2025 Australian World Championship Trials: Day Six Finals 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
• Results
• Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4| Day 5
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2  | Day 3 | Day 4| Day 5

Women’s 50 Freestyle –FINAL

• World Record: 23.61 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2023)
• Australian Record: 23.87 – Cate Campbell, (2018)
• AllComers Record: 23.87 – Cate Campbell, AUS (2018)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Shayna Jack – 23.99
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 24.72

GOLD – Meg Harris, 24.17
SILVER – Olivia Wunsch, 24.70 & Alex Perkins 24.70
BRONZE – 

We had a tie in this women’s 50m freestyle, giving us two silver medalists.

Meg Harris, the reigning Olympic silver medalist in this event, ripped a winning effort of 24.17 to take the gold and qualify for her first and only event for the World Championships.

Olivia Wunsch and Alex Perkins touched simultaneously for silver, both hitting a time of 24.70. Both these women have already qualified for Singapore in other events. Wunsch in the 100m free and Perkins in the 50m and 100m fly races.

Harris’ time from Paris was 23.97 so she was only .20 off that result with tonight’s performance and it represents the #2 time of the Rackley swimmer’s career.

As for Wunsch, she’s actually been quicker in her career, owning a lifetime best of 24.45. Perkins, however, had never before been under the 25-second barrier, coming into this competition with a PB of 25.00 from this year’s Australian National Championships.

We’ll see if Wunsch or Perkins nabs the 2nd slot for the actual roster behind Harris depending on their schedules, event lineups and the coaching staff’s discretion.

Of note, Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack were also in this final with the former placing 4th in 24.77 and the latter logging 24.80 for 5th. While MOC has qualified in 4 individual events thus far, this was Jack’s last chance to make the squad after placing 8th in the 100m.

Harris’ 24.17 now ranks the Aussie 4th in the world on the season.

Men’s 400 IM – FINAL

• World Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, FRA (2023)
• Australian Record: 4:09.29 – Brendon Smith, (2021)
• AllComers Record: 4:06.22 – Michael Phelps, USA (2007)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Brendon Smith – 4:10.18
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 4:17.48

GOLD – Brendon Smith, 4:12.81
SILVER – William Petric, 4:13.23
BRONZE – Se-Bom Lee, 4:18.37

Olympian Brendon Smith turned on the jets on the final 50m to catch William Petric and touch first in this men’s 4000m IM.

Smith stopped the clock at 4:12.81 to qualify for his first event for Singapore and Petric was just behind in 4:13.23 to also qualify.

Olympian Se-Bom Lee rounded out the podium in 4:18.37.

At the 2024 Olympic Games, Smith finished 13th in a time of 4:14.36 so tonight’s effort surpassed that effort en route to qualification. His career-swiftest performance remains at the 4:09.27 produced in the prelims of this event at the 2020 Olympic Games. There in Tokyo he earned the bronze in a result of 4:10.38.

Petric took silver in the men’s 200m IM earlier in the meet to make the Singapore grade in that shorter event, so he now adds this as a 2nd event.

Women’s 400 IM – FINAL

• World Record: 4:23.65 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• Australian Record: 4:28.22 – Kaylee McKeown, (2024)
• AllComers Record: 4:28.22 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2024)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Ella Ramsay – 4:36.56
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 4:43.06

GOLD – Ella Ramsay, 4:36.12
SILVER – Jenna Forrester, 4:36.19
BRONZE – Tara Kinder, 4:41.03

20-year-old Ella Ramsay got the job done in this women’s 400m IM, turning in a powerful swim of 4:36.12.

She battled against Jenna Forrester, the 2023 World Championships bronze medalist in this event, who settled for silver a fingernail behind in 4:36.19.

Tara Kinder bagged the bronze well back in 4:41.03, although she already qualified 200m IM and 200m breast.

Ramsay’s lifetime best entering these championships sat at the 4:36.56 so she managed to shave .44 off that result and become Australia’s 5th-swiftest performer of all time.

Top 5 Australian Women’s 400 IM Performers All-Time

1. Kaylee McKeown – 4:28.22, 2024
2. Stephanie Rice – 4:29.45, 2008
3. Jenna Forrester – 4:32.30, 2023
4. Blair Evans – 4:35.26, 2016
5. Ella Ramsay – 4:36.12, 2025

Ramsay and Forrester now rank just outside the top 5 performers in the world this season.

Amelie Smith, just 16 years of age, finished 5th in 4:47.72, within striking distance of her PB of 4:45.49 from this year’s Aussie Age Championships, Remarkably, with just the men’s 50m fly in between, the Rock City teen will be doubling up with the 1500m freestyle to close out her impressive campaign here.

Men’s 50 Butterfly- FINAL

• World Record: 22.27 – Andriy Govorov, UKR (2018)
• Australian Record: 22.73 – Matt Targett, (2009)
• AllComers Record: 23.05 – Ben Armbruster, AUS (2022)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Cam McEvoy – 23.07
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 23.05

GOLD – Kyle Chalmers, 22.89 *All Comers Record
SILVER – Ben Armbruster, 23.08
BRONZE – Jesse Coleman, 23.36

King Kyle does it again, ripping a time of 22.89 to take the men’s 50m fly and add the now-Olympic event to his World Championships lineup.

The father-to-be tied his personal best in this event en route to gold, the same 22.89 he registered at April’s Swim Open Stockholm to rank 6th in the world this season. That also rendered Chalmers Australia’s 2nd-fastest man of all time.

Chalmers’ effort tonight rewrote the All Comers Record, erasing Ben Armbruster‘s former benchmark of 23.05 from 3 years ago.

23-year-old Armbruster of Bond settled for silver tonight in 23.08, painfully shy of the Swimming Australia-mandated qualification time of 23.05 needed for Singapore.

Jesse Coleman captured bronze in 23.36.

In a significant turn of events, last year’s champion and Olympic gold medalist Cam McEvoy was disqualified in this men’s 50m fly due to movement on the blocks at the start of the race.

Women’s 1500m Free – FASTEST HEAT

• World Record: 15:20.48 – Katie Ledecky (USA), 2018
• Australian Record: 15:46.13 – Maddy Gough, 2021
• AllComers Record: 15:28.36 – Katie Ledecky, 2014
• 2024 Trials Winner: Lani Pallister – 15:53.79
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 16:24.56

GOLD – Lani Pallister, 15:39.14 *Australian Record, Commonwealth Record
SILVER – Tiana Kritzinger, 16:16.04
BRONZE – Maddy Gough, 16:23.47

Have a week, Lani Pallister.

After tremendous performances already here in the 200m, 400m and 800m free, 23-year-old Olympian Pallister perhaps saved her best for last, ripping a new Australian and Commonwealth Record in the women’s 1500m free.

St. Peters Western’s Pallister led wire-to-wire, dominating the field to ultimately touch in a huge personal best of 15:39.14 after having not raced this event in a year.

Pallister’s previous personal best in this race rested at the 15:48.96 posted at the 2022 World Championships. That means she hacked over 8 seconds off that result to become her nation’s fastest ever.

The former Australian record stood at the 15:46.13 Maddy Gough put on the books in 2021 while the All Comers Record was much older than that. It was represented by the 15:40.14 New Zealand Olympian Lauren Boyle established at the 2015 World Championships.

Not to be forgotten was that runner-up Tiana Kritzinger also qualified for the World Championships, courtesy of her silver medal-garnering effort of 16:16.04 to easily clear the Swimming Australia-mandated QT of 16:24.56. That’s a new PB for Rackley’s Kritzinger who had never before been under 16:20.

Former national record holder Gough rounded out the podium in 16:23.47 to end her Trials competition.

The aforementioned 16-year-old Amelie Smith finished 7th in 17:14.19.

Pallister now becomes the 3rd-swiftest performer in history. She ranks #2 in the world this season as well.

Top 5 Women’s LCM 1500 Freestyle Performers All-Time

1. Katie Ledecky (USA), 15:20.48, 2018
2. Lotte Friis (DEN), 15:38.88, 2013
3. Lani Pallister (AUS), 15:39.14, 2025
4. Lauren Boyle (NZL), 15:40.14, 2015
5. Anastasia Kirpichnikova (FRA), 15:40.35, 2024