Leisel Jones’ 24-year-old record broken by star of the future, Sienna Toohey, at the Australian Olympic swimming trials

Leisel Jones won an Olympic silver medal at 15 during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and another 15-year-old has missed Paris qualification by just half a second, but breaking one of the great breaststroker’s records.

Australia's Sienna Toohey during the women’s 100m breaststroke final at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials. Picture: David Gray / AFP

Sienna Toohey – put that name and an asterisk next to the 2028 Olympic swimming team.

The 15-year-old breaststroker etched her name into the record books at the Olympic trials in Brisbane – smashing a 24-year-old record set by legendary swimmer Leisel Jones.

Toohey finished third in the finals of the 100m breaststroke in Brisbane on Tuesday night – not too far off the pace from Jenna Strauch and Ella Ramsay.

That makes her the third fastest 100m breaststroker in Australia.

The Albury based teen touched in 1.07.01 – breaking the Australian 15 years record of 1.07.49 set by Jones in 2000.

Leisel Jones was a silver medallist at just 15 in Sydney 24 years ago. Picture: Shaun Botterill /Allsport

It was the teen’s second shot at cracking the record after just missing it at the Australian Age Championships at the Gold Coast earlier this year.

She walked away from those titles with a gold medals in the 200 IM, 50 breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, 5x50m mixed medley relay and a silver I the 200m breaststroke.

Toohey was just three-years-old when Jones competed at her last Olympics in 2012.

While she has never had the chance to meet her idol she has spent many hours watching her old races.

“It was my goal for this race,” Toohey said.

“I didn’t care what I came, I just knew I wanted to break it.”

Once she achieved her goal Toohey was left “lost for words”.

“I didn’t know what I was feeling, I just lost what I was feeling while I was swimming,” Toohey said.

“I knew I was going fast but I didn’t know I was going that fast.

“I was just so excited, it is honestly just so surreal and I’m lost for words.”

Sienna Toohey is name for the future finishing third at the Olympic trials at just 15 years of age. Picture: Rebecca Ohlwein.

It was Toohey’s first Olympic trials.

She knew making the team for Paris was a long shot – her focus is locked on 2028 and then 2032 Games.

So much so that school has taken a back seat and everything is going into training “it’s basically my whole life”.

“This was just a first experience for me,” Toohey said.

“It is my first (Olympic) trials and I made the finals so that was really, really cool.”