2025 Australian Swimming Trials – Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

2025 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• Monday, June 9th – Saturday, June 14th
• SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Oaklands Park, South Australia
• Prelims at 11am local (9:30pm ET night before)/Finals at 7:30pm local (6:00am ET) nights 1&2; 7pm local (5:30am ET) nights 3-6
• LCM (50m)
• Swimming Australia World Championships Selection Criteria
• Meet Central
• Livestream (VPN needed outside of Australia)
• Start List
• Heat Sheets
• Live Results

G’day Mates!!! Welcome to the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials. After the USA concluded their trials yesterday, and with Canada’s ongoing, it’s time we turned our attention Down Under. Australia will be looking to build a strong and well-rounded team to make the jaunt up north to Singapore for the Worlds.

The prelims session starts with the Women’s 100 butterfly.  With no Emma McKeon, the Australia’s will be looking for a new name to continue their strength in the event. Alexandria Perkins leads the field but with two other Aussies under the qualifying standard, expect the competition to be fierce as both Lily Price and Brittany Castelluzzo will be in the hunt for one of the two spots to Worlds. Japanese star Rikako Ikee makes another appearance in Australia and will be looking for some strong racing ahead of Worlds.

The women’s 200 IM, too, is affected by some absence as Kaylee McKeown has opted not to compete in the event, one in which she won the Olympic bronze medal last summer. Instead, the top spot will be held down by fellow Olympian Ella Ramsay. The 20-year-old made the Olympic final in the event but was forced to withdraw as she came down with COVID. Ramsay is the only entrant with a time under 2:10, but with the strong field assembled, the likes of Tara Kinder, Jenna Forrester, and Isabella Boyd may need to be under that mark to make the team,

The men’s 100 breaststroke is scheduled to dive into the pool after the 200 IM. AllComers record holder Samuel Williamson is absent but Joshua Yong and Zac Stubblety-Cook will be looking to vie for the title for a chance to swim on Australia’s medley relay. The pair are each entered under the SwimAustralia qualifying time but will need to make sure they are at the top of their game so as to stay under it tonight.

Canadian Trials kicked off with a bang as Summer McIntosh broke Ariarne Titmus‘s World Record in the 400 free. While Titmus is not swimming and therefore unable to try to take it back, the Aussie women’s legacy in the freestyle events is still be carried on as Lani Pallister, an Olympic Gold medalist, leads the field. Entered with a seed time of 4:01.75, Pallister will be in the hunt to join that elusive and exclusive sub-4:00 club. Jamie Perkins sits not too far behind at 4:03.30 and will look to join her fellow St Peters Western teammate in the middle of the pool tonight.

The men’s 400 free follows not too long after the women’s, but Australia will have both of their distance aces in the pool. Elijah Winnington and Samuel Short are separated by just .25 of a second in prelims. While the pair should comfortably make the final tonight, it will be interesting to see which one of them will want top billing in the final.

With the 50s of stroke being added to the Olympic schedule the Australians are now swimming these events with qualification on the line. Isaac Cooper is the only entrant on the men’s side under 25.00 but will need to be as sharp as ever as the self-imposed qualify time of 24.81 is just .01 off his entry time.

Not cutting it too close to the qualifying time is Kaylee McKeown. The world record holder in the event is entered in the event with a time of 27.06, well under the 27.74 time. So, too, is Mollie O’Callaghan, who is the 2nd seed at 27.16. The pair, two of Australia’s biggest stars, will look to make the final tonight as the top seeds.

Women’s 100 Butterfly – Prelims

• World Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)
• Australian Record: 55.72 – Emma McKeon, (2021)
• All-Comers Record: 55.93 – Emma McKeon, AUS (2021)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Emma McKeon – 56.85
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 57.90

Top 8

1. Alexandria Perkins (USCS) – 56.78
2. Lily Price (RACKL) – 57.78
3. Olivia Wunsch (CARL) – 58.50
4. Bella Grant (TRGR) – 58.54
5. Elizabeth Dekkers (STPET) – 58.65
6. Brittany Castelluzzo (TTG) – 58.67
7. Abbey Connot (USCS) – 58.79
8. Josephine Crimmins (SOMAQ) – 58.92

Swimming fast to slow, the first heat saw the top seed Alexandria Perkins go 56.78 to absolutely demolish the field. Entered with a time of 57.10 the performance was Perkins’s first time under the 57 barrier and will set her up nicely for tonight. Perkins placed 13th in the event at the Olympics but claimed a bronze medal at the 2024 Short Course Worlds in Budapest. Perkins was out quickly, hitting the wall in 26.55 and closing in 30.23. Taking 2nd behind Perkins was Bella Grant, who was nearly 2 seconds back at 58.54, but still fast enough to qualify 4th into the final tonight.

Heat 2 saw a no-show from Rikako Ikee, Japan’s sprinting star, but no matter as Olivia Wunsch and Elizabeth Dekkers, each with open water to one side of them, looked strong as they went 1-2, with the win going to the younger of the two, Wunsch. The 19-year-old, who won a relay gold in Paris, touched in 58.60 ahead of Dekkers. Dekkers is more known as a 200 flier, having won the silver medal in Fukuoka back in 2023. With the retirement of Emma McKeon and Brianna Throssell, Dekkers and Wunsch are in a prime to add another event.

The last of the circle seed heats was faster than the previous, as Lily Price‘s 57.78 took the win. Price, the third seed overall and second fastest Australian, placed 4th in this event last summer at the Olympic Trials with a time of 57.70 but has already bettered that this season, as she entered with a time of 57.64.

Men’s 200 Freestyle MC – Prelims

Jack Ireland 1:54.88 scored 909 points, the most of any swimmer in the field and was enough to book a ticket to Para Worlds for the S14 swimmer.

Heat 2’s Grant Scooter-Patterson, sporting a full beard, tied his 11-year-old S3 Australian record at 3:55.04.

Women’s 200 Freestyle MC – Prelims

Maddie McTernan took the first heat in a time of 2:14.43, scoring 749 points. She’ll need to drop some more time this evening as the Qualification time for the S14 classification sits at 2:10.41, but the two-time Paralympic medalist will likely be targeting the 100 free later on in the week.

Women’s 200 IM – Prelims

• World Record: 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2015)
• Australian Record: 2:06.63 – Kaylee McKeown, (2024)
• All-Comers Record: 2:06.63 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2024)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Kaylee McKeown – 2:06.63
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 2:11.96

Top 8

1. Ella Ramsey (GUSC) – 2:11.22
2. Jenna Forrester (STPET) – 2:13.48
3. Isabella Boyd (NUN) – 2:13.96
4. Kayla Hardy (CRUIZ) – 2:14.05
5. Tara Kinder (MVC) – 2:15.80
6. Amelie Smith (ROCKC) – 2:16.97
7. Piper Asquith (GUSC) -2:17.87
8. Lexi Harrison (MNLY) – 2:18.07

Ella Ramsay, who placed 2nd in this event at Trials last summer, was out first to the wall opening in 28.26 ahead of Isabella Boyd. Ramsay extended her lead to 1.5 seconds over Boyd and never looked back as the Griffith University-based swimmer cruised on the back half to take the win in 2:11.12, finishing 2.74 ahead of Boyd. Ramsay is now training under Mel Marshall, who was previously Adam Peaty’s coach. Ramsay, a strong breaststroker already, will be looking to add more events to her schedule as both Jenna Strauch and Chelsea Hodges have retired.

Kayla Hardy, the 5th seed, attacked the race and never let up as she led from start to finish and beat the #2 seed Tara Kinder by 1.75 seconds. The lead was around half a second at the 100, but Hardy out split Kinder by nearly a full second on the breaststroke leg to pull ahead and ultimately touch in 2:14.05, a new PB. Hardy finished 2nd in 2:15.80.

Jenna Forrester, a 2023 Worlds bronze medalist in the 400 IM put on a commanding performance to win the 3rd heat in 2:13.48. The third-place finisher last year at Trials, Forrester used a strong backstroke leg to gain control of the heat, and she never looked back. Jaime De Lutiis, the 6th seed overall, looked strong and touched in 2nd in the heat but was disqualified.

While Amelie Smith and Piper Asquith added a smidge to their seed times, the pair of teenagers, 16 and 17, respectively, were quick enough to earn a spot into the final this evening, going 2:16.97 and 2:17.87, placing 6th and 7th.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Prelims

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, GBR (2019)
• Australian Record: 58.58 – Brenton Rickard, (2009)
• All-Comers Record: 58.80 – Samuel Williamson, AUS (2024)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Samuel Williamson – 58.80
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 59.75

Top 8

1. Nash Wilkes (GUSC) – 1:00.37
2. Joshua Collett (BOND) – 1:00.84
3. Bailey Lello (STPET) – 1:01.04
4. Joshua Yong (UWSC) – 1:01.17
5. Zac Stubblety-Cook (GUSC) – 1:01.26
6. Haig Buckingham (GUSC) – 1:01.39
7. Joshua Anderson (BGRM) – 1:01.44
8. Calvin Reed (PROP) – 1:01.66

Heat 1 saw Bailey Lello pull a bit of an upset. He touched ahead of the top seed, Joshua Yong, going 1:01.04. Yong was not too far back at 1:01.17, and he should make it through tonight. However, he will need to be much quicker as the qualifying time of 59.75 is a tough margin to crack.

Heat 2 was almost a replay of the first heat as top seed Zac Stubblety-Cook was beaten to the finish, but by two swimmers as both Nash Wilkes and Joshua Collett got to the wall first. Wilkes was out fastest, hitting the wall in 28.34 and closing in 32.03 to touch in 1:00.37, a drop of .66 from his seed. His early lead was enough of a margin as Stubblety-Cook, a former world record holder in the 200, couldn’t generate enough speed on the backhalf to make up for his slow start, splitting 29.59/31.67 to finish in 1:01.26, which safely puts the Mel Marshall trained swimmer into tonight’s final as the 5th seed.

Ireland’s Darragh Greene took the last heat in 1:01.20, touching ahead of Griffith’s Haig Buckingham and Brisbane Grammar’s Joshua Anderson, who were 1:01.39 and 1:01.44. As Greene is a foreign national, he is ineligible to swim the A-final this evening, which bumps Anderson into 8th overall.

Women’s 400 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record: 3:54.18 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• Australian Record: 3:55.38 – Ariarne Titmus, (2023)
• All-Comers Record: 3:55.38 – Ariarne Titmus, AUS (2023)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Ariarne Titmus – 3:55.44
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 4:10.23

Top 8

1. Lani Pallister (STPET) – 4:05.63
2. Jamie Perkins (STPET) – 4:10.66
3. Amelia Weber (STPET) – 4:10.98
4. Molly Walker (SOPE) -4:11.86
5. Leah Neale (RACKL) – 4:13.25
6. Tiana Kritzinger (RACKL) – 4:14.50
7. Jacqueline Davison-McGovern (STPET) – 4:14.52
8. Hannah Allen (RACKL) – 4:15.14

Lani Pallister made her 4:05.63 look easy. New to St. Peters Western and Dean Boxall, Pallister took things out quickly, opening in 57.48 and 1:01.17 to hit the halfway point in 1:58.65. Ahead of the rest of the field by nearly four seconds, Pallister, who was forced to withdraw from this event due to illness at the Olympics, started to slow on the backhalf as she went 1:03.75 and 1:03.23 to finish in 4:05.63. The Short Course Worlds silver medalist is the 14th fastest swimmer of all time with a PB of 4:01.75 and, with this time, will be the favorite tonight.

Amelia Weber and Molly Walker touched 2nd and 3rd in the heat at 4:10.98 and 4:11.86. Weber was ahead by nearly 2 seconds at the 100 but Walker closed that gap to under a second.

The #2 seed, Jamie Perkins, like Pallister, was in control of her heat from start to finish. The 3rd place finisher at Trials last summer, Perkins filled in for Pallister in the Olympics event as she had been named to the team in the 4×200 free. Perkins, who placed 8th in that Olympic final, was 4:10.66 this morning, opening in 59.10 and 1:03.06 to hit the halfway wall in 2:02.16. Like her training partner Pallister, Perkins shut things down on the last 200, going 1:04.54 and 1:03.96 to touch 2nd overall.

Leah Neale, a two-time Olympic medalist from 2016 and 2021, placed 2nd behind Perkins, touching the wall in 4:13.25. Neale placed 5th in this event at Olympic trials last summer and will look to improve upon that place this evening as she is coincidentally the 5th seed going into tonight.

15-year-old Isobel Mulcahy had a strong swim in the last heat, touching first, but was ultimately disqualified.

Men’s 400 Freestyle MC – Prelims

Sporting a nice stache, the 32-year-old Brendan Hall, the world record holder in the S9 category, took the win in 4:19.41, scoring 894 points. This was Hall’s only event of the week, but his time was fast enough to qualify for Para-Worlds. He was tracked all the way into the wall by Harrion Vig. Vig, 10 years younger, was back nearly three-quarters of a second at the 100, but by the 300 wall, he had closed the gap to just .27. However, the veteran’s 31.79 last 50 was too much to handle as Vig closed in 32.77 to finish 1.5 back in 4:21.05

Women’s 400 Freestyle MC – Prelims

Heat 1 went the way of Poppy Wilson as she touched in 4:50.31. Wilson competed in three event at the 2024 Para Worlds, placing highest in the 100 fly (5th) an event that she will contest tomorrow.

Chloe Maxwell took the win in heat 2 with a time of 5:26.97. The 16-year-old S14 swimmer was just .21 off her seed time.

Men’s 400 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record: 3:39.96 – Lukas Martens, GER (2025)
• Australian Record: 3:40.08 – Ian Thorpe, (2002)
• All-Comers Record: 3:40.08 – Ian Thorpe, AUS (2002)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Elijah Winnington – 3:43.26
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 3:47.54

Top 8

1. Samuel Short (RACKL) – 3:43.21
2. Elijah Winnington (STPET) – 3:45.49
3. Benjamin Goedemans (STPET) – 3:47.17
4. Matthew Galea (SOSC) – 3:50.66
5. Alec Mander (STSH) – 3:51.52
6. Anders McAlpine (GUSC) – 3:52.04
7. Tex Cross (HLDR) – 3:52.54
8. Noah Kamprad (BOND) – 3:53.08

Paris Silver medalist Elijah Winnington was the first to the 100 wall opening in 53.77 and, over the course of the next 100, continued to extend his lead as by the 200, he had eeked out a body length lead. Flipping in 1:50.66, Winnington led Benjamin Goedemans by 1.16, a closer margin than many may have thought, but the veteran slowly eased himself away on the back half as he took the heat win in 3:45.49, finishing a second and a half ahead of Goedemans, who touched in 3:47.17, just .14 off his seed and 1.49 seconds faster than his 3rd place finish at trials last summer. Goedemans was the only other swimmer in the heat under 3:50, as Anders McAlpine, Tex Cross, and Charlie Hawke finished back with times of 3:52.04, 3:52.54, and 3:53.77

Flynn Southham was entered in the event as the 7th seed but no-showed the 400 free first heat.

Sam Short certainly left the disappointment of 2024 before him as he jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The 2023 World Champion in this event, who is still just 21 years old, took it out in 53.04 and at the 200 was 1:48.88, nearly two seconds ahead of where Winnington was. Short kept up his pace as he was 57.00 and 57.33 over the last 200 to stop the clock at 3:43.21, improving upon his 3:43.84 from the Sacramento Pros Swim Series. His time jumps him up to number two in the world to trail only the World Record holder Lukas Martens.

4th seed overall, Matthew Galea, took 2nd in the heat in 3:50.66, finishing 2.5 seconds ahead of Noah Kampard’s 3:53.08

Outside of the top two circle-seeded heats, Alec Mander pulled off the swim of his life. The 29th seed entered with a time of 4:00.89, but with some outside smoke, as he was swimming in lane 0, Mander dropped 9.37 seconds from his seed to record a time of 3:51.52. Mander did not compete in the event at Trials in 2024 and now finds himself the 5th seed heading into tonight’s final.

Men’s 50 Backstroke – Prelims

• World Record: 23.55 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2023)
• Australian Record: 24.12 – Isaac Cooper, (2024)
• All-Comers Record: 24.38 – Isaac Cooper, AUS (2023)
• 2023 Trials Champion: Isaac Cooper – 24.56
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 24.81

Top 8

1. Isaac Cooper (STAND) – 24.65
2. Bradley Woodward (MING) – 25.17
3. Kalani Ireland (SOMAQ) – 25.21
4. Ben Armbruster (BOND) – 25.38
5. Enoch Robb (GUSC) – 25.42
6. Callum Halloran-Lavelle (NUN) – 25.92
7. Thomas Henderson (BGRAM) – 25.96
8. Marius Boll (CARL) – 25.97

The men’s 50 backstroke heats came fast and swift with top seed Isaac Cooper posting the fastest time. Cooper, the 2024 World champion in the event, was quick out the start and barrelled to the finish, recording a time of 24.65, dropping .15 off his seed. Cooper who set the Australian record in the semifinals in Doha at 24.12 will take lane 4 tonight as the 7th seed Bradley Woodward touched 2nd in the heat at 25.17, the 2nd fastest time overall.

Woodward, who has three long course World Champs relay medals, is more known as a 100/200 swimmer but, with the inclusion of the 50 in the Olympic program, may be targeting the 50 more.

Flanking the top pair this evening will be Kalani Ireland and Ben Armbruster. Ireland dropped .19 seconds from his seed to jump into the 3rd spot tonight as he stopped the clock in 25.21, while Armbruster added .30 to place 4th in a time of 25.38.

Women’s 50 Backstroke – Prelims

• World Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)
• Australian Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, (2023)
• All-Comers Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)
• 2023 Trials Champion: Bronte Job – 27.73
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 27.74

Top 8

1. Kaylee McKeown (USCS) – 27.27
2. Mollie O’Callaghan (STPET) – 27.72
3. Hannah Fredericks (STPET) – 28.21
4. Alyssa Burgess (HLDR) – 28.28
5. Elizabeth Gan (SYDU) – 28.32
6. Semra Olowoniyi (NUN) – 28.46
7. Layla Day (BOND) – 28.49
8. Emily Jones (HUNT) – 28.52

UPDATE: Kaylee McKeown appears in the heat sheet for tonight’s final as the top seed, with her time of 27.27, bumping Zoe Ammundsen (9th-28.54) down to first alternate. You can read more about the reinstatement here

Top seed and World record holder Kaylee McKeown initially won the first heat in a time of 27.27 but was called for a DQ. Expect a challenge to be issued to the ruling. Per the announcers, McKeown was disqualified for a false start.

World Record Holder Kaylee McKeown was called for a False Start in the 50 Back Prelims. (McKeown is in lane 4) https://t.co/EuBLX9t7V8

— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) June 9, 2025

2nd seed Mollie O’Callaghan, the 200 free champion from Paris, showed off her backstroking prowess as she took the 2nd heat in 27.72 and, pending the challenge, will be the top seed. Hannah Fredericks, the 4th seed overall, dropped.06 from her seed but jumped two full spots to take the 2nd seed into tonight’s final with her time of 28.21.

Drops from seed were commonplace among the top 8 qualifiers, as Alyssa Burgess, Elizabeth Gan, and Semra Olowoniyi dropped .50, .29, and .35 from their seed to slot into the 3rd through 5th spots in tonight’s final.