By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s swim team head to next month’s world championships in Fukuoka with confidence after setting a number of eye-catching times at national trials in Melbourne.
The meeting wrapped up on Sunday with veteran sprinter Cameron McEvoy posting a year-best 21.27 seconds in the 50m freestyle heats before easily winning the final in 21.41 ahead of Thomas Nowakowski.
The rejuvenated 29-year-old punched his ticket for Fukuoka to join a star-studded team of 38 which boasts Olympic champions Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown and Emma McKeon.
“I’m excited about this team,” ‘Dolphins’ head coach Rohan Taylor told reporters.
“We’ve got a great mix of experienced campaigners and some young blood coming through.
“These world championships are such an important stepping stone in what is a big 12 months before the Paris Olympics.”
Propelled by a powerful women’s contingent, Australia’s swimmers won a national record 21 medals, including nine gold, at the Tokyo Olympics, second only to the United States’ haul of 30 medals.
Matching that performance at Paris will be a huge challenge but Australia’s production line of elite female swimmers looks in great working order.
Teenage 100m freestyle world champion Mollie O’Callaghan underlined that as she edged five-times Olympic champion McKeon in a thrilling duel to post the year’s fastest time (52.48) in the blue riband event.
Earlier in the week, the 19-year-old Queenslander upset Olympic champion Titmus to win the 200m freestyle.
With huge depth in the 100 free, Australia’s women will be fancied to win back-to-back world titles in the 4×100 relay and push for the medley relay gold after their runner-up finish at last year’s world championships in Budapest.
McKeown, the 100m and 200m backstroke world record holder and Olympic champion, continued to impress, storming to dominant wins in her preferred events.
Shayna Jack, third in the 100m freestyle, pipped McKeon to win the 50m freestyle final with a time of 24.22 seconds to emerge as a medal contender in the shortest sprint.
Only Sweden’s evergreen world champion Sarah Sjostrom has swum faster than Jack this year in the 50.
Australia’s men produced only one gold medal from the Tokyo pool, with Zac Stubblety-Cook taking the 200m breaststroke title.
They may produce other winners at Fukuoka, though, with sprinter Kyle Chalmers back in form after taking a mental health break last year.
Chalmers, who won 100m freestyle gold at Rio and silver at Tokyo, cruised to victory in the distance in Melbourne in 47.44 seconds.
“I know that in five weeks’ time I can swim a whole lot faster,” said Chalmers, whose best finish in the 100m freestyle at the world championships was a silver medal at the 2019 edition in South Korea.
While former 400m Olympic champion Mack Horton failed to qualify for Fukuoka, 19-year-old Sam Short enjoyed a thrilling trials.
Short swept the 400, 800 and 1,500m events to emerge as a possible successor to Horton in Australian distance swimming.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
