Record Number Of 33 Queenslanders And Eight Coaches Named On The Australian Olympic Swim Team For Paris
A record number of 33 swimmers from Queensland clubs will make up 75 percent of the Australian Olympic Swim Team in Paris after a hugely successful Australian Trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.
It is the greatest number of swimmers from Queensland clubs named to represent Australia at an Olympic Games – with a record number from the one club – with 10 swimmers representing the premier St Peters Western program.
A total of 44 swimmers will make up the Australian team – with 41 named after the six-day Trials to join the previously announced marathon swimmers.
Cameron McEvoy (Somerville House; Tim Lane) and Queensland-born and bred Bronte Campbell (Cruiz, ACT) will represent Australia at their fourth Olympics – McEvoy the first male to achieve the milestone.
The team also features three athletes Kyle Chalmers (St Andrews; Ashley Delaney) Brianna Throssell (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall) and Emma McKeon (Griffith University; Michael Bohl) who will represent Australia at their third Olympics, 13 swimmers returning for their second Games and 23 making their Olympic debuts.
Sixteen of the athletes named on the team are already Olympic medallists and 15 claimed World Championship gold in 2023, prompting Australia’s greatest male swimmer Ian Thorpe to declare: "This is the best Australian Olympic Swim Team we've ever had - there is no doubt."
Moesha Johnson (Griffith University) becomes only the second swimmer in history (joining Melissa Gorman in 2008) to represent in both pool and open water.
Johnson had previously been named along with Nick Sloman (Noosa; Kareena Clark), Chelsea Gubecka (Yeronga Park; Kate Sparkes) and Kyle Lee (North Coast, WA) on the marathon team to swim the 10km and 4x1500m relay.
The team is made up of 23 males (65 percent) and 21 females (86 percent); 33 from Queensland; five from NSW, three from WA, two from Victoria and one from South Australia.
Queenslanders attending their second Games will be Isaac Cooper (St Andrews; Ashley Delaney), Meg Harris (Rackley; Damien Jones), Zac Incerti (USC Spartans; Michael Palfery), Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University; Michale Bohl), Thomas Neill (Rackley; Damien Jones), Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall), Brendon Smith (Griffith University; Michael Bohl), Jenna Strauch (Miami; Richard Scarce), Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler; Vince Raleigh), Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall) and Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall).
On debut will be, Ben Armbruster (Bond; Chris Mooney), Jaclyn Barclay (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall), Jack Cartwright (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall), Abbey Connor (USC Spartans; Michael Palfery), Elizabeth Dekkers (Chandler; Vince Raleigh), Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall), Maximillian Giuliani (Miami; Richard Scarce), Shayna Jack (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall), Moesha Johnson (Griffith University), Lani Pallister (Griffith University; Michael Bohl), Alexandria Perkins (USC Spartans; Michael Palfery), Jamie Perkins (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall), Ella Ramsay (Chandler; Vince Raleigh), Samuel Short (Rackley; Damien Jones), Flynn Southam (Bond; Chris Mooney) and Kai Taylor (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall).
Three of the debutants will follow parents into the Olympic arena with Lani Pallister joining her mother Janelle Elford (Seoul, 1988), find of the meet Ella Ramsay father Heath Ramsay (Sydney 2000) and Kai Taylor, mother Hayley Lewis (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000).
Queensland will also supply 80 percent of the coaches, with eight Queensland coaches named on the team: Kate Sparkes (Yeronga Park), Kareena Clark (Lee) (Noosa), Dean Boxall (St Peters Western), Michael Bohl (Griffith University), Vince Raleigh (Chandler), Damien Jones (Rackley) Michael Palfery (USC Spartans) and Tim Lane (Somerville House).
The selection followed the conclusion of an incredible week of racing by athletes at the Australian Swimming Trials, which included Ariarne Titmus’ world record 200m freestyle swim.
The team announcement also followed an emotionally charged final night of swimming which witnessed a changing of the guard with the arrival of Shayna Jack and Meg Harris as individual contenders in the 50 metres freestyle for Paris and the departure of two legends in Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell.
On a roll, Jack added the 50m freestyle to her 100m qualification against some of the toughest fields in world swimming and becoming the fourth Australian under 24 seconds – clocking a winning time of 23.99.
With Harris earning her first individual Olympic appearance after her role in the 4x100m freestyle, in 24.26.
And behind the qualifying class of 2024 were the 30-year-old defending Olympic champion McKeon and 32-year-old Campbell who has been in three of the last four 50m Olympic finals - winning bronze at 15 in Beijing at her first Games in 2008.
McKeon touched in 24.32 – agonisingly, just 0.06 behind Harris and the chance to defend her gold medal from Tokyo.
And back in seventh was Campbell in 24.85 – who touched the wall for the last time – after missing her bid for a fifth Olympic team – the final lap in an extraordinary career for a dominant sprint freestyle force who spent 17 years on the Australian Swim Team.
And all those memories came flooding back for Cate at the conclusion of the race as she came to terms with the fact that one amazing career had come to an end.
With the seven finalists, including little sister Bronte, herself now a four-time Olympian herself, who was fifth in the final, swamping Cate with an emotional farewell to a girl who grew up in front of Australia.
A swimming mad country who witnessed and celebrated the growth of a woman who became the leader of the pack, who will leave an untapped legacy that will live on in the annals of swimming in Australia.
The images that followed with a tearful Cate surrounded by some of the girls who will carry the baton on to Paris and beyond displayed the amazing camaraderie.
Others confirming their places on the team were 400IM swimmers, Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Brendon Smith (Griffith University; Michael Bohl) in 4:10.18 78 in the men’s event and Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall) 4:38.16 who was second to already qualified Ella Ramsay (Chandler; Vince Raleigh) 4:36.56.
While Lani Pallister (Griffith University; Michael Bohl) put the finishing touches to her emphatic Trials meet qualifying for her fourth event, winning the 1500m freestyle in impressive fashion in 15:53.79 – after earlier qualifying in the 400, 800 and 4x200m freestyle – already qualified 10km open water contender Moesha Johnson (Griffith University) 15:57.85.
2024 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC SWIM TEAM, Paris
Iona Anderson 18 (Breakers, WA)
Ben Armbruster 22 (Bond; Chris Mooney, QLD)
Jaclyn Barclay 17 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Bronte Campbell 30 (Cruiz, ACT)
Jack Cartwright 25 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Kyle Chalmers 25 (St Andrews; Ashley Delaney, QLD)
Abbey Connor 19 (USC Spartans; Mick Palfery, QLD)
Isaac Cooper 20 (St Andrews; Ashley Delaney, QLD)
Elizabeth Dekkers 20 (Chandler; Vince Raleigh, QLD)
Jenna Forrester 21 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Maximillian Giuliani 20 (Miami; Richard Scarce, QLD)
Chelsea Gubecka 26 (Yeronga Park; Kate Sparkes, QLD)
Meg Harris 22 (Rackley; Damien Jones, QLD)
Zac Incerti 27 (USC Spartans; Mick Palfery, QLD)
Shayna Jack 25 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Moesha Johnson 26 (Griffith University; Michael Bohl, QLD)
Se-Bom Lee 23 (SOSC, NSW)
Kyle Lee 22 (North Shore, WA)
Cameron McEvoy 30 (Somerville House; Tim Lane, QLD)
Emma McKeon 30 (Griffith University; Michael Bohl, QLD)
Kaylee McKeown 22 (Griffith University; Michael Bohl, QLD)
Thomas Neill 22 (Rackley; Damien Jones, QLD)
Mollie O'Callaghan 20 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Lani Pallister 22 (Griffith University; Michael Bohl, QLD)
Alexandria Perkins 23 (USC Spartans; Mick Palfery, QLD)
Jamie Perkins 19 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
William Petric 19 (Nunawading, VIC)
Ella Ramsay 19 (Chandler; Vince Raleigh, QLD)
Samuel Short 20 (Rackley; Damien Jones, QLD)
Nick Sloman 20 (Noosa; Kareena Clark, QLD)
Brendon Smith 23 (Griffith University; Michael Bohl, QLD)
Flynn Southam 19 (Bond; Chris Mooney, QLD)
Jenna Strauch 27 (Miami; Richard Scarce, QLD)
Zac Stubblety-Cook 25 (Chandler; Vince Raleigh, QLD)
Kai Taylor 20 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Matthew Temple 24 (Marion, SA)
Brianna Throssell 28 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Ariarne Titmus 23 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Samuel Williamson 26 (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC)
Elijah Winnington 24 (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall, QLD)
Bradley Woodward 25 (Mingara Aquatic, NSW)
Olivia Wunsch 18 (Carlile, NSW)
William Yang 25 (SOSC, NSW)
Joshua Yong 22 (UWA West Coast, WA)
