2025 Australian Open Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2025 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, April 21st – Thursday, April 24th
• Prelims at 10am local (8pm ET night before)/Finals at 6pm local (4am ET)
• Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Queensland, Australia
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview
• Initial Entries
• Start List
• Live Results
• Livestream
• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap

The second finals session of the 2025 Australian Swimming Championships is about to commence in Brisbane, with many of the nation’s top swimmers set to compete.

Tonight’s lineup features the women’s 400 IM, men’s 200 freestyle, women’s 100 backstroke, women’s 50 freestyle, men’s 200 breaststroke, women’s 200 butterfly, men’s 50 backstroke, women’s 100 breaststroke, and men’s 1500 freestyle.

As a reminder, this is not the Australian selection meet for the 2025 World Championships. Most swimmers are using this competition as a tune-up for the World Championship Trials, which are set for June 9–14 in Adelaide.

Follow along for live updates below.

WOMEN’S 400 IM — FINAL

• World Record: 4:24.38, Summer McIntosh (2024)
• Australian Record: 4:28.22, Kaylee McKeown (2024)
• Commonwealth Record: 4:24.38, Summer McIntosh (2024)

GOLD – Tara Kinder, 4:37.14
SILVER – Ella Ramsay, 4:41.27
BRONZE – Jenna Forrester, 4:45.70

Melbourne Vicentre’s Tara Kinder posted a massive career-best to win the women’s 400 IM, stopping the clock at 4:37.14. She smashed her previous best of 4:42.59, breaking the 4:40 barrier for the first time.

Kinder showcased improvements across all four strokes. See a full splits comparison between her two fastest-ever performances below.

Splits Comparison:

There were clear signs from Kinder in last night’s 200 IM that a strong 400 was within reach, as she outsplit Ella Ramsay by more than a full second on the free leg, 30.73 to 31.97. Kinder will swim the 100 breast later in this session to complete a tough double. In the 200 IM, the 21-year-old recorded a new personal best for silver, stopping the clock at 2:11.29, narrowly edging out her career record of 2:11.39.

Meanwhile, after winning the 200 IM last night in 2:10.05, 20-year-old Ramsay couldn’t complete the IM sweep, settling for silver in the 400. She clocked in at 4:41.27, far off her lifetime best of 4:36.56 from last June’s Olympic Trials, where she took home the victory.

Ramsay mentioned in her post-race interview yesterday that she’s heading to a training camp in Dubai with her Griffith University training squad, with her main focus being the World Championship Trials in early June.

She had the meet of her life at the 2024 Olympic Trials, capturing two additional titles—the 200 breast and another event. She chose to focus on the 200m and up distances for Paris, making the Olympic finals in both IM events, with her highest finish being 5th in the 400.

2023 World Championships silver medalist in the 400 IM and 4th-place finisher in the 200 IM, Jenna Forrester, rounded out the top three with a time of 4:45.70. The 21-year-old has been as quick as 4:32.30 in her young career.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 1:42.00, Paul Biedermann (2009)
• Australian Record: 1:44.06, Ian Thorpe (2001)
• Commonwealth Record: 1:44.06, Ian Thorpe (2001)

GOLD – Maximillian Giuliani, 1:47.03
SILVER – Edward Sommerville, 1:47.87 
BRONZE – Lewis Clareburt, 1:47.95

21-year-old Maximillian Giuliani was the fastest man in the 200 free this evening, notching a time of 1:47.03 to claim gold. The Richard Scarce-trained swimmer opened in 52.34 through the first 100 before closing in 54.69, with his final three 50s displaying consistency: 27.18, 27.12, and 27.57.

Giuliani’s winning effort came just shy of his season best, a 1:46.89 from the Pro Swim Series stop in Sacramento during the first week of April.

He owns a lifetime best of 1:44.79 from late 2023 and placed 7th in Paris last summer, where he clocked 1:45.57 in the final. He also helped Australia earn bronze in the 4×200 free relay at the Games, leading off the final with a 1:45.99 split.

Speaking about the final stretch of the race, Giuliani said it took everything he had to hang on. “Very painful. The piano dropped on me in the last 25 big time. That last stroke was my last stroke, and I don’t think I could have taken another one,” he said. “I thought those boys might get to me over that last 25 but I managed to hold ’em there.”

Reflecting on his strategy, he continued, “I mean, Rich wanted me to get after it tonight. I’m not sure if that first 100 was any good or not, but I mean building that third 50 and then giving everything I had left on that last 50, which wasn’t much, but I mean to come away with a win, the time was pretty average, but I mean, it’s a win, so I can’t complain.”

Giuliani added that he’s looking forward to a consistent stretch of training at home after a long trip abroad. “I’m really excited to be in Australia for a good block of time. We’ve just been in America for a month and a bit doing altitude and racing, and to be back home for a solid period of time now and getting through the good part of the season—the pace and all the fast stuff—I’m really excited to see what I can do come Trials.”

20-year-old Edward Sommerville clocked a new personal best of 1:47.87 to secure runner-up honors, while New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt narrowly missed his own lifetime mark of 1:47.18, finishing 3rd with a time of 1:47.95.

Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, who is training with St. Peters Western and coach Dean Boxall, settled for 4th with a time of 1:47.97. This was well off his career best of 1:46.52, despite having broken the Italian 200 back record just the last night. 400 free winner Elijah Winnington placed 5th in 1:48.18, shy of his best of 1:45.53.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK – FINAL

• World Record: 57.13, Regan Smith (2024)
• Australian Record: 57.33, Kaylee McKeown (2023 & 2024)
• Commonwealth Record: 57.33, Kaylee McKeown (2023 & 2024)

GOLD – Kaylee McKeown, 57.65
SILVER – Mollie O’Callaghan, 59.23
BRONZE – Hannah Fredericks, 1:00.41

Griffith’s Kaylee McKeown put on a show in the women’s 100 back final, opening in 28.29 through the first 50 before finishing strong with a swift 29.36 on the backhalf. This allowed her to overtake her own world-leading time of 57.73 from last month by a few hundredths.

Notably, McKeown’s time tonight would have won the Olympic title in Paris, where she took gold in 57.33. Team USA’s Regan Smith, who broke the world record at the U.S. Trials with a time of 57.13, posted a 57.66 in the Olympic final to take silver.

When asked about her time, McKeown said, “It’s good. You know, you’ve got to be realistic. And, you know, this time of year, people are just gearing up for trials and then onto Worlds.”

Reflecting on her downtime after the 2024 season, McKeown was asked what the most fun thing she did during her break was. She replied, “I think just being with family and friends. We take it for granted. They supported me through a lot, so it was just nice to spend time with them and actually be a normal human for once.”

When asked if she’s feeling refreshed after the Olympic year, she added, “Look, it’s been hard getting back in. I’m not going to beat around the bush. It’s really hard to go from such a high level back down to rock bottom. But, you know, I believe that it builds character and makes you stronger. So LA’s [the 2028 Olympics] looking good.”

The rest of the field tonight was fairly divided, with St. Peters’ Mollie O’Callaghan being the only other swimmer to break the 1-minute barrier, clocking 59.23. Her training mate, Hannah Fredericks, was the only other competitor under 1:01, finishing in 1:00.41.

O’Callaghan, who has posted a personal best of 57.88 in the 100 back, won the 100 free last night with the second-fastest time in the world this season, despite facing some training interruptions due to a lingering knee injury.

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: Sarah Sjostrom, 23.61 (2023)
• Australian Record: Cate Campbell, 23.78 (2018)
• Commonwealth Record: Cate Campbell, 23.78 (2018)

GOLD – Meg Harris, 24.57
SILVER – Alexandria Perkins, 25.00
BRONZE – Mollie O’Callaghan, 25.01

Only Meg Harris, trained by Damien Jones, was able to dip under 25 seconds in the women’s 50 free final, clocking 24.57 to take the gold medal. She surpassed her previous season best of 24.63 from the Pro Swim Series in Westmont this past March.

Harris won the silver medal in this event in Paris last July, with her current lifetime best of 23.97. The Rackley star also has two Olympic gold medals to her name, thanks to her contributions to the 4×100 free relay in both 2020 and 2024.

Butterfly specialist Alexandria Perkins touched the wall 2nd with a personal best of 25.00, following up on her 100 free best time of 54.21 from last night, where she earned the bronze medal. She edged out her previous best of 25.02 from last June’s Olympic Trials.

Mollie O’Callaghan followed up just minutes after placing 2nd in the 100 back, securing another podium finish in 25.01, nearly cracking the 25-second barrier as well. Her lifetime best of 24.49 was set at the Olympic Trials last June.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record – 2:05.48, Qin Haiyang (2023)
• Australian Record – 2:05.95, Zac Stubblety-Cook (2022)
• Commonwealth Record – 2:05.95, Zac Stubblety-Cook (2022)

GOLD – Bailey Lello, 2:11.90
SILVER – Joshua Collett, 2:12.56
BRONZE – William Petric, 2:14.14

St. Peters’ Bailey Lello, after nabbing silver in yesterday’s 100 breast, stepped up to take the win in tonight’s 200. He logged a time of 2:11.90 to win by 0.66, just about a second shy of his fastest-ever mark of 2:10.65. The 21-year-old opened strong with a 100 split of 1:03.91 before powering home with closing 50s of 33.92 and 34.07.

On his thoughts about the swim, he said, “I’m stoked. The plan was to go out pretty solid on the first [100] and see what I had on the back end, so pretty stoked with that.”

Asked about swimming in the pool where he works every day, he shared, “I spend quite a bit of time next to the pool. It was great last week to be able to watch Age Nationals and stuff. Watching the juniors—I can gain a bit of information on what they do right and what they do wrong, and then put it together this week.”

Looking ahead, he added, “Totally. We’ve got a few more weeks till Trials, so head down till then.”

Bond’s Joshua Collett finished 2nd tonight in 2:12.58, while William Petric, coached by Dean Boxall, touched 3rd in 2:14.14.

Notably, Joshua Yong—who represented Australia in both breast distances at the Paris Olympics—finished last in the ‘A’ final with a time of 2:20.26, well off his lifetime best of 2:08.08.

Former 200 breast world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook was a no-show once again during prelims, after also opting out of the 100 yesterday. He recently changed training bases, leaving Chandler and coach Vince Raleigh to train at Griffith University under their new coach, Mel Marshall, who has guided British sprint breaststroke legend Adam Peaty to multiple world records.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Record – 2:01.81, Liu Zige, China (2009)
• Australian Record – 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper (2009)
• Commonwealth Record – 2:03.03, Summer McIntosh (2024)

GOLD – Brittany Castelluzzo, 2:06.86
SILVER – Abbey Connor, 2:08.79
BRONZE – Jessica Cole, 2:11.94

24-year-old Brittany Castelluzzo popped a new lifetime best of 2:06.86 to claim the women’s 200 fly title. She opened stronger than usual, splitting 27.94 and 31.91 to reach the 100 wall in a sub-minute 59.85. Castelluzzo then closed in 33.10 and 33.91 over the final two 50s, eclipsing her previous best of 2:07.37 by just over half a second.

Asked whether the 200 fly found her or if she found it, Casteluzzo laughed: “Yeah, it found me unfortunately. I tried not to do butterfly for as long as I could when I was younger, but my coach saw I was good at it. It’s a love-hate relationship, you know?”

“We’ve been working on taking the first 100 out a bit more, so it definitely stung a bit on that last 50,” she added.

On being equally strong in both the 200 free—where she owns a best time of 1:56.77—and the 200 fly, she said: “Yeah, the 200 free still really, really hurts, and so does the 200 fly, so it just depends on the day.”

She continued, “It’s always nice to do PBs in season. I still have a lot of work to do before Trials, but it’s great to see that kind of swim in season.”

20-year-old Abbey Connor, who placed 7th in Paris, notched a time of 2:08.79 to take 2nd as the only other swimmer under the 2:11 barrier. The USC Spartan owns a lifetime best of 2:06.43 in this event and will be one of the top contenders—alongside Lizzy Dekkers, Bella Grant, and Casteluzzo—when the World Trials kick off in just over a month.

Rounding out the podium was 18-year-old Jessica Cole, who posted a 2:11.94 for 3rd.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE — FINAL

• World Record: 23.55, Kliment Kolesnikov (2023)
• Australian Record: 24.12, Isaac Cooper (2024)
• Commonwealth Record: 24.04, Liam Tancock (2009)

GOLD – Isaac Cooper, 24.80
SILVER – Enoch Robb, 25.39
BRONZE – Kalani Ireland, 25.56

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE — FINAL

• World Record: 1:04.13, Lilly King (2017)
• Australian Record: 1:05.09, Leisel Jones (2006)
• Commonwealth Record: 1:04.82, Tatjana Schoenmaker (2021)

GOLD – Ella Ramsay, 1:07.80
SILVER – Tara Kinder, 1:08.20
BRONZE – Sienna Harben, 1:08.45

After Tara Kinder got the best of her in the 400 IM to open the night, Ella Ramsay fought back to claim her second win of the meet in the 100 breast. Ramsay touched the wall in 1:07.80, the only swimmer to break the 1:08 barrier. She split 31.93/35.87 en route to doing so, just over a second shy of her lifetime best of 1:06.87.

Asked about how she was feeling after two events on the night, Ramsay said, “I’m pretty knackered after the 400 IM, but I wanted to give a good hit out here and see what I had.”

When asked if she was happy with the backend of her double, she replied, “Yeah, definitely. I was pretty disappointed after the 400 IM, but I wanted to rest and reset, going into the 100 breast without any emotions from the 400 IM. I’m excited to go into trials and try to better all of my swims.”

Kinder reached the wall in 1:08.20, less than a second off her lifetime best of 1:07.42.

21-year-old Bond representative Sienna Harben finished 3rd with a time of 1:08.45. Harben narrowly missed her best time of 1:08.39 and was also just shy of her 1:08.41 morning marker. She was the runner-up in the 50 breast last night, posting a personal record of 31.27.

MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE — FINAL

• World Record: 14:30.67, Bobby Finke (2024)
• Australian Record: 14:34.56, Grant Hackett (2001)
• Commonwealth Record: 14:34.56, Grant Hackett (2001)

GOLD – 
SILVER – 
BRONZE –