Queensland Olympic Stars And Young Guns On Show At World Trials In Melbourne
The cream of Queensland’s swimmers will put it all on the line at the six-day 2023 World Championship Trials which kick off at the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre today.
The program, featuring the who’s who of the State’s Tokyo Olympic medallists and a host of rising stars, will continue until this Sunday when the Australian Dolphins team will be announced for next month’s Worlds in Fukuoka (July 14-30).
The week-long Trials will see Heats from 10am and Finals from 7pm – broadcast on 9Now.
Queenslanders have a long and proud history when it comes to the World Championships which began 50 years ago in Belgrade in 1973 when Stephen Holland won Australia’s first gold medal in the 1500m freestyle.
Holland paved the way for an extraordinary five decades which has seen Queensland swimmers continue to dominate the world.
Tokyo’s big four – Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University), Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler), Emma McKeon (Griffith University), and Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western), will lead the Queensland onslaught – right from day one.
McKeown has been the stand-out performer this season which has included a new world record in the 200m backstroke at the NSW Championships in March.
The multi-talented McKeown will line up in the 200m individual medley – chasing fellow Queensland Olympic champion Stephanie Rice’s Australian record.
The 21-year-old McKeown will also make a splash in the 50, 100 and 200m backstroke and the 200m freestyle in a full book of races for the Michael Bohl-coached star from the Gold Coast.
Stubblety-Cook, the Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion, will take to the water in the 100m breaststroke heats today, with the world record holder’s main event, the 200m breaststroke coming on Thursday.
The Vince Raleigh-coached Stubblety-Cook set the world record at 2:05.95 at last year’s Trials in Adelaide – and already he is looking over his shoulder with emerging French IM star Leon Marchand becoming the fourth fastest 200 breaststroker this week with his 2:06.59.
Titmus, the dual Olympic champion over 200 and 400m freestyle, will kick start her week with the 400m freestyle alongside fellow Queenslanders Lani Pallister (Griffith University), Kiah Melverton (St Peters Western) and Leah Neale (Chandler).
The Dean Boxall-coached Titmus will then go back-to-back with the 200m freestyle which will see her fellow St Peters Western training partners Melverton, Shayna Jack and Mollie O’Callaghan waiting to join the fray.
Twenty-four later and it will be the Timed Final of the 800m freestyle with Melverton and Pallister poised for another classic chase for places on the World Championship team.
While McKeon will start her week with the 100m butterfly, the Australian champion and Olympic bronze medallist up against fellow two-time Olympic teammate Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western) and rising stars Alex Perkins (USC Spartans) and Commonwealth Games gold medallist over 200m butterfly, Lizzy Dekkers (Chandler).
Two-time Olympic freestyle gold medallist, McKeon will also headline the two events she won in Tokyo – the 50 and 100m freestyle – as well as the 50m butterfly.
Jack and World and Commonwealth 100m freestyle champion O’Callaghan will provide plenty of opposition in both freestyle sprint events with “Mollie O” also keeping Kaylee McKeown company in the 50 and 100m backstrokes.
Queensland’s adopted Rio Olympic gold medallist Mack Horton (Griffith University) will also be on show on Day One in what will feature an all-star cast in the men’s 400m freestyle – featuring World and Commonwealth champion Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western) and current world number one Sam Short and his Rackley teammate, Tokyo Olympic relay bronze medallist Tommy Neill.
All four will be also on show in the men’s 200m freestyle when they will be joined by another Tokyo bronzed Aussie in Alex Graham (Miami) and young guns Kai Taylor (St Peters Western) and Flynn Southam (Bond).
Benjamin Hance Sets New Paralympic World Record In Melbourne
Queensland’s Tokyo Paralympic gold medallist Benjamin Hance (St Andrews, QLD) has today stolen the show on the first morning of the World Trials Meet in Melbourne.
The 21-year-old, who is coached by Australia’s 2008 Olympic backstroker Ashley Delaney on the Sunshine Coast, set the first world record of the meet – breaking his own S14 mark in the Multi-Class 100m backstroke Timed Final.
Hance stopped the clock at 56.73 (1008 pts) – taking 0.15 off his own previous WR time of 56.88 set in Brisbane in 2021.
Hance will be one of the stars of the Australian Para Swim Team heading to Manchester for the Para World Championships (July 31-August 6).
