Australian Trials, Night 2: Mollie O, Max Giuliani and Queensland’s Inspiring Para Stars Woo The Brisbane Crowd On The Road To Paris

Australian Trials, Night 2: Mollie O, Max Giuliani and Queensland’s Inspiring Para Stars Woo The Brisbane Crowd On The Road To Paris

Multi-talented Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western) and dream chaser Max Giuliani (Miami; Coach: Richard Scarce) have joined the impressive list of automatic Queensland qualifiers for this year’s Paris Olympics after an exciting night two at the Australian Trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.

Mollie O finished second to fellow Queenslander and defending Olympic champion, the already qualified Kaylee McKeown in a stacked women’s 100m backstroke final – becoming only the fourth swimmer in history to break 58 seconds – clocking 57.88.

While Giuliani, the big 19-year-old from Hobart, who arrived on the Gold Coast in 2022 to pursue his Olympic dream, made that happen in a powerhouse 200m freestyle win – leading home an all-Queensland final.

Mollie O and Big Max join Ariarne Titmus and Lani Pallister (Women’s 400m freestyle); McKeown and Ella Ramsay (Women’s 200IM), Emma McKeon (Women’s 100m butterfly) and Elijah Winnington and Sam Short (Men’s 400m freestyle) who all made the cut on night one, booking their individual places on what will be an all-star Dolphins Swim Team for 2024 Olympic Games.

McKeown locked in a date with destiny in Paris in July after scaring the daylights out of her own 100m backstroke world record, the 22-year-old from the Gold Coast just 0.08 seconds outside her own world record of 57.33 set at the Budapest World Cup meet last October - stopping the clock in 57.41 – the second fastest time ever swum.

And there is little doubt the dual Olympic champion had again set herself to swim her personal best – under that world record – judging by her reaction on pool deck – which could spell trouble for her opponents in Paris.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit disappointed with that (swim) but (I guess) there is always room for improvement,” said McKeown, who has already qualified for the 200IM and has the 200m backstroke to come.

And McKeown (Griffith University; Coach: Michael Bohl) had company in the form of one of her best friends, freestyle world champion and world record holder, fellow Queenslander O’Callaghan and WA’s rising star and world junior champion, Iona Anderson.

Mollie O, out of the famed Dean Boxall stable at St Peters becoming the fourth swimmer in history to break 58 seconds for 100m backstroke – clocking 57.88 (third fastest time in the world for 2023-24) 

And McKeown joins fellow Tokyo gold medallist Titmus (400m freestyle) as the second Australian with the opportunity to defend their Olympic crowns – and join Dawn Fraser as the only previous Australian female to defend Olympic gold.

Fraser, who is poolside mentoring the Paris-bound Dolphins, twice defended her 100m freestyle titles – becoming the first swimmer to win three successive gold medals in the 100m freestyle in 1956, 1960 and 1964.

Storming home “Kyle Chalmers style”, Giuliani clocked a 200 free qualifying time of 1:45.83 – 0.14 under the magic mark – the only swimmer in the field to make the cut - Giuliani only just holding on with Tokyo 4x200m free hero Thomas Neil (Rackley; Coach: Damien Jones) storming home out in lane one for second in 1:46.02 – 0.05 outside the time.

Opening night 400m qualifier Winnington (St Peters Western; Coach: Dean Boxall) 1:46.08; his club mate Kai Taylor 1:46.26; race pacesetter Zac Incerti (USC Spartans; Coach: Michael Palfery) 1:46.83; Tokyo relay bronze medallist Alex Graham (Miami; Coach: Richard Scarce) 1:47.11; world junior champion Flynn Southam (Bond; Coach: Chris Mooney) 1:47.29 and Tokyo IM bronzed Aussie Brendon Smith (Griffith University; Coach: Michael Bohl) 1:4.29 – all relay hopefuls.

The 19-year-old who grew up in Hobart and then outgrew it – hammered home over the final 50m to nail his place for Paris and his first Olympics – after turning at the 100m mark in sixth place.

Guiliani admitted late last year that his dream of going to Paris almost didn’t get to first base after he was ready to leave his new surrounds at Miami and head back home to Hobart, homesick and ready to chuck it in.

After an eye-catching career from the boy from Hobart throughout the 2022 Australian Age Championships, Giuliani followed his coach Paul Crosswell and breaststroker Matilda Smith to the Miami program under Head Coach Richard Scarce in 2022.

Big Max revealed that the first few months of his move were really tough, and his career was at a crossroads –prepared to move back home – risking his dreams of one day becoming an Olympian – and going home to pursue a career as a tradie.

“I really struggled being away from home…. missing my family as I was adapting to adult life, but after those few months I finally settled in,” Giuliani told Swimming World at the time.

“To be quite honest I was ready to throw it all in after a month and a half, I was ready to move back home and give it away but I’m super happy I stuck with it.

“The Miami team (under Scarce) got around me during a team camp.  Before that I was feeling average about it all and wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”

And then came the major turning point when he fired off the second fastest time ever swum by an Australian (Ian Thorpe the fastest) when he led off the Miami 4x200 cub relay team to a National record – Big Max leading off in 1:44.79.

Max will now join swimming’s most famous Tassie export in golden girl Titmus on the team to Paris, saying after the race: “It’s all about who’s got the heart and who wants it the most…I don’t usually get nervous, but I was insanely nervous and just happy to get the job done, although the time is not what I wanted but I can’t complain.”

There was action aplenty in the Multi-Class events too with Paralympic QTs galore:

Tom Gallagher (Somerset; Coach Ashley Callus) and Rowan Crothers (Yeronga Park, Coach: Kate Sparkes) tearing up the pool in the 50m freestyle S10s – both clocking QTs – Gallagher his second of the day improving his 23.51 from the preliminaries to 23.50 in the final, 2020 Para golden boy, Crothers second home in 23.91.

Before the remarkable Alexa Leary (St Hilda’s; Coach Jon Bell) sent the swimming community into melt down again with her awe inspiring 50m qualifier of 27.89 in the S9s – the former champion triathlete who cheated death from a serious bike accident to recover from a life-threatening brain injury to make the Para team for Paris to be announced on Friday night.

And then there was S14 Para star Ben Hance (St Andrews, Coach Ash Delaney) in the men’s 100m butterfly, in a sizzling 55.51, announcing on National TV that “I’m going for the gold.”

With the one and only Grant “Scooter” Patterson (Cairns Central, Coach Andrew “Herbie” Howard) wooing the Brisbane crowd and the entire nation on Nine’s Wide World of Sports coverage, with his solo 50m breaststroke qualifier in 1:04.25 – qualifying for his third Para campaign.