Shayna Jack’s brother Jamie shocks Olympic champ in 100m freestyle at World Cup
The brother of two-time Olympic gold medallist Shayna Jack has stunned swimming to beat the reigning 100m world record holder.
Jamie Jack, the younger brother of two-time Olympic gold medallist Shayna Jack, has shocked the swimming world, beating a class field at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup meet in South Korea.
While the event was a short course meet, meaning the athletes swam a 25m long pool rather than a 50m pool as they would at most events, it was a stunning result for the Aussie.
Featuring Olympians including South Africa’s Pieter Coetze, Korea’s Hwang Sun-woo and long course 100m world record holder and Paris Olympic champion Pan Zhanle, Jack powered to victory in a time of 46.48.
Hwang finished second from lane eight in 46.60, while Coetze was third in 46.74 and Zhanle missed the podium in fourth in a time of 46.80.
Zhanle smashed his own long course 100m world record by four-tenths of a second at the Olympics, winning ahead of Australia’s Kyle Chalmers.
But the drama kicked off when Zhanle believed the Aussie snubbed him in the opening days of the Olympics, an accusation Chalmers denied but saw him trolled on social media.
Jack missed out on Olympic selection in the Australian 4x100m relay team by a single place, finishing seventh in the 100m freestyle at the Australian Olympic Trials.
It’s a promising sign for the 22-year-old Aussie who was fourth at the last World Cup stop in Shanghai last weekend.
While it’s a long way from Chalmers’ 100m freestyle short course world record of 44.84, which he’s held since October 2021, it is the third fastest time in the world this year behind Italy’s Thomas Ceccon (46.32) and Zhanle (46.35).
“Going from heats to finals and to get a little bit faster was great,” Jack said.
“I was really trying to swim a little bit better this time compared to Shanghai. I got my race done and it was good enough to get the win.
“I actually raced a little differently in the heats and I really wanted to apply myself fully to get the best out of myself in the final.
“In Shanghai, I had an unexpected swim in the heats and I didn’t expect to be that fast, but I didn’t swim any faster in the finals. So I tried to pace myself a little better.
“A win was in the back of my head, I knew that it could have been a possibility. I had a really good lane and an opportunity especially against some of these other big names. It’s great to race with these guys.”
While it’s definitely a result Jack can use to push him forward, Zhanle had a packed schedule in Incheon, claiming gold in the 400m and 800m freestyle events.
That being said, Jack isn’t getting too far ahead of himself.
“We are all a bit tired from travelling,” he said. “Each to their own and you have to take the race for what it is.
“It was awesome, it really makes me happy for how far I have come and the work that I have been doing. It is different racing short course, the sort of race strategy and tactics can be very similar and I am really happy that I have grown over the year.”
It was a big night for American backstroke star Regan Smith, who fired another shot back at Kaylee McKeown in their ongoing rivalry, breaking the Aussie’s world record she set at the Australian Championships in September.
Smith swam 54.41 in the 100m backstroke final, lowering McKeown’s previous mark of 54.56 to now hold the world record in both long and short course events.
Smith received a $US10,000 bonus for lowering the world record.
McKeown didn’t compete at the three-day event in South Korea.