM:
Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook will get the chance to defend his gold medal in Paris after securing victory in the 200m breaststroke at the trials in 2:07.40.
Stubblety-Cook’s swim was the fourth fastest time in the world this year but he will need to go much faster if he is to be fighting for the gold in Paris.
“Yeah it’s awesome,” Stubblety-Cook said of making his second Olympic team.
West Australian Joshua Yong finished second in 2:08.08 to secure his second swim in Paris after earlier making the team in the 100m breaststroke.
07:40PM: The Olympic champion is pushed to the wall by Josh Yong, who couples a 100 metres breaststroke spot with the 200 metres. Zac Stubblety-Cook books his ticket to Paris.
07:35PM: First up is the 200 metres breaststroke final headlined by the reigning Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook.
Zac Stubblety-Cook says that losing his World Record was exactly what he needed ahead of Paris, where he hopes to defend his Olympic glory and get back his World Record title.
— CODE Sports (@codesportsau) June 13, 2024
âœ@_Erin_Smith
MORE â–¶ https://t.co/WXWed8US5ppic.twitter.com/KcZbExdcmj
07:34PM: Emma McKeon is in lane 7!
07:30PM: The highlight of tonight is the women’s 100m freestyle final with more than just two individual spots, but relay spots in a team gunning for a fourth straight Olympic gold.
Campbell’s bid for fifth Games on life support
Cate Campbell’s bid for a fifth Olympics is on life support after a heartbreaking near-miss in her pet event at the Australian Olympic trials.
The long-time Queen of Australian female sprinting, Campbell fell agonisingly short of making the final of the women’s 100 metres.
Needing to finish in the top eight to go through to Friday night’s final – from which the top six will get picked for the Paris Olympics – Campbell finished ninth.
Campbell’s heat time of 52.27 seconds was just 0.01 behind the eighth-place qualifier, teenager Milla Jansen.
Campbell still has Saturday’s 50m freestyle to come but needs to finish in the top two to become the first Australian swimmer to compete at five Olympics.
Her younger sister Bronte did make the final – qualifying fourth fastest in 52.95 – and said she was sad her older sibling won’t be standing on the blocks with her
“I’m obviously really disappointed for Cate,” Bronte said.
“She’s one of our most incredible athletes that we’ve ever had in this event. She was our number one freestyler for what, 10, 11, 12 years in a row.
“That’s a feat that’s pretty much unmatched in Australian sporting history.
“I know she was a bit ill leading into this and she had a really rough last few weeks so I’m sure she’ll be disappointed because we all know that she’s an incredible athlete and can swim a lot faster than that.”
Campbell, 32, almost retired after the Tokyo Olympics, where she carried the Australian flag at the Opening Ceremony and won two gold medals in relay and a bronze in the 100m freestyle.
She took 18 months off and indulged in her other passions, including travel, media commentary and sports administration, before the lure of one last Olympics became too irresistible and she plunged back into training for one last shot at glory.
“I’m approaching this Paris Games in a way that I have never approached a competition before, in that I know it will be my last competition,’’ she told this masthead last year.
“There’s something really beautiful in that because I’m making sure that I make the most of every opportunity that’s coming my way.”
With Australia boasting six of the 12 fastest women in history, including Cate (who set a then-world record of 52.06 in 2016), there was always going to be someone left disappointed because the competition for places was so intense.
Emma McKeon, who won the 100m gold at the Tokyo Olympics, qualified fifth in 53.61, well outside her Australian record of 51.96.
Mollie O’Callaghan, the 2022 and 2023 world champion, was second quickest in 52.57, just behind Meg Harris (52.52).
Shayna Jack (52.65) was fourth with teenager Olivia Wunsch (53.30) fifth and Brianna Throssell (53.78) seventh.
While only the top two will swim the individual 100m in Paris, the fight for places on the relay is ultra competitive because Australia has won the gold medal at the last three Olympics.
Bronte has been on that relay at the last two Games and if she qualifies for Paris, she will join her sister Cate, Emily Seebohm and Cam McEvoy as the only Australians to swim at four Olympics.
At 30, she will also become one of the oldest Aussies to swim at the Olympics.
“There’s really six or seven girls that could come in those top two spots so it’s just about doing your own race,” she said.
“Everyone’s got a different race plan, so I just go out there and do what I do best and enjoy racing. I think that’s all I can, pretty much 100 per cent say this is my last Olympic trials, so just go out and enjoy that race for what it is.
“Making the final, making the top eight in Australia is almost like making an international final.
“It’s an incredibly tough field and I’m really proud to be part of it and proud that we’ve managed to have such a long legacy in this event.”
Commonwealth Games champ withdraws from 1500m freestyle
Sam Short will be carefully nursed back to health before returning to full training after a gastro bug resulted in 4kg of weight loss in 48 hours that threatened to ruin his Olympic campaign.
Short suffered the viral illness three weeks ago and his return to health has been so slow that coach Damian Jones feared he wouldn’t make the Olympic team.
The coach has now thrown out the planned training program and will adjust on the run to get his world champion ready for Paris.
Short pulled out of the 1500m freestyle final at the Olympic trials on Friday, knowing there is unlikely to be two athletes who post the qualifying time of 14:54.29 that would deny him a swim in Paris.
Already on the team courtesy of his 400m freestyle, Short and Jones will now focus on getting him ready for the Games knowing he can still enter the 400m, 800m and 1500m due to previous qualifying times.
“We want to win the Olympics, so no one’s going to take any shortcuts (with his recovery),” Jones said.
“We’ve had to be smart about it. And there’s no point forcing it. All the work has been done over the last four years. The silly thing that we could have done here is really force it to get a result.
“No one really knew (what the illness was) we had all the tests done, the sports doctors, and it was just a waiting game. He is getting better.
“I mean if you asked me last week would he have done the results this week? No, no chance. The week before, even less of a chance. So each week he’s improving. Now we’ve got six weeks, which is plenty of time.”
Despite the illness, Jones remains confident Short can recover and be ready to deliver on the big stage in Paris.
“I think the Olympics is a different kettle of fish and it’s just about touching the wall first. Times really, really mean nothing,” he said.
“If there was one person that I needed to swim for my life I’d back him, no matter what.
“Because he just loves hurting himself. Absolutely will do anything to win.”
The unmissable 100m women’s final to headline Friday swim trials
Don’t dare blink because you just might miss the most exciting swimming race in a generation.
After a week of unbelievable performances at the Australian Olympic trials, the best is still to come when the women’s 100m freestyle takes the spotlight tonight.
The trials are cutthroat enough but the women’s sprint is overflowing with so many legends of the sport that it is worthy of being an Olympic final.
The stakes could not be higher. Six of the Aussies in contention are ranked among the fastest 12 women in history.
Only the first two will get to swim the individual 100m in Paris, while the top six will be chosen to compete in the 4x100m freestyle relay – a race the Aussies have won at the past three Olympics.
There will be celebrations for everyone who makes it and tears for those who don’t because there isn’t enough room for everyone on the plane to Paris.
The standard is so high that while Emma McKeon is the reigning Olympic champion after winning gold at Tokyo, she is no guarantee to get an individual spot.
Mollie O’Callaghan is the favourite after winning the world championship gold medal in 2022 and 2023 and finishing second to Ariarne Titmus in the 200m final on Wednesday when they both went under the world record.
The sentimental favourite, though, is Cate Campbell, Australia’s long-time queen of freestyle sprinting.
Already a four-time gold medallist in relays, Campbell is hoping to become the first Australian swimmer to compete at five Olympics.
She took 18 months off after Tokyo to stop and smell the roses.
She indulged in her other passions, including travel, media commentary and sports administration, before the lure of one last Olympics became too irresistible and she plunged back into training for one last shot at glory.
“I’m approaching this Paris Games in a way that I have never approached a competition before, in that I know it will be my last competition,’’ she said.
“Whatever happens, it will be the last time I can test for an Olympic Games.
“There’s something really beautiful in that because I’m making sure that I make the most of every opportunity that’s coming my way.
“This is it and it’s my chance to put together everything that I’ve worked for over the past 20 years in the sport and be a part of something incredible one last time.
“I feel like the older you get the more nostalgic you get but the more I’ve appreciated my time in the sport as well.”
Her younger sister Bronte is also having another crack at it.
A two-time gold medallist, she’s looking to go to her fourth Olympics but has been battling injury and is under siege from a new wave of youngsters.
“I want to keep going until I have the feeling because once that chapter is closed, it’s not being reopened,” she said.
“You can’t go back in time. You can’t go back in age. So, yes, the goal is Paris, but there’s also the secondary goal of knowing I’ve done everything I possibly could in my career.
“I never dreamt of being a world champion, which I’ve been lucky enough to do.
“I never dreamt of being a Commonwealth champion, which I was lucky enough to do.
“The goal was always to be an Olympian.
“To be able to compete at three of them, and the option to go to four, that’s what excites the seven year old inside of me … because living out your childhood dreams doesn’t happen for everyone.”
The depth of contenders is incredible.
Meg Harris, 22, won two golds in relays at Tokyo and is in the mix for a second Olympic appearance, while Shayna Jack, who has won five gold medals in relays at the world championships, has already qualified for Paris in the 4x200m relay so is looking to secure another swim.
Brianna Throssell, 28, is also looking to double up after qualifying in the 4x200m, while 18-year-old Olivia Wunsch is leading the next generation of teenagers looking to join the team.
Meares calls for athletes faith in system as WADA comes under fire
Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent report, the World Anti-Doping Agency is facing fresh calls to reveal everything it knows about the Chinese swimming drug scandal.
Outrage as WADA ‘crumbles before the world’
A Chinese swimmer has been set up to be the biggest villain at the Paris Olympics with a WADA announcement about Chinese athletes causing uproar.