Australia coach keeps one eye on Olympics as he names swimming world c’ships squad
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FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Swimming - Men's 50m Freestyle Final - Paris La Defense Arena, Nanterre, France - August 02, 2024. Cameron McEvoy of Australia celebrates after winning gold REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo
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SYDNEY – Coach Rohan Taylor is confident Australia can challenge China and the United States for dominance in the pool, after selecting a team of youth and experience for July’s world swimming championships in Singapore.
Cameron McEvoy will be appearing at a record seventh world championships, after the 31-year-old booked his berth with a world-best swim of 21.30 seconds to win the 50 metres freestyle at the Australian swimming trials in Adelaide.
He will be joined by Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O'Callaghan and Kyle Chalmers as they look to reclaim their world titles after skipping the 2024 championships, while Isaac Cooper will attempt to retain the gold medal he won in Doha in the 50m breaststroke.
Thirty-four swimmers have been selected for the pool events, from July 27 to Aug 3, while six will compete in the open water disciplines from July 15 to 20 as the team begin their build-up to the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
“I am excited by what this team can do over the next four years,” Taylor said, as the squad was selected on June 14.
“This is the beginning of the third Olympic campaign I have been the head coach of, and this team has a strong nucleus in place.
“The end goal is LA, but to be great in LA, this very young team, which boasts 10 rookies, is going to learn what is needed on the global stage in Singapore.
“This is a very balanced programme that I know can challenge the very best swimmers in the world.
“We have to be purposeful about what we do, as we don’t have the abundance of numbers of the likes of the US and China.”
Sienna Toohey is the youngest member of the squad, the 16-year-old securing a spot for the first time after winning the women’s 100m breaststroke at the trials in a new personal best.
Four of the Australians who won the team gold in the open water category – Chelsea Gubecka, Moesha Johnson, Kyle Lee, Nick Sloman – have been selected alongside newcomers Tayla Martin and Thomas Raymond.
Meanwhile, Lani Pallister became only the third woman to swim under 15min 40sec in the 1,500m freestyle, joining American great Katie Ledecky and Dane Lottie Friis.
She hit the wall at the trials in 15:39.14, a new Commonwealth record.
“I was chasing No. 2 all the time. I was looking at the rankings, and Lottie Friis is one that stood for a long time, obviously, only behind Katie,” said Pallister.
“I fell apart with like 500 to go. I felt so sick. But I’m just really stoked with the week that I put together.”
Friis’ 15:38.88 was set in 2013. Ledecky owns all 23 fastest times ahead of that, including the world record of 15:20.48.
Pallister’s time capped a breakthrough meet for the 23-year-old, who shattered Ariarne Titmus’ 800m national record and went under four minutes for the first time in the 400m.
Ella Ramsay, 20, was another standout swimmer, booking a fourth event at the world championships by winning the 400m medley in 4:36.12 ahead of Jenna Forrester (4:36.19).
She also won the 200m medley and 200m breaststroke and finished second in the 100m breaststroke.
Ramsay was at the Paris Olympics and part of Australia’s silver-medal winning 4x100m medley relay team.
She came fifth in the 400m medley but a bout of Covid-19 derailed her 200m medley campaign.
She joins O’Callaghan (50-100m backstroke and 100-200m freestyle) as the only swimmers to qualify for four individual events.
O’Callaghan missed out on making a fifth when she finished fourth in the 50m freestyle, won by Olympic silver medallist Meg Harris in 24.17.
Harris is a serious gold medal prospect with Swedish world record holder Sarah Sjostrom, who beat her to the Paris Olympic title, pregnant and not racing this year.
“That’s what I was training for,” Harris said.
“I found a new way to motivate myself this year, and I found a new appreciation for the sport.”
Olympic 400m medley bronze medallist Brendon Smith punched his ticket with a 4:12.81 swim ahead of Will Petric (4:13.23), who also qualified.
A rejuvenated Chalmers, 26, will take on three events in Singapore after touching first in 22.89 in the 50m butterfly.
Paris Olympic 50m freestyle champion McEvoy was disqualified after coming second. REUTERS, AFP
