2024 Australian Olympic Trials: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2024 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

June 10-15, 2024
Brisbane Aquatic Center – Brisbane, Australia
LCM (50 meters)
Swimming Australian Olympic Nomination Criteria
Meet Central
Updated Psych Sheet
Heat Sheets
Day 1 Prelims Recap
Live Results
Livestream (VPN Needed)

This morning kicked off the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials with already several big swims setting the pace for this all-important Paris qualifying competition.

Ariarne Titmus wasted no time staking her claim on the women’s 400m free, firing off a prelims effort of 4:01.57 in her bid to repeat as gold medalist in Paris.

Griffith’s Lani Pallister is in hot pursuit for the 2nd slot while the likes of Kiah Melverton and Leah Neale also lurk among the top 8 ready to rumble this evening.

22-year-old Kaylee McKeown clocked a morning swim of 2:11.98 to capture the 2nd seed in the women’s 200m IM, with Chandler’s Ella Ramsay landing lane 4 in 2:10.96.

Jenna Forrester rounded out the top 3 seeds in 2:13.44, but history shows it’s McKeown’s race to lose, owning a lifetime best and Aussie national record of 2:06.99 from April’s National Championships.

The men’s 100m breast this morning saw Sam Williamson fire off a lifetime best of 58.95 to capture the top seed, already dipping under the Swimming Australia-mandated Olympic Qualification Time of 59.49. That rendered him Australia’s 3rd-fastest man in history and the quickest since 2013.

Australia’s most decorated Olympian in history, Emma McKeon, was impressive in the women’s 100m fly. She touched in 56.75 as the sole swimmer of the prelims to dip under the 57-second threshold.

We’ll see Alexandria Perkins, Brianna Throssell and Abbey Connor among those chasing the 2nd slot for the Olympic roster, while 200m fly national champion Elizabeth Dekkers is also among the hunters for the OQT.

The final event is the men’s 400m free, giving us a potentially electric head-to-head between 2023 world champion Sam Short and 2022 world champion Elijah Winnington.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

World Record – 3:55.38, Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 2023
Australian Record – 3:55.38, Ariarne Titmus, 2023
Oceanic Record – 3:55.38, Ariarne Titmus, 2023
Commonwealth Record – 3:55.38, Ariarne Titmus, 2023
Swim Australia OQT – 4:04.98

GOLD – Ariarne Titmus, 3:55.44 *OLY Qualifier
SILVER – Lani Pallister, 4:02.27 *OLY Qualifier
BRONZE – Jamie Perkins, 4:04.38

23-year-old Ariarne Titmus put the world on notice with tonight’s winning effort of 3:55.44, a time just .06 outside of her own World Record in this event.

Leading wire-to-wire, Titmus touched nearly 7 seconds ahead of a world-class field. She split 1:56.45 at the 200m mark and was ahead of WR pace through the final 30m until she fell just shy. The Dean Boxall-coached superstar registered the 2nd-fastest time in history and the only other time under 3:56.

Top 5 Women’s LCM 400 Free Performances All-Time

3:55.38 – Ariarne Titmus, 2023
3:55.44 – Ariarne Titmus, 2024
3:56.08 – Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2023
3:56.40 – Ariarne Titmus, 2022
3:56.46 – Katie Ledecky, 2016

Splits for Titmus’ remarkable statement-maker included 56.53/59.92/59.78/59.21.

As a refresher, Olympic champion Titmus suffered a health scare late last year, with the dynamo having a benign tumor discovered on an ovary during a routine health screening.

For her part, 22-year-old Lani Pallister punched a result of 4:02.27, just off her time of 4:01.75 notched at this year’s Australian National Championships. The daughter of two-time Olympian Janelle Elford still booked her ticket to Paris, however, easily clearing the Olympic Qualification Time of 4:04.98.

She and mom Elford and godmother Dawn Fraser shared a tearful hug on-deck to celebrate Pallister’s first Olympic berth.

Jamie Perkins rounded out the podium in 4:04.38, a new best time by well over a second. The 19-year-old trains at St. Peters Western.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – FINAL

World Record – 2:06.12, Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2015
~~Australian Record – 2:06.99, Kaylee McKeown, 2024~~
~~Oceanic Record – 2:06.99, Kaylee McKeown, 2024~~
~~Commonwealth Record – 2:06.88, Siobhan Marie O’Connor (GBR), 2016~~
Swim Australia OQT – 2:10.62

GOLD – Kaylee McKeown, 2:06.63 *Australian Record, *OLY Qualifier
SILVER – Ella Ramsay, 2:09.32 *OLY Qualifier
BRONZE – Jenna Forrester, 2:11.83

22-year-old Kaylee McKeown cranked out the fastest time of her career to capture gold in this women’s 200m IM and qualify for her first event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

McKeown’s result of 2:06.63 shaved .36 off the speedy Australian national record of 2:06.99 she put on the books just his past April at the Open Championships. Her outing this evening came within striking distance of the longstanding World Record 2:06.12 Hungarian Katinka Hosszu registered in 2015.

McKeown bumps herself up the list of all-time performers to now rank as the 3rd-best in history.

Top 5 Women’s LCM 200 IM Performers All-Time

Katinka Hosszu (HUN) – 2:06.12, 2015
Ariana Kukors (USA) – 2:06.15, 2009
Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2:06.63, 2024
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (GBR) – 2:06.88, 2016
Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2:06.89, 2023

Ella Ramsay, the 19-year-old Chandler ace, produced a time of 2:09.32 also to add her name to the provisional roster for Paris.

Ramsay’s swim tonight represents her first-ever foray under the 2:10 barrier, overtaking the 2:10.71 logged in April. She usurps Olympic medalist Emily Seebohm to become Australia’s 5th-swiftest 200m IMer ever.

MEN’S 100 BREAST – FINAL

World Record – 56.88, Adam Peaty (GBR), 2019
Australian Record – 58.58, Brenton Rickard (AUS), 2009
Oceanic Record – 58.58, Brenton Rickard (AUS), 2009
Commonwealth Record – 56.88, Adam Peaty (GBR), 2019
Swim Australia OQT – 59.49

GOLD – Sam Williamson, 58.80 *OLY Qualifier
SILVER – Joshua Yong, 59.48 *OLY Qualifier
BRONZE – Zac Stubblety-Cook, 59.63

Entering this competition, the men’s 100m breaststroke was leaning towards Australia potentially not seeing any qualifiers based no recent historical times against the stiff Swimming Australia OQT of 59.49. Only 5 Aussie swimmers have ever been under that barrier.

However, we now have 2 men who got the job done from tonight’s final to put a spark in the 1breast.

Sam Williamson of Melbourne Vicentre just put up the swim of his life to take the gold and qualify for Paris, posting a result of 58.80.

26-year-old Williamson opened in a blistering 26.89 and closed in 31.91 to hack another .15 off the 58.95 performance he turned in for the top seed this morning out of the heats. That AM outing already rendered Williamson the fastest Aussie since 2013.

He now froghops former 200m breast world record holder Matt Wilson to check in as the #3 Aussie of all time.

Top 5 Aussie Men’s LCM 100 Breaststroke Performers All-Time

Brenton Rickard – 58.58, 2009
Christian Springer – 58.79, 2013
Sam Williamson – 58.80, 2024
Matt Wilson – 59.17, 2019
Jake Packard – 59.20, 2018

But behind Williamson was 22-year-old Joshua Yong who posted a new lifetime best of his own. Yong clocked 59.48, sneaking into the qualification column by just .01 ahead of the OQT.

Entering this meet, UWSC’s Yong held a personal best of 59.99 from the 2022 Commonwealth Games before he dropped it down to 59.83 at last month’s Swimming WA Season Opener. At the right time, Yong sliced just under half a second off that PB to join Williamson in Olympic qualification territory.

Yong is coached by Ben Higson who made his move to Western Australia after about 5 years as Swim Ireland’s National Head Coach and Head Coach of the National Centre (Dublin). Olympic medalist Ross Murdoch of Scotland was under his tutelage while he was at the University of Stirling before the Ireland gig.

Another former 200m breast world record holder and Olympic champion in that longer event, Zac Stubblety-Cook, grabbed bronze in 59.63.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINAL

World Record – 55.48, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2016
Australian Record – 55.72, Emma McKeon, 2021
Oceanic Record – 55.72, Emma McKeon, 2021
Commonwealth Record – 55.59, Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 2021
Swim Australia OQT – 57.17

GOLD – Emma McKeon, 56.85 *OLY Qualifier
SILVER – Alexandria Perkins, 57.33
BRONZE – Brianna Throssell, 57.42

Reigning Olympic bronze medalist in this women’s 100m fly event, Emma McKeon got the job done in terms of Paris qualification but it didn’t look easy.

The Griffith star who just recently turned 30 years of age stopped the clock at 56.85, the sole outing of the field under the 57-second barrier.

McKeon opened in 26.20 and closed in 30.65, although she looked notably tight on the final 20m of the race. In fact, the woman who has been on the Australian national team for 14 years was quicker at April’s National Championships, having produced a time of 56.58 to take the gold there.

USC Spartan Alexandria Perkins snagged silver in 57.33, although her time was outside the 57.17 QT needed for Paris. Perkins is a 4-time relay medalist at this year’s World Championships in Doha.

Olympic multi-medalist Brianna Throssell also landed on the podium in 57.42 for bronze. As with McKeon, Throssell was faster at the Open Championships where she notched 56.77, a time which would have qualified her for this summer’s Olympics. She’ll still have Paris-qualifying opportunities in the 200m fly and 200m free.

MEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

World Record – 3:40.07, Paul Biedermann (GER), 2009
Australian Record – 3:40.08, Ian Thorpe, 2002
Oceanic Record – 3:40.08, Ian Thorpe, 2002
Commonwealth Record – Ian Thorpe, 2022
Swim Australia OQT – 3:45.43

GOLD – Elijah Winnington, 3:43.26 *OLY Qualifier
SILVER – Sam Short, 3:43.90 *OLY Qualifier
BRONZE – Ben Goedemans, 3:48.66

In a feisty battle from start to finish, Elijah Winnington and Sam Short took the respective top two slots in this men’s 400m free.

24-year-old Winnington ultimately got to the wall first, hitting 3:43.26 while Short was less than a second behind in 3:43.90.

Ben Goedemans put up a big personal best of 3:48.66 for bronze, dipping under the 3:50 barrier for the first time in his career.

Both titans Winnington and Short were notably faster at the Aussie Open Championships, with St. Peters Western’s Winnington clocking 3:41.41 to Short of Rackley’s 3:41.64. Those performances checked them in as the #2 and #3 performers in the world this season, sitting only behind Germany’s Lukas Maertens who owns the top time in 3:40.33.