2024 New South Wales Country Championships
- February 16th-18th, 2024
- Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
- Long Course Meters (50 meters), Timed Finals
- Meet Results
With injuries to Australia’s top breaststrokers Chelsea Hodges, Abbey Harkin, and Jenna Strauch, the Dolphins are digging deep into their bench to look for backup options to fill that leg of their otherwise gold-medal-worthy women’s medley relay.
14-year-old Sienna Toohey continues to bully her way into that conversation, and last week made a statement by swimming a 1:08.39 in the 100 breaststroke at the New South Wales Country Championships in Sydney. Her previous best was a 1:08.98 from August.
That makes her the second-fastest Australia ever at that age, just .09 seconds behind the legendary Leisel Jones, who swam 1:08.30 in April 2000. Just five months later, Jones dropped that to a 1:07.49 to take Olympic silver in the 100 breaststroke, and the rest was history.
Toohey, who is now about the same distance away from the 2024 Olympic Games, is on a similar trajectory, though Australia will need more than an eight-tenths drop for her to have the necessary impact their Olympic gold medal chances.
She now becomes the second-fastest Australia this calendar year, surpassing Harkin’s 1:09.01 from the World Championships. The leader, Kaylee McKeown, who swam 1:07.01 in Melbourne on Friday, also happens to be the world’s best backstroker at the moment.
Hodges was 1:09.38 in her last outing in October, and Strauch was 1:07.30 in her last outing in December.
What luck we have that breast is already our weakest stroke AND our 3 top breaststrokers all get injured.
I’m hoping Hodges can pull it together. If not, Strauch is looking good for a 1:06 mid-high flat start, so hopefully at least a 1:06 flat-low split would be good. If everything else goes perfectly that could be enough to win the medley relay.
McKeown: 57.60
Strauch: 1:06.10
McKeon: 55.80
MOC/Jack: 51.60
=3:51.10, second fastest after the WR
Although USA can beat that by quite a bit if everything goes perfectly for them.
I think Toohey might be a little too undercooked. If Olympics were next year she’d be in the mix. But the B cut… Read more »
I don’t think they’re going to run out of relay-only spots…I only count 4 for Worlds in 2023. Because their free relays (especially women’s) are loaded with swimmers who also swim other strokes, that helps reduce the number of relay-only swimmers a lot.
I agree they won’t run out of spots, but it’s whether they want to allocate a spot to a non-freestyler. I’m not aware of a relay only spot ever being given to a non-freestyler before, especially being so far off the qualifying standard, but I could be wrong.
It also comes down to the Kaylee breast issue: With Harkin, even if she drops a 1:07 low-mid, it’s still better to keep Kaylee on back. But if we’re looking at a 1:08 breast split, it suddenly makes a lot more sense to get a 58low-mid with Mollie and a 1:06 low-mid with Kaylee, than a 57 mid-high with Kaylee and a 1:08 low with Sienna.
Somewhat irrelevant but if we look at Mollie’s drops in freestyle from trials to worlds in 2023, she should realistically be capable of a 57.9-58.0 in the 100 back.
Edit: which is kind of around what Kaylee is usually capable of on the relay.
And lots of 100/200 swimmers that do both relays.
She went 31.53 in the 50 breast at the same meet which would be an age record if they tracked them officially.
Kids these days lol
Seems like she ages up next month I think but she still has a chance to break it before then either way toohey is in a position do do some things this year
I don’t think there are any suitable meets before she ages up where she can break the record.
NSW Open is 15-17 March; you may know better as to her birthday.
Listed as 14 on 10th of March 2023 results, assuming this is correct, would age up before this meet.
Hello, yes my birthday is on the 9th of March so I will be aging up, so that was my last shot. Now I just have to aim for the 15yrs girls record which is a 1:07:49, so new age, new goal.
💪
Thanks for the confirmation and a happy birthday in advance for next weekend.
Keep that positive attitude up it will take you places in life not just swimming.
🎩
Leisel Jones is one of the best breaststrokers in history. Being anywhere close to her trajectory means you’re on the right track!
One of the best replies I’ve ever seen.
Good luck & best wishes to you Sienna, way to go!!!!
1.06 flat start is our goal
You got this Sienna! Happy Birthday! Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, the results will come when you are enjoying it!
Thanks for your (unexpected but much appreciated) response. Best wishes and take care.
Oops! Replied to wrong post.