2026 Australian Swimming Trials: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

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:
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

HEAT SHEET (ALL PRELIMS)

Good morning (or evening for the American swimming fans)! Welcome to the 4th prelims session of the 2026 Australian Swimming Trials.

We have been treated to some incredibly fast swimming over the last few days, and there are some exciting events on the docket this morning from some of the top swimmers in the meet so far.

We will open with the women’s 200 backstroke, where world record holder Kaylee McKeown is the top seed by more than five seconds over the rest of the field. Hannah Fredericks is the only other athlete who is seeded under 2:10.

After the women’s 200 backstroke will be the men’s 200 IM. William Petric is seeded 1st in 1:57.18, followed by David Schlicht (1:58.10) and Matt Sates (1:58.83) as the only other men seeded under 2:00. SwimSwam reported earlier this week that Sates is seeking Australian citizenship. With his last meet for South Africa coming at the 2025 World Championships, Sates could theoretically qualify for the Pan Pacs team this week. The 200 IM is his best shot.

There will be two MC para events after the men’s 200 IM with both the women and the men swimming the 400 freestyle. S9 athletes Lakeisha Patterson and Brenden Hall have the fastest seed times.

Elizabeth Dekkers holds the top seed in the women’s 200 fly at 2:05.39, the only swimmer under 2:06 in the event. Brittany Castelluzzo is seeded 2nd in 2:06.86.

In the 100 freestyle, Kyle Chalmers will race his 2nd prelims event of the meet. On Tuesday, he swam the prelims session, qualifying 2nd in the 100 fly, before scratching the final. He is seeded in 47.17, and he is joined under 48 seconds by Flynn Southam (47.69), Hwang Sunwoo (47.94), and Taylor Kai (47.97). Hwang competes internationally for South Korea, and is not eligible for any Australian international teams.

That event will be followed by the women’s and men’s MC 100 breaststroke events. SB9 swimmer Keira Stephens has the fastest seedtime on the women’s side at 1:17.23 while SB14 athlete Jake Michel has the men’s fastest time in 1:03.51.

The session will wrap up with the women’s 800 freestyle prelims, where Lani Pallister will be aiming to earn the middle lane in tomorrow’s event final, seeded in 8:05.98, nearly 20 seconds ahead of 2nd seed Maria Fernanda Costa from Brazil.

Women’s 200 Back — Prelims

• World Record: 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) — 2023
• Commonwealth Record: 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) — 2023
• Australian Record: 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown — 2023
• All Comers Record: 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) — 2023
• SA Qualifying Time: 2:09.09

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Kaylee McKeown (USCS) — 2:10.09
2. Iona Anderson (HLDR) — 2:10.17
3. Hannah Fredericks (STPET) — 2:10.34
4. Jenna Forrester (STPET) — 2:11.28
5. Ivy Miller (GUSC) — 2:13.17
6. Zoe Ammundsen (NCOLL) — 2:13.62
7. Alannah Banks (MVC) — 2:13.79
8. Heidi Shumack (SOSC) — 2:14.12

Unsurprisingly, Kaylee McKeown took the top spot in the women’s 200 backstroke prelims, cruising to a time of 2:10.09 to earn the middle lane for tonight’s event final.

McKeown came in just under a tenth ahead of Iona Anderson, who swam 2:10.17 for 2nd. This was Anderson’s 2nd best time ever in the event, coming in only behind the 2:09.22 she swam at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials.

Anderson was out almost a second faster than McKeown, splitting 1:02.53 to McKeown’s 1:03.42 to open the race. From there, McKeown came home strong, swimming 33.15/33.52 to split 1:06.67 on the closing 100. This made up almost a second on Anderson’s 1:07.64.

Hannah Fredericks took 3rd, stopping the clock in 2:10.34 to be the final sub-2:11 swimmer in the prelims. She almost even split her race, swimming 1:04.61/1:05.73 to have the fastest closing split in the field. Fredericks’ best time stands at 2:08.24 from the 2024 Australian Trials.

Jenna Forrester took 4th as she will shoot for a 4th individual event qualification in tonight’s final She stopped the clock in 2:11.28, just under two seconds off her best time of 2:09.74 from the 2023 World Championships. Her season best stands at 2:10.74 from the Australian Open in April.

Men’s 200 IM — Prelims

• World Record: 1:52.69, Leon Marchand (FRA) — 2025
• Commonwealth Record: 1:55.28, Duncan Scott (GBR) — 2021
• Australian Record: 1:55.72, Mitch Larkin — 2019
• All Comers Record: 1:54.98, Michael Phelps (USA) — 2007
• SA Qualifying Time: 1:57.49

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. William Petric (NUN) — 1:59.04
2. Thomas Neill (RACKL) — 2:00.14
3. David Schlicht (MLC) — 2:00.86
4. Brendon Smith (STPET) — 2:01.04
5. Samuel Higgs (NUN) — 2:02.20
6. Lukas Dunn (KPSC) — 2:02.84
7. Joshua Kerr (MIAMI) — 2:03.17
8. Lavell Halloran (NUN) — 2:03.81

The top swimmer in the men’s 200 IM prelims was William Petric, who swam 1:59.04 to be the only swimmer under 2:00 in the event prelims.

Petric got out quickly in the race. He had the 2nd fastest fly split in the field of 25.07. Only Matt Sates was faster, swimming 24.93 on the opening leg. From there, Petric had the fastest backstroke split of 29.70, turning in 54.77 to have the quickest opening 100 split of 24.77, more than a second ahead of David Schlicht‘s 55.81 from a different heat.

He fell off that pace a little on the back half, splitting 34.70/29.57 on his 2nd 100 to give up some ground to the other swimmers who qualified in the top 8. His final time of 1:59.04 was almost two seconds off his best of 1:57.18 from the 2025 Queensland Championships in December.

Thomas Neill qualified 2nd in 2:00.14, splitting 25.80/25.80/30.26/28.66 to have the fastest final 50 in the field. He added about two-and-a-half seconds from the 1:57.41 he swam at the 2023 Queensland Championships. The last time he swam under 2:00 was at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

David Schlicht finished 3rd in 2:00.86 after splitting 25.09/30.72/34.61/30.44. His final time was also a two-and-a-half second add from the 1:58.10 he swam at the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials.

Brendon Smith took the 4th qualifying spot, stopping the clock in 2:01.04, a three second add from his lifetime best 1:58.12 at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials. That was the last time he swam under 2:00.

Matt Sates finished 5th in 2:02.03, but since he is still international, he will not be allowed to swim in the Championship Final.

Women’s 400 Free MC — Prelims

Lakeisha Patterson, an S9 athlete swam 4:40.81 in the women’s 400 freestyle prelims, scoring 829 points to earn the top seed for tonight’s event final.

She outscored 2nd qualifier Chloe Osborn by almost 90 points. Osborn, an S7 athlete swam 5:22.08 to pick up 741 points. Victoria Nicholson Belando, s9, took the 3rd spot in the final with 715 points after she swam 4:55.08.

The final athlete to score more than 700 points was 15-year-old Annabelle Moloney, S10, who scored 700 points after she touched in 4:57.42

Men’s 400 Free MC — Prelims

The men are gearing up for a very close race tonight, at least in times. Callum Simpson, an S8 19-year-old, scored the most points in prelims, touching in 4:24.50 to pick up a whopping 936 points. While he earned the most points and the middle lane, there was a very close race behind him between S9 athletes Harrison Vig and Brenden Hall, who touched around three seconds ahead of Simpson, so we could be looking at a fun race between these three tonight, even if Simpson earns the most points.

Vig swam 4:22.15 to pick up 867 points, a little more than a four second add from his seed of 4:17.73. Hall touched in 4:22.61 to score 862 points, adding eight seconds from his seed time of 4:14.69.

Women’s 200 Fly — Prelims

• World Record: 2:01.81, Liu Zige (CHN) — 2009
• Commonwealth Record: 2:01.99, Summer McIntosh (CAN) — 2025
• Australian Record: 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper — 2009
• All Comers Record: 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper (AUS) — 2009
• SA Qualifying Time: 2:07.95

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Elizabeth Dekkers (STPET) — 2:06.65
2. Brittany Castelluzzo (TTG) — 2:10.17
3. Jess Cole (CARL) — 2:10.32
4. Bella Grant (USCS) — 2:10.60
5. Poppy Stephen (BGRAM) — 2:11.46
6. Elloise Doolan (USCS) — 2:13.03
7. Rafaela Kopellou (STAND) — 2:14.34
8. Lucy Dring (USCS) — 2:15.05

Elizabeth Dekkers ran away with the women’s 200 fly prelims, stopping the clock in 2:06.65 to be the only prelims swimmer under 2 minutes and 10 seconds. She added a little more than a second from her best time of 2:05.20 and her season best stands at 2:05.39 from the 2026 Australia Open.

Dekkers did not have the fastest opening 100 split, swimming 1:02.33 after splitting 29.06/33.27 on her first two 50s. Brittany Castelluzzo was out faster, touching in 1:01.23 after splitting 28.43/32.80. Bella Grant (1:01.78) and Poppy Stephen (1:01.04) were also out faster than Dekkers.

While she wasn’t the fastest going out, she came home in 1:04.32, more than four seconds faster than Castelluzzo’s 1:08.94. Dekkers split 32.13/32.19 on her final two 50s, both 50s coming in faster than her 2nd 50 split of 33.27.

Castelluzzo was 33.84/35.10 to touch in 2:10.17, a little more than three seconds off her best of 2:06.86 from April of 2025.

Jess Cole split 1:02.51/1:07.81 to touch in 2:10.32, eight tenths off her best of 2:09.56 from the 2025 World Junior Championships.

Men’s 100 Free — Prelims

• World Record: 46.40, Pan Zhanle (CHN) — 2024
• Commonwealth Record: 47.04, Cameron McEvoy (AUS) — 2016
• Australian Record: 47.04, Cameron McEvoy — 2016
• All Comers Record: 47.04, Cameron McEvoy (AUS) — 2016
• SA Qualifying Time: 53.51

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Flynn Southam (BOND) — 47.98
2. Kai Taylor (STPET) — 48.48
3. Matthew Temple (MARI) — 48.57
4. Kyle Chalmers (MARI) — 48.65
5. Jamie Jack (STPET) — 48.75
6. Harrison Turner (NCOLL)/Maximillian Giuliani (MIAMI) — 48.76
7. —
8. Jack Cartwright (STPET) — 48.79

There were a few ties in the men’s 100 freestyle prelims, and there will need to be a swim-off tonight for the 1st alternate position between 9th place finishers Edward Sommerville and Cameron Bladen, who both swam 48.90.

The top time in the prelims went to Flynn Southam in 47.98, just three tenths off his lifetime best of 47.69 from last year’s Australian Trials. He split 23.28/24.70 in the event to have the fastest closing 50 in the field.

The rest of the final is shaping up to be incredibly close. The 2nd qualifier for the final was Kai Taylor in 48.48, with 23.40/25.08 splits. He added about half-a-second from his seed of 47.97.

Taylor touched just a tenth ahead of Matthew Temple‘s 48.57 (23.41/25.16) in 4th and less than two tenths ahead of Kyle Chalmers‘ 48.65 (23.27/25.38) in 5th.

Jamie Jack swam 48.75 to qualify 5th with the fastest opening split in the field of 22.72. He came home in 26.03 to finish just one hundredth ahead of Harrison Turner (23.57/25.19) and Maximillian Giuliani (23.77/24.99) who tied in 48.76.

Jack Cartwright earned the final spot in the Championship final, touching just three hundredths back of Turner and Giuliani, splitting 23.77/24.99 to touch in 48.79.

Kim Youngbeom (48.44) and Hwang Sunwoo (48.65) swam the 2nd and 6th fastest times respectively in the prelims, but since they are both Korean, they are not eligible to swim in the Championship final.

Women’s 100 Breast MC — Prelims

In the women’s multiclass 100 breaststroke, 23-year-old Kiera Stephens (SB10), swam 1:19.66 to add two seconds from her seed of 1:17.23, to pick up 708 points for the middle lane tonight.

Stephanie Bruzzese, a 19-year-old SB14 athlete, swam 1:21.35 to score 694 points for the 2nd qualifying spot, about 80 points ahead of 16-year-old Sahrah Hancock (SB6), who swam 1:45.49 to score 618 points for 3rd.

Men’s 100 Breast MC — Prelims

Jake Michel, a 28-year-old SB14 swimmer, outscored the rest of the field by more than 140 points to earn the top seed for tonight’s 100 breaststroke final. He swam 1:05.21, a little under two seconds off his seed time of 1:03.51, to bring in 886 points.

Timothy Hodge (SB9) qualified 2nd with 744 points after swimming 1:13.94 in the prelims. He was just 10 points ahead of SB9 swimmer Riley Moore‘s 1:10.97 for 734 points and the 3rd qualifying position tonight.

Women’s 800 Free — Prelims

• World Record: 8:04.12, Katie Ledecky (USA) — 2025
• Commonwealth Record: 8:05.07, Summer McIntosh (CAN) — 2025
• Australian Record: 8:05.98, Lani Pallister — 2025
• All Comers Record: 8:10.84, Lani Pallister (AUS) — 2025
• SA Qualifying Time: 8:27.51