2026 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING TRIALS
- Monday, June 8 – Saturday, June 13, 2026
- Sydney, Australia
- Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Commonwealth Selection Criteria
- Pan Pac Selection Criteria
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Stream
- Storylines To Watch
- Live Recaps:
- Day 5 Finals Heat Sheet
The penultimate night of racing from the 2026 Australian Swimming Trials will kick off with one of the marquee events on the program, the women’s 100 freestyle, and close with the men’s 1500 free where Sam Short will be aiming for his fourth victory of the meet.
We’ll also see finals in the men’s and women’s 200 breaststroke, and the men’s 200 backstroke, along with the multi-class 100 back and 50 breast for the Para swimmers.
The women’s 100 free will be headlined by Mollie O’Callaghan, the 2022 and 2023 world champion in the event who won the 200 free earlier in the week with one of the fastest swims ever.
O’Callaghan’s biggest challenger is expected to be Meg Harris, who had a breakthrough 52.56 performance last December.
At the Australian Open in April, O’Callaghan clocked a season-best of 52.66, while Harris went 53.36. In the prelims, it was Harris throwing down an impressive 52.71, with O’Callaghan also sub-53 in 52.90.
In the men’s 200 back, Joshua Edwards-Smith was the top Australian performer last year, placing 13th at the World Championships, but rising teenage star Henry Allan will be dangerous after setting a personal best of 1:57.00 earlier this year.
Update: Henry Allan has withdrawn from the men’s 200 backstroke final due to illness.
All eyes will be on Zac Stubblety-Cook in the men’s 200 breast, as the Tokyo Olympic champion and former world record holder aims to earn a berth on the Commonwealth and Pan Pac rosters after injury forced him out of the 2025 World Championships. ZSC lacked the front-end speed, but had a strong back half in the 100 breast on Day 1, and after placing 4th in that race, he’ll need to come through tonight to qualify for the Dolphins team again.
The women’s 200 breast in Australia in a similar spot to the men’s 200 back, with no clear-cut star and the fact that earning a finals berth at an Olympics or World Championships would be a success. Ella Ramsay was 9th at Worlds last summer, while Tara Kinder is the top Aussie so far this year after clocking 2:23.92 in April.
The night will wrap with the men’s 1500 free, where Short aims to go four-for-four in victories and personal best times here in Sydney after winning the 200 free (1:45.16), 400 free (3:40.67) and 800 free (7:36.73) thus far, setting a new textile world record in the latter.
In the 1500 free, Short’s season-best stands at 14:52.33, set at the Westmont Pro Swim in March, while his lifetime bests sits at 14:37.28 from the 2023 World Championships.
WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINAL
- World Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 2017
- Commonwealth Record: 51.96, Emma McKeon (AUS) – 2021
- Australian Record: 51.96, Emma McKeon – 2021
- All Comers Record: 52.06, Cate Campbell (AUS) – 2016
- SA Qualifying Time: 53.51
‘A’ Final
- Mollie O’Callaghan (St. Peters Western), 52.33
- Meg Harris (Rackley), 52.63
- Shayna Jack (St. Peters Western), 52.96
- Alexandria Perkins (USC Spartans), 53.33
- Olivia Wunsch (Carlile), 53.47
- Milla Jansen (St. Peters Western), 53.64
- Hannah Casey (Bond), 53.79
- Chloe Rowe-Hagans (St. Andrew’s), 54.66
Mollie O’Callaghan used her patented back half to overtake Meg Harris and solidify her second national title of the week in the women’s 100 freestyle, hitting a new season-best time of 52.33.
O’Callaghan split 25.54/26.79 en route to lowering her previous season-best of 52.66, set at the Australian Open in April, to move up from 5th into 3rd in the world rankings.
The 22-year-old was significantly quicker than she was last year’s Trials, a trend we also saw in the 200 free having won the 2025 national title in 52.87.
Harris, 24, qualified to represent Australia in the 100 freestyle individually on the senior international stage for the first time with her runner-up finish in a time of 52.63, just shy of her personal best (52.56) set this past December. The 2025 world champion in the 50 free, Harris paced this morning’s prelims in 52.71, showing some sub-53 consistency.
O’Callaghan’s former St. Peters Western teammate Shayna Jack broke 53 seconds for the first time since 2024, splitting 25.31/27.65 en route to a time of 52.96 for her fastest since the 2024 Olympics.
Jack notably recently made the move to Western Australia (WAIS) from St. Peters, though she’s still representing St. Peters Western in Sydney.
Last year, Jack was 8th at the Aussie Trials in 54.03, subsequently missing out on a World Championship roster spot.
Twelve months later, her swim locks her in for relay duties at the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs, and since she was well under the SA qualifying time of 53.51, she’ll be able to swim the individual race at both meets as well.
After going 53.29 in the heats to rank 7th int he world this season, Jack now leapfrogs Kate Douglass and moves up into 6th.
2025-2026 LCM Women 100 FREE
STEENBERGEN
51.86
| 2 | Anna MOESCH | USA | 51.94 | 05/25 |
| 3 | Mollie O'CALLAGHAN | AUS | 52.33 | 06/12 |
| 4 | Siobhan Haughey | HKG | 52.36 | 05/27 |
| 5 | Meg HARRIS | AUS | 52.56 | 12/15 |
| 6 | Shayna JACK | AUS | 52.96 | 06/12 |
In a tight race for 4th and the final relay berth, USC Spartans’ Alexandria Perkins had a strong start and held the rest of her challengers at bay coming home to take that spot in a time of 53.33, knocking two-tenths off her previous best of 53.53 set at last year’s Trials.
Rising star Olivia Wunsch, the runner-up at the 2025 Trials, was 5th in a time of 53.47, improving on her season-best of 53.58 to make it five women under the SA qualifying time.
St. Peters Western’s Milla Jansen had strong closing 50 in 27.60, but not quite enough early speed to nab one of those relay spots as she touched 6th in 53.64 after coming out of the prelims seeded 4th at 53.66.
MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL
- World Record: 1:51.92, Aaron Peirsol (USA) – 2009
- Commonwealth Record: 1:53.17, Mitch Larkin (AUS) – 2015
- Australian Record: 1:53.17, Mitch Larkin – 2015
- All Comers Record: 1:53.72, Mitch Larkin (AUS) – 2015
- SA Qualifying Time: 1:55.64
‘A’ Final
- Se-Bom Lee (SOPAC), 1:56.75
- Joshua Edwards-Smith (Griffith), 1:57.50
- Stuart Swinburn (City of Sydney), 1:57.54
- Adam Graham (Manly), 1:57.78
- Matthew Magnussen (Nudgee College), 1:58.95
- Tate Sirianni (Cranbrook), 2:01.27
- Xavier Metcalfe (Rackley), 2:02.64
- Jack Morrow (St. Andrew’s), 2:02.80
Se-Bom Lee executed perfectly en route to winning the men’s 200 backstroke final in a new lifetime best of 1:56.75.
Coming in, it didn’t look like anyone in the field would come close to the SA qualifying time of 1:55.64, and while Lee was still over a second off, he did go faster than expected. Racing in the pool he trains in every day, the 24-year-old held his second and third 50 splits under 30 seconds (29.28/29.52) before coming home in 30.16 to top runner-up Joshua Edwards-Smith by three quarters of a second.
Lee’s previous best time stood at 1:57.02, set at the 2024 Olympic Trials. At the 2025 Trials, he was 7th in a time of 2:00.02.
Griffith University’s Edwards-Smith, who won this event at the 2025 Australian Trials, had a strong start, sitting near the lead at the halfway mark alongside Stuart Swinburn, but then lost contact on the third 50, splitting 30.25 while Lee and Swinburn produced 29s.
Edwards-Smith couldn’t make up any inroads on Lee on the last 50, but he did manage to overtake Swinburn, out-splitting him by early half a second, 30.24 to 30.71, to touch 2nd in a time of 1:57.50, with Swinburn close behind in 1:57.54.
Edwards-Smith owns a personal best of 1:55.42, set back in 2022, and placed 13th at the 2025 World Championships in 1:56.28. For Swinburn, his swim marked a new personal best, as he cracked 1:58 for the first time having previously been 1:58.05 at the 2024 Olympic Trials.
Manly’s Adam Graham, who was 5th at the 2025 Trials, moved up one spot to take 4th in a personal best of 1:57.78.
Rackley’s Xavier Metcalfe, who was a late replacement for the ill Henry Allan, added a bit of time from his morning swim in 2:02.64, but still moves up two spots from his prelim placement in 7th.
MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE MC – FINAL
Top 3
- Benjamin Hance S14 (St. Andrews), 57.40 – 928 pts
- Tim Hodge S9 (Blacktown), 1:03.49 – 832 pts
- Declan Budd S14 (Knox Pymble), 1:00.76 – 782 pts
Two-time Paralympic champion Benjamin Hance (S14) had an impressive showing en route to victory in the men’s multi-class 100 back, clocking 57.40 to score 928 para points and go faster than he did en route to winning gold two years ago in Paris (57.73).
Hance’s personal best stands at 55.99, set en route to winning gold at the 2025 Para Championships.
Tim Hodge, competing in the S9 category, added another event to his Para Pan Pac program by taking 2nd in 1:03.49, good for 832 points, while Declan Budd, S14, rounded out the top three in 1:00.76 for 782 points.
The top four all earned qualifying times for Para Pan Pacs, with Liam Togher (S9) also doing so in 4th ay 1:04.83.
WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE MC – FINAL
Top 3
- Madeleine McTernan S14 (Griffith), 1:08.18 – 829 pts
- Chloe Osborn S7 (Blacktown), 1:28.80 – 717 pts
- Gemma Sellick S9 (Warringah), 1:15.54 – 711 pts
Madeleine McTernan continued her impressive run here in Sydney by claiming another victory in the women’s multi-class 100 backstroke.
The 25-year-old S14 athlete topped the field by over 100 points by posting a time of 1:08.18 after setting a best time of 1:07.97 in the prelims. The Griffith-trained McTernan was the only woman under the qualifying standard for Para Pan Pacs.
MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL
- World Record: 2:05.48, Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 2023
- Commonwealth Record: 2:05.95, Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) – 2022
- Australian Record: 2:05.95, Zac Stubblety-Cook – 2022
- All Comers Record: 2:05.95, Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) – 2022
- SA Qualifying Time: 2:09.32
‘A’ Final
WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL
- World Record: 2:17.55, Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS) – 2023
- Commonwealth Record: 2:18.95, Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) – 2021
- Australian Record: 2:20.54, Leisel Jones – 2006
- All Comers Record: 2:20.04, Rie Kaneto (JPN) – 2016
- SA Qualifying Time: 2:24.10
‘A’ Final
MEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE MC – FINAL
Top 3
WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE MC – FINAL
Top 3
MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINAL
- World Record: 14:30.67, Bobby Finke (USA) – 2024
- Commonwealth Record: 14:34.56, Grant Hackett (AUS) – 2001
- Australian Record: 14:34.56, Grant Hackett – 2001
- All Comers Record: 14:39.54, Mack Horton (AUS) – 2016
- SA Qualifying Time: 14:51.06
Top 8 Final (AUS)
Wouldn’t be stunned to see ZSC beaten here.
Just to remind (after reading the article): Meg Harris’ PB is the 52.52 swum at Olympic Trials 2024
Nap time.
No. Ben Hance is in the building
He must’ve seen our comments about the MC events because he tried to keep it spicy with those speedos LOL
Decent swim by Se-Bom. Perhaps he switches his main focus to Back from IM, he could be on track for 1:55 by LA and hitting QT…
Jesus.
Disgusting.
Disappointing maybe.
what happened to Henry Allen?
Illness
Disappointing, but that explains his struggles this morning – which were substantial.
Would have been great to see a 100% fit HA in that final, as he probably would have been pushed to swim a PB.
No Henry in the 2BK due to being sick
Henry will get to swim the 200 as no-one under QT in final
We just need 1 of Olivia, Milla or Hannah to drop 1 second in the next 2 years if we want to be in the conversation for that relay gold. A lot can happen in 2 years and they’re all young.
We may just need to be patient, because we’re probably not beating the US this year
I was making a similar point on here this morning – it wasn’t well received.