by Ian Hanson
Last year O’Callaghan won the 100m freestyle world title beating Sweden’s world record holder and four-time runner-up Sarah Sjostrom and finished second to China’s Junxuan Yang in the 200m.
But when you have to race two Olympic champions in both of your main events just to secure a place on the team – your own Trials can sometimes be tougher and more daunting than winning the World Championship.
It was the second time in three days that the girl they call “Mollie O” has beaten an Olympic champion just to make the Dolphins team for next month’s World’s in Fukuoka, Japan, such is the extraordinary depth in Australia’s female freestyle sprinting stocks.
On Thursday night it was Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, club mate Ariarne Titmus who fell to O’Callaghan’s powerhouse final turn and lethal six-beat kick in a neck-and-neck 200m freestyle final – shooting to the top of the world rankings.
Tonight, it was the Tokyo Olympic 100m freestyle champion, Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) who lost out to Mollie O’s blistering finish, also clocking the fastest time in the world this year by just four-one-hundredths of a second.
The 19-year-old stopped the clock in a personal best of 52.48 to McKeon’s 52.52 with Shayna Jack (St Peters Western, QLD) another four-one-hundredths of a second behind in third in 52.64.
There will now be strong 1-2s in the Dolphins female freestyle ranks with O’Callaghan and McKeon run the 100m, O’Callaghan in the 200m, Titmus and Lani Pallister in the 400 and 1500m and the 50 and 1500m to be determined on the final night.
And there was an air of confusion at the finish when the graphics on the venue big screen flashed up 2nd, 2nd 3rd but no 1st, the girls unsure who had actually won.
And when interviewed by two-time Olympian Matt Welsh after the race, O’Callaghan admitted she had heard a loud click on her block when she dived in, believing she may have been disqualified.
“I thought ‘did I do something wrong’…? Did I get disqualified when I dived in?” said O’Callaghan.
“I realised the block wasn’t clicked in properly and I panicked because I heard the click.
“I also had no idea what was going on in the last five metres; I just had to trust myself and believe I could try and touch that wall (first).
“I was breathing the other way and couldn’t see the girls and I knew all the girls go out pretty fast and I’m a bit different so as I said to myself, I just had to trust myself and trust the process.
“The depth here (in Australia) is just incredible and it’s always so close…I really wanted to win but I just went into this thinking ‘just try and make a relay and coach Dean Boxall said just try and get top two or the relay….”
Now Mollie O is good to go in the 100 and 200m freestyle and will be a key figure in so many of Australia’s relays.
The standard of tonight’s 100m freestyle final saw the 2022-23 World Rankings re-written again and this is how the Top Eight Rankings looks now:
- Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) 52.48
- Siobhan Haughey (HKG) 52.50
- Emma McKeon (AUS) 52.52
- Shayna Jack (AUS) 52.64
- Marrit Steenbergen (NED) 52.98
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 52.99
- Meg Harris (AUS) 53.09
- Yujie Cheng (CHN) 53.26
Australia also has Marion, SA’s Madi Wilson (53.42) in 10th and Chandler, QLD’s Cate Campbell (who did not contest the Trials) in equal 12th on 53.52; Carlile NSW’s 17-year-old Australian Age champion Olivia Wunsch(eighth in tonight’s final) at 22nd in 54.05 (swum at the Age Championships) and Titmus (who has a pb of 53.68) sixth in the final in 54.26 and just outside the top 25.
Meanwhile in other events tonight:
Commonwealth Games champion Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) who has already qualified in the 400 and 800m freestyle added his pet event – the 1500m – clocking a personal best time of 14:46.67 (55:79; 1:53.95; 3:52.39 and 7:49.59) saying “I just wanted to see how long I could last…put myself in the hurt locker and to see what I could do…and that last 500m I was really feeling it but put me in a race situation and I reckon I could find another six seconds.”
Short’s time pushes him into fourth on the who’s who list of Australian distance greats behind Grant Hackett, Mack Horton and Kieren Perkins and sixth in the world this year.
Six-time Commonwealth Games medallist Bradley Woodard (Mingara, NSW) became the first automatic qualifier from NSW when he won the 200m backstroke in 1:56.04 ahead of Josh Edwards-Smith (Griffith University, QLD) 1:56.04 and Ty Hartwell (Chandler, QLD) 1:58.88 after his personal best this morning of 1:55.95 – the fourth fastest ever Australian.
Tokyo Olympian Abbey Harkin (St Peters Western, QLD) went within two-one-hundredths of a second of automatic qualification in the 200m breaststroke – in 2:23.93 to complete the 50, 100, 200m breaststroke treble and;
Olympic and World champion and world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook assured he will be in Fukuoka to defend the title he won in Budapest last year, stopping the clock at 2:07.86 (29.67; 1:02.58; 1:35.50) – just under two seconds outside his own world record of 2:05.95 and saying…”I’m disappointed it wasn’t a pb and it is the world record of course but I still think there is a lot to give in 200m breaststroke…it is all about getting the best out of myself and seeing how far I can push myself….but I’m excited for the world champs and the world is getting faster….I hope to continue to do my best and that means pushing the world record…”
2023 Australian World Trials, Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre, Day 5 FINALS:
Women’s 200m breaststroke
Abbey Harkin (St Peters Western, QLD) 2.23.93
Mikayla Smith (Griffith University, QLD) 2.26.08
Ella Ramsay (Chandler, QLD) 2.28.85
Men’s 200m backstroke
Bradley Woodward (Mingara, NSW) 1.56.04
Joshua Edwards-Smith (Griffith University, QLD) 1.57.29
Ty Hartwell (Chandler, QLD) 1.58.88
Women’s 100m freestyle
Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western, QLD) 52.48
Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) 52.52
Shayna Jack (St Peter’s Western, QLD) 52.64
Men’s 200m breaststroke
Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD) 2:07.82 (Q)
Haig Buckingham (SOPAC, NSW) 2:12.95
Angus Menzies (Knox Pymble, QLD) 2:13.13
Women’s 50m Backstroke
Bronte Job (Rackley, QLD) 27.73
Iona Anderson (Breakers WA) 28.03
Layla Day (Bond, QLD) 28.47
Men’s 1500m freestyle
Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 14:46.67 (Q)
Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western, QLD) 15:08.28
Nick Sloman (Noosa, QLD) 15.11.72
Automatic Australian Team Qualifiers after five days:
Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA) 100m freestyle
Abbey Connor (Revesby Workers/USC Spartan, QLD)
Elizabeth Dekkers (Chandler, QLD) 200m butterfly
Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western, QLD) – 200IM
Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) – 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle
Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) – 200IM, 100m, 200m backstroke
Thomas Neill (Rackley Swim Team, QLD)
Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western, QLD) – 100m backstroke, 100m, 200m freestyle
Lani Pallister (Griffith University, QLD) – 400m, 800m freestyle
Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) – 400, 800m, 1500m freestyle
Flynn Southam (Bond, QLD) 100m freestyle
Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler, QLD)
Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western, QLD) – 100m butterfly
Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western, QLD) – 200, 400m, 800m freestyle
Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western, QLD) 400, 800m freestyle
Bradley Woodward (Mingara, NSW) 200m backstroke
Night 5, Qld Finals Results:
Women 200m Breaststroke
1st Abbey Harkin, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (2:23.93)
2nd Mikayla Smith, Griffith University SC, coached by Michael Bohl (2:26.08)
3rd Ella Ramsay, Chandler SC Inc, coached by Vince Raleigh (2:28.85)
5th Matilda Smith, Miami SC Inc, coached by Richard Scarce (2:29.46)
6th Hayley Mackinder, Griffith University SC, coached by Thomas Fraser-Holmes (2:31.76)
8th Madison Stibbe, Nudgee College Swimming, coached by Shaun Crow (2:33.28)
Men 200m Backstroke
2nd Joshua Edwards-Smith, Griffith University SC, coached by Michael Bohl (1:57.29)
3rd Ty Hartwell, Chandler SC Inc, coached by Vince Raleigh (1:58.88)
4th Thomas Hauck, All Saints Gold Coast Inc, coached by Ken Sabotic (1:59.30)
6th Matthew Magnussen, Chandler SC Inc, coached by David Proud (2:00.92)
Women 100m Freestyle
1st Mollie O'Callaghan, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (52.48) QT
2nd Emma McKeon, Griffith University SC, coached by Michael Bohl (52.52) QT
3rd Shayna Jack, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (52.64)
6th Ariarne Titmus, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (54.26)
7th Brianna Throssell, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (54.30)
Men 200m Breaststroke
1st Zac Stubblety-Cook, Chandler SC Inc, coached by Vince Raleigh (2:07.86) QT
8th Lachlan Gilbert, Nudgee College Swimming, coached by Shaun Crow (2:15.28)
Women 50m Backstroke
1st Bronte Job, Rackley Swim Team Inc, coached by Damien Jones (27.73)
3rd Layla Day, Bond SC, coached by Chris Mooney (28.47)
4th Hannah Fredericks, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (28.61)
5th Jaclyn Barclay, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Richard Sleight (28.75)
Men 1500m Freestyle
1st Samuel Short, Rackley Swim Team Inc, coached by Damien Jones (14:46.67) QT
2nd Elijah Winnington, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (15:08.28)
3rd Nick Sloman, Noosa SC Inc, coached by John Rodgers (15:11.72)
6th Benjamin Goedemans, St Peters Western ASC Inc, coached by Dean Boxall (15:35.42)
7th Lachlan Walker, Griffith University SC, coached by Michael Bohl (15:37.87)
8th Noah Kamprad, Rackley Swim Team Inc, coached by Damien Jones (15:42.08)
Photo credit: Delly Carr, Swimming Australia
