‘Mind-blowing’: Australia’s toughest race at Olympic swimming trials

One event at this week’s Olympic swimming trials is bound to leave some stars disappointed, such is the depth in Australia’s female ranks.

Australia’s women’s 4x100m freestyle relay might just be the toughest team to crack into in the country, and the 100m freestyle shapes as hardest race to win at this week’s Olympic swimming trials.

When the country’s top female sprinters get on the blocks in Brisbane on Friday night, there’s going to be some hard luck stories, with only the top two finishers getting an individual swim at Paris.

Emma McKeon is the reigning 100m freestyle Olympic champion, but she is no guarantee to get the chance to defend her title.

McKeon, Shayna Jack, Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris and Mollie O’Callaghan are all vying for Olympic selection in the most stacked field of the trials.

Out of that group, every swimmer has an Olympic gold medal except Jack, who is chasing her first Olympic berth this week.

McKeon, 30, showed she was still at the top of her game at the 2022 world short course championships, but the next generation of freestylers are nipping at her heels.

“The thing about the women’s 100m freestyle is we effectively have the top six swimmers in the world in our own country, so to make that team is very competitive,” Paralympics swimming legend Ellie Cole told news.com.au.

“If I’m going to have a prediction for who’s going to make the two individual spots. I think Mollie O’Callaghan — every time she touches the water she swims a personal best time. I wouldn’t be surprised if she can pull out a pretty amazing performance.

Mollie O’Callaghan could be a breakout star in Paris. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Can Cate Campbell make a fifth Olympics? (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“She’s more gearing towards the 200 but I still think she could snag the 100.

“The Campbell sisters have both put themselves in an amazing position to make the team.

“They’re both racing really well. I was a bit concerned last year with the amount of 100m practice Bronte put herself forward for.

“She was swimming a lot of 50s but we didn’t see her race too many 100s. She’s pulling out some good times.”

McKeon won Olympic gold in 51.96 seconds, while O’Callaghan’s personal best is 52.08sec.

McKeon is expected to win the 100m butterfly at the trials and will be a key part of Australia’s relay teams in Paris.

Generally the top six men and women in the 100m and 200m freestyle are selected for the relays, but the fifth and sixth spots are up to selector discretion.

Australia’s women’s 4x100m freestyle relay has won gold at the past three Olympics and holds the world record.

Emma McKeon is the reigning 100m freestyle Olympic champion. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Kyle Chalmers, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Sam Short and Elijah Winnington are stars in their own right, but Australia’s female swimmers are set to bring home the bulk of Australia’s medal haul in the pool in Paris.

O’Callaghan, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown all hold world records and could well be the toast of the nation once again if they back up their Tokyo heroics.

“To have a team that’s this strong without hosting a home Olympics is just mind blowing.

“Things could change in the next four years but it seems like everything has really come to a head for Paris. We have some incredibly strong swimmers.

“We have so many swimmers within our women’s team who have been the greatest of all time in their event. I’m looking forward to see what Shayna Jack can do as well. So many exciting races coming up at trials.”

Meg Harris and Shayna Jack are also contenders in the 100m free. (Photo by Patrick HAMILTON / AFP)

Cody Simpson has put his music career on hold to throw everything into his bid to qualify for Paris, and the popstar has hinted he might hang up his goggles if he falls short this week.

Simpson’s best chance to qualify is in the 100m butterfly, although national record holder Matt Temple and the improving Shaun Champion are tipped to finish in the top two.

A top six finish in the 100m freestyle could see Simpson qualify for the 4x100m freestyle relay.

“I’m so excited for trials, this one’s going to be huge,” Cole said.

“We have some amazing swimmers on the team. It’s going to be the do or die decider for whether Cody Simpson can make the team. We’re going to put together a very, very strong team for Paris.”

It’s make or break time for Cody Simpson. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

The Paralympic trials are running concurrently to the Olympic trials, and a new wave of Para swimmers including S9 100m freestyle world champion Alexa Leary are expected to form a relatively inexperienced team for Paris.

“After the Tokyo Paralympics, we saw the retirements of some longtime veterans like Blake Cochrane and Matt Levy, and myself as well,” Cole said.

“That’s a lot of experience that left the team all at the same time. We still have Brenden Hall, I think he will be competing at his fifth Paralympics if he makes the team.

“We’ve got a lot of young swimmers coming through. We’re going to have quite a young blood team.

“Rowan Crothers has always stood up and said he wants to be the first Paralympic athlete to swim 49 seconds for 100 free.

“The exciting ones are going to be the young ones coming through. Alexa O’Leary has broken the 100m freestyle S9 world record, which was my classification, so I’m happy I’ve retired. Alexa’s going to swim really well in Paris.”

Cole, who is enjoying life as a mum to son Felix, is an ambassador for the Toyota Community Foundation and its work with the Para-Sport Equipment Fund.

The fund provides Australians with disabilities the opportunity to participate and compete in Para-sport by assisting with costs associated with obtaining para-sport equipment.

“I’ve grown up with a disability and a prosthetic and it’s incredible how much equipment can really change your whole life,” said Cole, who won 17 Paralympic medals.

“Most people don’t really think about the barriers that can stand in an athlete’s way in sport because a lot of athletes rely on equipment. This equipment is at a pretty high cost and often needs to be customised for the specific athlete as well.

“It can be very, very expensive, and a lot of the times someone’s sporting journey finishes before it even begins, purely because of an inability to afford this equipment to help them play sport.

Ellie Cole is an ambassador for Toyota and its work with the Para-Sport Equipment Fund. Photo: Supplied.

“I’m really grateful for the Para Sport Equipment Fund. I’ve seen the difference it makes particularly grassroots and developing athletes.

“Not only if they want to make an Australian team one day, but just to feel the joy of playing sport and play sport in their communities as well. I’ve been an ambassador for Toyota for a long time since 2016.

“They’ve been an amazing part of my sporting journey and helped me acquire this prosthetic leg that had all of these computers in it - I always call it the Land Cruiser of prosthetics.

“In the last few years of my career it really helped me in training, particularly in the gym, where I needed to do some exercises where I needed to effectively have two legs.

“For Toyota themselves to work with Paralympics Australia and support this Para Sport Equipment Fund, and help people obtain the equipment, it can really change lives.

“It also helps change how people view Paralympic Sport in Australia. A lot of people are being exposed to Paralympic sport within their communities because of these kids who are able to access equipment and then join sporting clubs. It’s an initiative from the Toyota Community Foundation, they just want to make more people mobile.”