2025 Australian Open Day 2 Prelims: O’Callaghan and McKeown Set For 100 Back Showdown

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 Live Recap

Day 2 of the Australian Open saw another packed prelims session. This morning’s lineup consisted of the women’s 400 IM, men’s 200 free, women’s 10 backstroke, women’s 50 free, men’s 200 breaststroke, women’s 200 fly, men’s 50 backstroke and women’s 100 breaststroke.

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.

Having taken the top two spots in the 200 IM final last night, Ella Ramsay and Tara Kinder led the way in the 400 IM heats as the only swimmers under 4:50. Ramsay took the top spot in 4:45.46, exactly nine seconds slower than her best of 4:36.46 from Australian trials last year.

Kinder was only six seconds of her PB of 4:42.59 from just last month with a time of 4:48.21, but showcased her speed on the breaststroke, splitting 42.34-38.91

World bronze medalist from 2023, Jenna Forrester, captured third with a time of 4:50, just off her season best of 4:47.49. Forrester took ninth last year in Paris, but holds a best of 4:32.30 from those worlds in 2023.

The men’s 200 freestyle saw plenty of big guns in the top-ten, led by Flynn Southam. The Bond 19-year-old swam 1:47.64, just 1.53 seconds off his PB, with splits of 51.57-56.07. New Zealander Lewis Clareburt, world champion in the 400 IM from Doha last year, held down second spot in 1:48.25.

Edward Somerville and Elijah Winnington were third and fourth in 1:48.42 and 1:48.68, with Winnington returning after winning last night’s 400 freestyle in a season best 3:45.97.

Maximilian Giuliano, the second-fastest Australian in history with his PB of 1:44.79, was sixth with a 1:48.89, just ahead of Junior Pan Pacs medalist Marcus da Silva. in 1:48.93

After his Italian Record in the 200 backstroke last night, Thomas Ceccon returned to the pool to to finish ninth here in 1:49.71. Of note, Ceccon has dispensation from the Italian Swimming Federation to use this event as his qualifying meet for the Singapore World Championships, and may be looking to add his name to the Italian 4×200 relay lineup. He holds a PB of 1:46.52 from 2023.

Despite the presence of Olympic Champion Kaylee McKeown and 57-point swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan in the 100 abckstroke, it was in fact St Peters West’s Hannah Fredericks that took lane 4 from tonight as no swimmer broke the minute barrier. Fredericks was 1:00.42 to miss her PB by just under a second.

O’Callaghan and McKeown were close behind in 1:00.48 and 1:00.60 respectively. After a speedy 2:08.58 in prelims in the 200 IM yesterday, McKeown likely has much more in store tonight. She holds the Australian record in 57.33, and is the second fastest swimmer in history behind Regan Smith’s 57.13 from US Olympic Trials last year.

Jaclyn Barclay lurks dangerously in fifth, with a 1:01.60 from this morning, off her best of 59.28.

Meg Harris was the only swimmer under 25 in the women’s 50 freestyle this morning as she led a 1-2 with fellow Olympian Shayna Jack. Harris was 24.85, just under a second off her best of 23.97 from Paris, with Jack also roughly a second off her best in 25.08.

 After setting a best time last night in the 100, Alexandria Perkins was just a tenth away in the heats of the 50 with a 25.14. The bronze medalist in the 100 fly at Short Course Worlds in Budapest last year, Perkins had best times in both the short course 50 and 100 freestyles in September and will look to dip under 25 tonight.

Japanese swimmers Rikako Ikee and Ai Soma took fourth and sixth in 25.17 and 25.28. That was a new PB for Soma, clipping her best of 25.30 from last March.

O’Callaghan swam a back-to-back this morning as she took fifth here in 25.28.

The 2023 World Junior gold and silver medalists, Olivia Wunsch and Milla Jansen, both scratched, after doing so in the 100 yesterday as well.

Joshua Collett led the 200 breaststroke heats in 2:15.33, as the top seven were separated by less than a second. His PB stands at 2:10.78 so he has plenty of time to drop, which may be required with Australian Olympic finalist Joshua Yong lurking as the third seed after going 2:15.90. Yong’s best is 2:08.08

New Zealand’s Josh Gilbert split the two after going 2:15.40, three seconds off his New Zealand record of 2:12.43. William Petric was fifth in a time of 2:15.99, and after a big 200 backstroke PB yesterday will look to challenge for top spot.

Former 200 breast world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook was a no-show in the event after not swimming 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.