By Tom Decent
Singapore: There is nothing Australian swimmers love more than beating the USA in a relay.
To do it twice in 15 minutes? That’s the holy grail.
The Dolphins sent a clear reminder to the world they mean business at this year’s world swimming championships after clinching gold medals in both the women’s and men’s 4x100m freestyle relays on the opening night of competition in Singapore.
It wasn’t quite Sydney 2000 – smashing guitars and all – but it wasn’t far off. Olivia Wunsch and Kyle Chalmers delivered thunderous anchor legs to upset the Americans, whose squad is still reeling from a bout of food poisoning traced to a dodgy Thai buffet.
Australia nearly had a third gold to celebrate, with Sam Short missing out on victory earlier in the night in the 400m freestyle by just 0.02 seconds to Germany’s Lukas Martens. It was a gallant swim and just what Short needed after a disappointing Paris Olympic campaign.
Lani Pallister clocked a personal best of 3:58.87 in her 400m freestyle race but finished fourth behind gold medallist Summer McIntosh and US legend Katie Ledecky in third.
But the stories of the night belonged to the relays – and to the underdogs.
Australia’s men’s and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay teams celebrate gold medals at the world championships in Singapore. Credit: Getty Images
There were nerves. Mollie O’Callaghan, given the opening leg, fumbled her goggles on the blocks. No Cate Campbell. No Emma McKeon. No Shayna Jack. This was one of the least experienced quartets Australia had fielded in years, having won Olympic gold in 2012, 2016, 2021 and 2024.
O’Callaghan (52.79), an individual 100m freestyle world champion in 2023, fired off a great first leg before Meg Harris (51.87 split) held the lead.
Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris and Milla Jansen celebrate. Credit: Getty Images
From there, it was down to newcomers Milla Jansen and Wunsch – both highly rated though no one really knew if they had it in them to propel Australia home.
That they did as Jansen (52.89 split) kept Australia in front before Wunsch (53.05), channelling Ian Thorpe on Gary Hall Jr, surged past the USA’s Torri Huske in the final strokes to secure gold in 3:30.60 – 0.44 seconds clear of the Americans.
The Australian coaches’ area erupted at the sight of a young team digging deep when it mattered.
“It was very daunting,” O’Callaghan said. “All of us were quite nervous. I’m very confident in these girls.”
Milla Jansen, Olivia Wunsch, Mollie O’Callaghan and Meg Harris maintained Australia’s unbeaten record since 2017. Credit: Getty Images
Wunsch added: “I just wanted to power home and give it all I had. And it’s really exciting to be able to stand up with the gold medals.”
The Americans declined to detail the impact of illness in their camp, but butterfly world record holder Gretchen Walsh withdrew an hour before the race.
“I don’t really want to speak on how much it’s affected us or who it’s affected,” Huske said. “But we’ve done a really good job staying resilient and staying positive.”
The Australian men have often lived in the shadow of their female counterparts, despite winning the same event at the 2023 world titles in Fukuoka. This time, their task was even tougher on paper.
At their staging camp in Darwin, Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor, Max Giuliani and Chalmers sat down to plot a path to victory. They knew it would take something special.
They did it in 2023 at the world championships but had to settle for silver at last year’s Olympics.
Team Australia celebrate after winning gold. Credit: AP
Southam (47.77) set the tone before Taylor unleashed a sizzling 47.04 split in front of his mother, Australian Olympian Hayley Lewis, in the stands.
Giuliani (47.63) got Australia into third, and then came Chalmers, who delivered a devastating final split of 46.53 to motor the Dolphins home over a highly fancied American team.
As Chalmers sliced through the water, his teammates smashed the starting blocks with their hands and willed the veteran to the wall.
Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor and Max Giuliani cheer Chalmers home. Credit: Getty Images
Australia finished in 3:08.97, just 0.73 seconds outside the USA’s world record from 2008. Italy (3:09.58) pipped the USA (3:09.64) for bronze.
Then came even more celebrations, as Dean Boxall and head coach Rohan Taylor mobbed those around them in jubilant scenes.
Australia weren’t expected to come close but landed a 1-2 blow on their American rivals.
“The goal for us was just to give Kyle a puncher’s shot,” Southam said. “That was what we did. We all did our job extraordinarily well.
“The girls are so incredibly deep and strong, so we wanted to be part of that. We may not be the most talented on paper ... but we get in there and we have the underdog mentality. That was so awesome.”
Asked if he thought the USA were shocked by the result, Chalmers said: “I think it’s a huge upset, and we prove that time and time again. Every year you read the articles and people write us off.
“We have a point to prove and swim with a chip on our shoulder a little bit, to be honest with you.
“It’s not just about the US, but it was nice to get a hand on the wall first tonight and hear the Australian anthem is so special.”
The Americans, meanwhile, were licking their wounds after failing to win a gold medal on night one – a rare sight for the swimming powerhouse, who last year also endured their worst Olympic gold haul in the pool since 1988.
“We’re tough,” US swimmer Chris Guiliano said. “We’ve got some dogs on this team.”