As a new Olympic cycle slowly kicks into gear, this week’s Australian Swimming Championships in Brisbane lacked some of the star power of years gone by.
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus, for example, was on a red carpet in Spain for an awards night.
Sam Short clocked a sharp 400m freestyle time of 3:44.16 in Brazil – in the same city Mack Horton won Olympic gold over eight laps in 2016.
Meanwhile, Kyle Chalmers set a personal best in Sweden before taking part in a beachside photoshoot in Turkey.
But the only meet that really matters this year is Australia’s trials in Adelaide from June 9 to 14, where world championship spots will be on the line.
Australia topped the medal tally at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka and will be hoping for another impressive haul in Singapore when the eight-day meet begins on July 27.
Here’s what we learnt from four days of racing at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.
McEvoy a force to be reckoned with
The best Australian swimming story to come out of last year’s Paris Olympics was Cam McEvoy’s fairytale gold in the 50m freestyle.
He shattered the myth that more training equals better results, winning with a low-kilometre program few believed could work.
Cameron McEvoy celebrates winning the 50m freestyle at the Australian Swimming Championships in Brisbane. Credit: Getty Images
Since that historic swim, McEvoy has been back training properly in the water for about “three or four weeks”.
For McEvoy to win his pet one-lap event on Wednesday in a time of 21.48 seconds – just 0.23s outside his gold medal-winning time in Paris – is remarkable.
Only Ben Proud (21.73s) and Kyle Chalmers (21.78s) have come close this year.
McKeown tracking well, but switch raises eyebrows
Kaylee McKeown, one of Australia’s greatest Olympians, ticked all the boxes in Brisbane, winning her 50m and 100m backstroke finals. She didn’t race in the finals of the 200m backstroke or 200m individual medley.
McKeown’s consistency is something to behold. Her haul of two gold, one silver and two bronze in Paris will be hard to top.
Hours before the last night of competition on Thursday, McKeown revealed she would be leaving Griffith University and changing programs.
“It’s been a crazy week but I’ve decided to head back home to where it all started on the Sunshine Coast with @uscspartans,” she wrote on Instagram.
McKeown’s coach, Michael Bohl, has moved to China since the Olympics. His replacement, Mel Marshall, has been in charge since January.
Since then, McKeown and Lani Pallister have left the program. McKeown will now be coached by Michael Sage.
Shayna Jack has work to do
Everyone goes about their business in different ways after an Olympics to recharge the batteries.
Shayna Jack, who won two relay gold and finished fifth in the 100m freestyle in Paris, swapped goggles for reality TV – appearing on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
She’s only been back in the pool for a couple of months and touched the wall fifth in the 100m freestyle, more than two seconds outside her personal best. Jack was also fourth in the 50m freestyle.
At the trials, the top two in each event will be guaranteed a spot at the world championships, provided they reach the qualifying times. Jack will need to be much quicker in her 100m event, which Mollie O’Callaghan is likely to win. You’d be bold to back against her.
Olympian Shayna Jack has some work to do.Credit: Getty Images
A rising star emerges
Remember the name Henry Allan.
The 16-year-old’s time of 53.73s in the 100m backstroke at the Australian Age Championships certainly turned heads.
What was impressive about Allan’s new Australian age record was that it was much quicker than the open athletes, beating Enoch Robb (54.85s) and Bradley Woodward (55.21s).
The time would have got Allan into the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics. He’s a star in the making and celebrated with a swag of gold medals from the meet.
Beware US at world championships
Very few swimmers are peaking in April after an Olympics, but generally speaking, times were on the slower side in Brisbane.
Most swimmers are still in heavy training, so that has to be factored in.
But if the Australians think they can emulate their heroics from two years ago in Fukuoka, they are likely to be in for a rude shock.
The Dolphins picked up 13 gold medals in Japan in 2023, six more than the US. It will be a lot closer this time.
With no Titmus, hitting double-digit gold would be a major success.
