2024 Australian Olympic Trials Previews: The Locks

2024 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

• June 10-15, 2024
• Brisbane Aquatic Center – Brisbane, Australia
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With Australia’s Olympic Trials coming up in just a few weeks, the countdown is on to see who will qualify to represent the green and gold in Paris. The Trials will take place June 10-15 at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.

To qualify for the Olympic Games, swimmers must be under the qualifying standard set by Swimming Australia and place inside the top two of their event at the Trials (outside of the 100 and 200 free, where up to the top six can be named). The qualifying times put in place by Swimming Australia are faster than the Olympic qualifying times published by World Aquatics.

Rather than previewing the meet by event, we’ve opted to focus more on the storylines for the Australian Trials, with the following articles to come:

• The Locks
• The Young Guns – Likely To Qualify
• The Young Guns – Flying Under The Radar
• The Battles
• The Holes
• The Veterans

First up, the locks.

There are few guarantees when it comes to qualifying for the Olympics, and there is always room for a surprise upset, but below are a few of the top Australian swimmers who are practically shoo-ins to make the Olympics this year.

McKeown A Slam Dunk In Backstrokes, 200 IM

Kaylee McKeown has been dominating the backstroke races since she first broke onto the international scene in 2017 and is now poised to qualify for her second Olympics in the two events.

The 22-year-old made her Olympic debut in 2021 at the Tokyo Games, where she brought home three gold medals and one bronze medal. McKeown was the Olympic champion in both the 100 and 200 backstroke and will likely look to repeat those results this summer.

She currently holds the world record for both backstroke events; she set the world record in the 200 backstroke in 2023 and first broke the 100 backstroke world record in 2021 at the Australian Swimming Trials before lowering it in 2023.

As the fastest backstroker in the world, McKeown is easily the top contender in both distances heading into the Olympic Trials. She has also topped the Australian leaderboard in the 200 IM since 2022 and posted the fastest time in the country this year with a time of 2:06.99 in mid-April, giving her a significant edge in that race as well.

All three events are in her Trials lineup; she is also entered in the 100 and 200 free, which could lead to a relay spot depending on how the results pan out.

2024 Australian Rankings, Women’s 100 Backstroke (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 59.62

1. Kaylee McKeown – 57.57
2. Mollie O’Callaghan – 58.09
3. Iona Anderson – 59.12
4. Jaclyn Barclay – 59.28
5. Hannah Fredericks – 59.69

2024 Australian Rankings, Women’s 200 Backstroke (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 2:09.74

1. Kaylee McKeown – 2:03.84
2. Jaclyn Barclay – 2:07.03
3. Hannah Fredericks – 2:08.92
4. Iona Anderson – 2:11.40
5. Bella Grant – 2:11.73

Titmus Gearing Up To Defend Olympic Title

Ariarne Titmus established herself as a veritable star when she won gold in the 200 and 400 freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, defeating Katie Ledecky and making herself a name to remember in the process. She also took home a silver in the 800 free, proving her versatility in the freestyle distances.

Titmus is now the fastest woman in the world in the 400 free; she broke the world record at the 2023 World Championships in Japan with a time of 3:55.38. In addition to her world record, Titmus holds the Australian record in the 800 free (8:13.59), which she set in 2022.

Among Australian swimmers, Titmus has posted the fastest times this season in both the 400 and 800 free, making her the top contender heading into the Australian Swimming Trials. She is also the second fastest Australian woman in the 200 free, less than .2 behind world record holder Mollie O’Callaghan.

There do not appear to be any surprises in her trials lineup, as Titmus is entered in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 free. Given that she is the 7th seed in the 100, that is likely to be the toughest event for her to qualify in, but there is still the possibility of her being selected for relays even if she is not one of the top two finishers in the 100.

2024 Australian Rankings, Women’s 400 Freestyle (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 4:04.98

1. Ariarne Titmus – 3:59.13
2. Lani Pallister – 4:01.75
3. Kiah Melverton – 4:06.94
4. Jamie Perkins – 4:08.55
5. Madeleine Gough – 4:13.02

2024 Australian Rankings, Women’s 800 Freestyle (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 8:22.20

1. Ariarne Titmus – 8:17.80
2. Lani Pallister – 8:19.23
3. Kiah Melverton – 8:26.63
4. Jamie Perkins – 8:31.83
5. Madeleine Gough – 8:34.81

Chalmers Poised For Third Olympic Games

Two-time Olympian Kyle Chalmers is a force to be reckoned with in the 100 freestyle. Chalmers won gold in the event in Rio, becoming just the fourth Australian man to win the 100 free title and the first to do so since 1968.

Despite battling injuries and undergoing multiple surgeries ahead of the Tokyo Games, Chalmers won both the 100 and 200 free at the Australian Swimming Trials before going on to win silver at the Olympics itself.

Since then, Chalmers has continued to dominate the 100 free and rack up his medal count. At the 2022 Budapest World Championships, he helped Australia win gold in the mixed 400 free relay and bronze in the men’s 400 free relay. A few weeks later, he won the 100 free at the Commonwealth Games in addition to bringing home three golds and one silver in the relays.

Chalmers is the third fastest Australian ever in the 100 free and for the last six years has been at the top of the Australian leaderboard in the event. So far this year he has been the only Australian male to swim under 48 seconds in the 100, making him almost guaranteed to qualify for Paris in the event.

Chalmers is sticking with the sprint events this time around and has opted for the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly instead of the 200 free at Trials. He is the 3rd seed in the 100 fly and the 4th seed in the 50 free, making both races ones to watch during the competition.

2024 Australian Rankings, Men’s 100 Freestyle (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 48.06

1. Kyle Chalmers – 47.63
2. Kai Taylor – 48.01
3. William Xu Yang – 48.20
4. Jamie Jack – 48.76
5. Jack Cartwright – 48.80

O’Callaghan Locked In For 100 & 200 Free

O’Callaghan has already etched her name into Australian swimming history, but it is more than likely that she will make even bigger waves at the Olympics in Paris this summer.

O’Callaghan made her Olympic debut in 2021, helping Australia to win two gold medals and one bronze medal in the relays in Tokyo, but her biggest individual achievements have come in the competitions since then.

In 2022, O’Callaghan became the world champion in the 100 freestyle in Budapest before going on to win the same event at the Commonwealth Games shortly after. Then 18 years old, she was just the fifth Australian woman to win the World Championships and Commonwealth 100 free double.

While her personal best times makes the 20-year-old the third fastest Australian woman ever in the 100 free, she has topped the national ranking in the event for the last three years. She has consistently defeated some of the top swimmers in the world, even Australia’s most decorated Olympian Emma McKeon, in competitions and is one of the obvious locks heading into Olympic trials.

Aside from dominating the 100, O’Callaghan has also posted the fastest time in the 200 free for the last two years among Australian swimmers and stands well ahead of the field this season, making her and Titmus the top contenders to snag the top spots in the event at trials.

O’Callaghan’s Trials lineup includes the 50, 100 and 200 free and the 100 back. Her appearance in the 100 back promises an exciting race, as there is a strong chance of her going sub-58 for the first time (her current best is 58.09).

2024 Australian Rankings, Women’s 100 Freestyle (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 53.61

1. Mollie O’Callaghan – 52.27
2. Meg Harris – 52.59
3. Shayna Jack – 52.83
4. Emma McKeon – 53.09
5. Bronte Campbell – 53.50

2024 Australian Rankings, Women’s 200 Freestyle (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 1:56.49

1. Mollie O’Callaghan – 1:53.57
2. Ariarne Titmus – 1:55.38
3. Lani Pallister – 1:55.92
4. Brianna Throssel – 1:56.00
5. Kaylee McKeown – 1:56.06

Stubblety-Cook Remains The Favorite In 200 Breaststroke

Defending Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook is Australia’s top 200 breaststroker and is unquestionably the favorite in the event heading into the Australian Trials.

Stubblety-Cook has dominated the event since 2021, when he first became a national champion in both the 100 and 200 breast at the Australian National Championships. He went on to take the top spot in the 200 breast at the Olympic Trials that year, where he also set new National and Commonwealth records in the event.

In 2022, Stubblety-Cook broke the world record in the 200 breast in 2:05.95, becoming the first swimmer in history to eclipse the 2:06 barrier. He held the world record until July 2023, when it was broken by China’s Qin Haiyang, but he’s still #2 all-time and a gold medal contender for Paris.

As the defending Australian Champion in the 200 breast, Stubblety-Cook has consistently topped the national rankings for the last couple of seasons and is highly favored to come out on top at Trials.

Focusing purely on breaststroke, Stubblety-Cook is only entered in the 100 and 200 breast at Trials and is the top seed in both events.

2024 Australian Rankings, Men’s 200 Breaststroke (LCM)

• Australian Olympic Qualifying Time: 2:09.50

1. Zac Stubblety-Cook – 2:07.50
2. Joshua Yong – 2:08.54
3. Matthew Wilson – 2:09.87
4. Bailey Lello – 2:10.95
5. William Petric – 2:12.67