Olympic gold medallists Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western) and Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler) will headline a host of “Team Tokyo” stars when the seven-day 2021 McDonald’s Queensland State Championships kick-start in Brisbane on Saturday.
It will mark the official return to racing for Titmus and Stubblety-Cook for the first major meet after Australia’s record-breaking nine Gold medal haul, adding three silver and nine bronze medals for a total of 21 medals overall.
And it will be a vastly different story to swimming in front of the empty stands in Tokyo.
Such is the popularity of the meet that the day one State Relays has attracted over 1800 entries, making the Brisbane Aquatic Centre a sell-out.
Fellow individual gold medallists Emma McKeon (Griffith University) and Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans) will both miss the meet.
Four-time Tokyo gold medallist and now Australia’s most success Olympian with five gold and a total of 11 medals, McKeon only arrived home from Europe this week from the International Swimming League (ISL) with the London Roar.
And after completing an extraordinary 90-race haul between Tokyo, the World Cup circuit and the ISL, coach Michael Bohl is happy for McKeon to “bundy back on” later in the New Year – heading back to the family home in Wollongong for a well-deserved break.
While triple Olympic backstroke champion McKeown, is managing the shoulder tear she suffered before the Games, refined to kick sets as she sets her sights on a racing return in Sydney next year.
Titmus has entered a full book of freestyle events – adding the 50 and 1500m to her Tokyo gold medal winning events the 200 and 400m where she beat arch rival Katie Ledecky and the 800m where she won silver behind the 10-time Olympic champion.
But this will be a different State championships for one of the real super stars of the Games.
“This is the first meet in a long time where I can have more of a presence in the club and be more of a role model to the younger swimmers,” said Titmus, who was adamant she was far from in Games time form after making the most of her post Games appearances.
“Hanging around a bit longer after my races and if my recovery isn’t perfect it doesn’t matter; I want to be more present for the club.
“That’s going to be a once in a while meet that I get to experience this and I’m looking forward to that and because of the number of races we’re doing there is no expectation on times.
“It’s just about getting in there and doing your best and seeing where you are at.
“I know my swimming is not at the level that it usually is...I’m just excited to have fun while racing.... I’ll be happy if I can swim a PB plus 10 in the 400m freestyle after taking it pretty slow, easing it back in.
“The past two years have been so full on; I could not have imaged getting straight back into training or racing I just needed that break.
“Even now I’m still not ready mentally where I was at prior to the Olympics; I’m still trying to enjoy swimming for what it is without much pressure so this weekend racing there is no pressure on myself....from my coach Dean Boxall or me.
“I wasn’t expecting to swim fast now I want to be peaking for the middle of next year..”
Stubblety-Cook, who powered home to win Australia’s first 200m breaststroke gold in Tokyo since Ian O’Brien won in the Japanese capital in 1964, will also race the 100m and 200m in his return to competition under established coach Vince Raleigh.
In a recent interview with Swimming World, Stubblety-Cook revealed that while he was looking to progress the 100m it was primarily to help his 200m along the way a he begins his journey to win back-to-back gold in Paris ’24.
“My strength is in the 200 and I want to build into the 100....,” said Stubblety-Cook.
“Although I definitely want to represent Australia in the individual in the 100m but we will see where that lands - I think I am capable of that in an event I believe will become very competitive and it will be a challenge.”
Several other members of the triumphant Tokyo Dolphins squad including relay gold medallists Chelsea Hodges (Southport Olympic), Meg Harris (who has transferred from St Peters Western to Marion, SA) and Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western) will be competing.
They will be joined by individual 400IM bronze medallist Brenden Smith (Nunawading, VIC/who is preparing to re-locate to SE Queensland) and relay bronze medallists Brianna Throssell and Tamsin Cook (who have transferred form UWA West Coast/WA to USC Spartans), Isaac Cooper and Tommy Neill (Centenary Rackley) have entered in the meet.
The seven-day Championships has attracted over 1600 individual competitors from 146 clubs, many who have found new homes in Queensland in an unprecedented post-Olympic transfer session.
