2024 Australian Olympic Trials Previews: Young Guns In Position

2024 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

• June 10-15, 2024
• Brisbane Aquatic Center – Brisbane, Australia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Swimming Australian Olympic Nomination Criteria
• Meet Central
• Updated Psych Sheet
• Heat Sheets
• Live Results

With the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials on the horizon, we’re looking at the different dynamics about to unfold at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre beginning on June 10th.

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 Veterans
• The Holes
• The Young Guns – Likely to Qualify
• The Young Guns – Flying Under the Radar
• The Battles

Australia has a burgeoning group of youngsters who head into the Trials with plenty of momentum. Some are favored to qualify for the Games, while others, though they are on the outside looking in, have the potential to orchestrate an upset.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the 20 and under athletes who are in position to qualify for their first Olympic team.

As a Tokyo Olympian, Isaac Cooper didn’t qualify to be featured here, though the 20-year-old is favored to make his way to Paris as the top seed in the men’s 100 back and the #2 seed in the 50 free.

Elizabeth Dekkers, 20

Dekkers has established herself as one of the world’s best in the 200 fly over the last few years, winning the Commonwealth Games title in 2022 and following up by snagging silver at the 2023 World Championships.

Most recently, she set a personal best time and new All Comers Record of 2:05.20 at the Australian Open Championships in April, inching past her previous best of 2:05.26 set in 2023.

Dekkers, who turned 20 last month, is the big favorite in the women’s 200 fly at the Trials after all of her international success since Tokyo. As a warmup, she should also feature in the final of the 100 fly, though her work will be cut out for her to qualify for the team as the 5th seed (not including Japan’s Rikako Ikee) with a best time (58.26) more than a second back of the qualifying standard (57.17).

Abbey Connor, 19

Although she figures to have a battle on her hands with veteran Brianna Throssell, Connor is the frontrunner to snag the second spot in the women’s 200 fly behind Dekkers, having set a lifetime best of 2:06.59 at the New South Wales State Open Championships in March.

That performance was followed up by a 2:07.20 clocking at the Australian Open Championships the following month, both swims under the AQT of 2:07.72.

A spot on the Olympic team would be a massive turnaround for the USC Spartans-trained swimmer, who signaled her intention to retire at the age of 17 in April 2023.

Connor will also be a threat to make the ‘A’ final in the 200 free and 100 fly in Brisbane.

Jenna Forrester, 20

With Kaylee McKeown opting not to contest the 400 IM at the Olympics despite being one of the fastest swimmers in history, Forrester takes over as Australia’s main medal hopeful in Paris.

Forrester, who will turn 21 towards the end of the Trials, broke through in a big way in 2023, roaring to bronze at the World Championships in Fukuoka in a personal best time of 4:32.30.

She also qualified to represent Australia at the 2023 Worlds in the 200 back and 200 IM, making the final of both races in Fukuoka and landing a 4th-place finish in the medley event.

The St. Peters Western swimmer is the leading candidate for the second spot behind McKeown at the Trials in the 200 IM (2:08.98 best time), and is also in the hunt in the 200 back and in the 200 free for a relay spot.

Iona Anderson, 18

It might be more appropriate for Anderson to be in the preview for the “flying under the radar” youngsters—not because she’s flying under the radar, but because she has a tough path to the Olympic team—but after what she’s done in recent months, she earns her spot here.

Anderson won silver medals in the 50 and 100 back at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, and captured a world title at the end of the meet when she led off the Australian women’s medley relay to gold.

She followed that up by clocking a lifetime best of 58.53 in the 100 back in May, a performance that firmly entrenches her into the mix for a spot on the Aussie Olympic team despite the presence of Mollie O’Callaghan on the psych sheets.

World record holder and defending champion McKeown is a slam-dunk to take the first roster spot in the event, and O’Callaghan will be hard to beat if she’s in the field as she owns an elite PB of 58.09. There’s a chance O’Callaghan opts out of the event, or withdraws from it at the Olympics after the Trials, as the semis of the 100 back fall during the same session as the 200 free final in Paris. O’Callaghan is the reigning world champion in the 200 free, so that event will be her priority.

As for Anderson, even if O’Callaghan is racing, she’s certainly got a chance to snag a top-two finish with her constant improvement. However, O’Callaghan’s new best time of 58.09 set in April is scintillating.

Representing the WA Breakers, Anderson is much stronger in the 100 back than she is in the 200, but she could still be in the mix to final with her best time of 2:11.40.

Jaclyn Barclay, 17

Barclay and Anderson form a dangerous 1-2 teenage punch for Australia in women’s backstroke, though the presence of McKeown makes it a tall order for either to comfortably make the Olympic team.

While Anderson’s strength is the 100 back, Barclay’s comes in the longer distance, as the 17-year-old won silver at the 2024 World Championships in the 200 in 2:07.03. That performance makes her the fifth-fastest swimmer in the world this year, trailing only McKeown, Regan Smith, Claire Curzan and Kylie Masse.

Despite being entered with a time (2:08.76) significantly slower than her PB, Barclay is still the #2 seed behind McKeown for the Aussie Trials. Barclay, who swims for St. Peters Western, has also been 59.28 in the 100 back, making her the #4 seed.

Max Giuliani, 20

Giuliani had a massive breakthrough swim last December in the men’s 200 free, clocking 1:44.79 to become the second-fastest Australian of all-time.

That swim came after he went 1:45.42 on the World Cup circuit in October, and in 2024, he’s been as fast as 1:46.70.

If the Miami Swim Club-trained Giuliani can be within a second of his best time in the 200 free he should be able to solidify an individual Olympic berth, with at least a relay spot in the cards even if he’s off form. He’s the top seed by more than seven-tenths with Elijah Winnington ranked 2nd at 1:45.53. The AQT sits at 1:45.97.

Giuliani should also feature in the battle for spots in the 100 free with his best time of 48.21.

Kai Taylor, 20

Taylor broke through by winning the men’s 200 free at the Aussie Trials in 2023, and set a new PB in Fukuoka in 1:45.79 leading off the Australian men’s 800 free relay that won bronze.

The 20-year-old has already broken 1:46 this year, clocking 1:45.89 in April to put his name in the hat for another individual berth in the 200 free, though the likes of Giuliani, Winnington, Flynn Southam and Thomas Neill will all be in the hunt.

Taylor also has a strong case that he’s a favorite for an individual spot in the 100 free after setting a PB of 48.01 at the 2024 World Championships.

Flynn Southam, 19

Southam has put together a decorated international resume since the Tokyo Olympics, winning three relay medals at the 2023 World Championships, five at the 2022 Short Course World Championships, and three (all gold) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The 19-year-old has long been heralded as Australia’s next great sprint freestyler, and that will be put to the test at the Olympic Trials where he’s favored to qualify for the Games—it just remains to be seen if he can earn an individual spot or if it’s only in the relays.

Southam has been as fast as 47.77 in the 100 free, which makes him the frontrunner for the #2 spot behind Kyle Chalmers. In the 200 free, he set a best time of 1:46.11 in April, so he’s trending in the right direction heading to Brisbane.

William Petric, 19

Petric doesn’t have the international resume that some of these other names do, but is a strong contender to land a berth in one or both of the men’s medley events.

The 19-year-old, who represents Nunawading, swam to lifetime bests of 1:58.05 in the 200 IM and 4:12.21 in the 400 IM at the Sydney Open in early May.

He’s the #2 seeded Australian in both races heading to Trials, though he’s only marginally under the AQT in the 400 IM (4:12.50) and will need to drop time to hit the 200 IM cut (1:57.23).