Cameron McEvoy, Shayna Jack send worlds warning with lightning fast 50m free swims
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Cameron McEvoy (left) and Shayna Jack both swam the two fastest 50m freestyles of the year on Sunday.
PHOTOS: AFP
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Melbourne – A resurgent Cameron McEvoy swam the two fastest 50m freestyles of the year on Sunday to emphatically make Australia’s world championships team, as Shayna Jack upstaged Olympic champion Emma McKeon to take the women’s race.
McEvoy, a four-time world championship silver medallist, powered to victory at the Australian trials in Melbourne in 21.41 seconds after scorching through his heat in 21.27sec.
His heat time would have won gold at the last world championships and silver at the Tokyo Olympics behind American star Caeleb Dressel. Both timings surpassed British reigning world champion Ben Proud’s 21.71sec as the quickest of 2023 and were the 29-year-old’s best in seven years.
“I opened the week with my first PB (personal best) in seven years in the fly, I got two today in the free. I’m in a great spot and great to be back,” said McEvoy.
Seven-time Tokyo Olympic medallist McKeon was upset by Mollie O’Callaghan in a sizzling women’s 100m free on Saturday, and was again beaten in the 50m with Jack hitting the wall in 24.22sec, second only to dominant Swede Sarah Sjostrom in 2023.
McKeon was second in 24.26sec to also make the grade for the world championships in Japan in July, with O’Callaghan, who also won the 200m free, coming fourth.
“I was happy with how I executed it, I just wanted to come here today and have some fun,” said Jack, 24. “We have some of the fastest freestylers in the world here and it’s a tough competition, so I’m just trying to take away all the positives and go away with some learning lessons.”
No one met the automatic qualifying time of 51.28sec in the men’s 100m butterfly – a disappointment for Matt Temple (51.35sec) and Kyle Chalmers (51.61sec), who touched first and second.
Cameron McEvoy competes in the men’s 50m freestyle swimming event during the 2023 Australian World Championship Trials in Melbourne on June 17.
PHOTO: AFP
Chalmers will focus instead on the 100m free, an event where he won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics as an 18-year-old and claimed silver in Tokyo in 2021.
He took a mental health break in 2022 and now works two days a week on a building site in addition to his training.
The 24-year-old said on Friday: “I’m having a lot of fun in the pool but having a lot more fun out of the pool, which is, I think, massively contributing to my success in the pool this year.
“It’s made me really enjoy the sport again and probably refound my passion and reason why I’m doing it.
“I’ve been so excited, so energised, I feel like I’m a 17-year-old kid again rocking up to race, I think that showed in my first 50m of the race which probably took away from my back end a little bit.”
He won the 100m free on Friday in 47.44sec – his best is 47.08sec – and believes he can better his silver from the 2019 world championships at the Fukuoka edition starting on July 23.
Shayna Jack (right) after winning the women’s 50m freestyle swimming final during the 2023 Australian World Championship Trials in Melbourne on June 18.
PHOTO: AFP
On Sunday, Jenna Forrester won the women’s 400m individual medley in 4min 34.89sec to make the plane in a race missing Kaylee McKeown, who is focusing on the 200 IM and backstroke events. Brendon Smith also qualified with a 4:10.64 swim in the men’s version.
Lani Pallister, who had already qualified in both the 400m and 800m free, added the 1,500m to her world championships programme with a 15:56.31 effort. Second-placed Moesha Johnson (16:03.02) also made the grade. AFP
