The Queensland Championships always holds a special place on the Australian swimming calendar – and this year’s Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships is shaping up to be arguably the strongest on record.
It’s traditionally the unofficial start to the countdown for next year’s Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games - a lead-in that will also take in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February.
And it comes after a stellar year in which Australia dominated the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka - with Queensland swimmers delivering the Dolphins a golden glow - topping the US in the gold medal tally for the first time since 2001.
With our Paralympians also shining at the World Para Championships in Manchester where Australia finished sixth in the medal tally, with a total of 30 medals – nine of them gold.
And those biggest names in the sport – the superheroes of the pool – will all be here this week rubbing shoulders with the stars of tomorrow and a host of international names.
The seven-day meet has attracted 3,415 nominated athletes, compared to 3,262 in 2022, with 8,829 nominations (compared to 8,781 last year) from 183 clubs – up by six from 12 months ago.
Swimming Queensland is proud to have five-time world champion and four-time world record holder from Fukuoka, Mollie O’Callaghan as the face of the 2023 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships – an honour that has been bestowed on the who’s who of swimming in Australia over many years.
O’Callaghan will contest 10 events over the course of the seven-day meet from December 9-15 at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler.
O’Callaghan will be joined by fellow Olympic and or World champions Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University), Emma McKeon (Griffith University), Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western), Cameron McEvoy (Somerville House), Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler), Cate Campbell (Chandler), Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western) and Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team).
With the Paralympic and World champions Benjamin Hance (St Andrews) who will contest nine events plus relays, Rowan Crothers (Yeronga Park), Lakeisha Patterson (USC Spartans) and Alexa Leary (St Hilda’s) leading a strong Para contingent.
Every year Swimming Queensland produces a commemorative poster and for 2023 it’s the 19-year-old from St Peters Western, the girl christened in the swimming font as Mollie O, who is front and centre.
O’Callaghan returned from this year’s Aquatics World Championships in Budapest with five gold medals and five world records in the Women’s 100 and 200m freestyle, 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays and the Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay.
She joins the likes of Olympic champions Jon Sieben, Duncan Armstrong, Kieren Perkins, Grant Hackett, Stephanie Rice, Libby Trickett, Leisel Jones and Emma McKeon and so many more whose images adorn the Wall of Fame inside the pool.
O’Callaghan will contest seven individual races, the 50, 100, 200 and 400m freestyle, the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke as well as three club relays with St Peters Western.
And there will be no shortage of opposition in “Mini Olympic or World Championship line-ups” especially the 50m freestyle which will feature McKeon (Griffith University), Shayna Jack (St Peters Western) and Cate Campbell (Chandler).
McKeon the Tokyo Olympic champion, Campbell the two-time Olympic bronze medallist in 2008 and 2020 in her only event, and the 2023 World Championship silver medallist Jack.
The 100 and 200m freestyle will see world champion O’Callaghan up against Olympic champions McKeon (100), St Peters Western training partner and dual Olympic champion and world champion Titmus (200 and 400) and triple crown World Champion McKeown (Griffith University).
A relieved Titmus returns 10 weeks after her operation for benign tumours in one of her ovaries as she builds back up for next year’s Olympic title defence – and will swim five freestyle events, the 100,200, 400, 800 and 1500m.
Jack, like pin-up girl O’Callaghan, will also contest 11 events – the 50, 100 and 200m freestyle, the 50 and 100m butterfly, 200m IM, 50 and 100m backstroke and three 4x50m club relays with St Peters Western.
While McKeown is also celebrating a remarkable year when she became the first female to win the 50, 100 and 200m backstroke crowns in Budapest, adding the 50m world record to her existing world marks in the 100 and 200m as she swept through an unbeaten run at the recent World Cup Meets.
The 23-year-old who will focus on the 100 and 200m backstrokes and 200m IM for Paris next year, will have the most varied program – lining up in the 100m butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle as well as the 200m freestyle, 200m IM and two relays with Griffith for a total of eight events.
Her Griffith teammate and fellow World Cup star Lani Pallister will line up in the 200 and 1500m freestyles as well as the 100m butterfly.
And enter four-time South African Olympic Games freestyle sprinter Roland Schoeman who headlines a host of internationals.
The 43-year-old former three-time World Champion and three-time Olympic medallist will line up against Australia’s reigning 50m freestyle World Champion and local hero Cam McEvoy (Somerville House) and Fukuoka finalist Isaac Cooper (St Andrew’s) in the 50m freestyle.
Japan will also be well represented with their 25-strong contingent headlined by the likes of four-time World champion Daiya Seto and two-time Olympian and leukaemia survivor Rikako Ikee – who have both been in Queensland training with Michael Bohl’s group at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.
Seto will face off against Australian Olympians, Brendon Smith (Griffith University) and Tommy Neill (Rackley Swim Team) in the 200 and 400m IMs.
New Zealand will field a 63-strong team of open and age group swimmers led by World Championship and Commonwealth Games middle distance freestyle finalist Eve Thomas, who is no stranger as a member of the St Peters Western group.
Swimming in Australia is at an all-time high and the next seven days will see Queensland’s finest in action over what is sure to be seven exciting days of swimming action.
