2026 Australian Swimming Trials: Day 5 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 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

HEAT SHEET (ALL PRELIMS)

There are just two prelims sessions remaining of the 2026 Australian Swimming Trials, and one of the most anticipated events of the meet is coming this morning.

Friday Morning Lineup

• Women’s 100 Freestyle
• Men’s 200 Backstroke
• Men’s MC 100 Back
• Women’s MC 100 Back
• Men’s 200 Breast
• Women’s 200 Breast
• Men’s MC 50 Breast
• Women’s MC 50 Breast
• Men’s 1500 Free — Timed Final (Early Heats)

The session will kick off with the women’s 100 freestyle, where Meg Harris and Mollie O’Callaghan are the respective 1st and 2nd seeds, just a tenth apart. Harris and O’Callaghan will both be looking to respond last month’s performances from American Anna Moesch and the Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen.

In the men’s 200 backstroke, Joshua Edwards-Smith is the top Australian seed and 17-year-old Henry Allan is seeded about seven tenths behind him.

The men’s and women’s 100 backstroke Multi-Class event will follow and S14 athletes Benjamin Hance and Madeleine McTernan have the top respective seed times.

Commonwealth Record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook is the top seed in the men’s 200 breaststroke, seven tenths ahead of Bailey Lello. They are the only two men seeded under 2:10 in the event. Tara Kinder is the top seed in the women’s 200 breaststroke, just eight hundredths ahead of Ella Ramsay. Sienna Toohey, the 50 and 100 breaststroke champion, is seeded 4th, a little under three seconds back of the leaders.

The Multi-Class 50 breaststroke events will follow the 200 breaststrokes. SB14 100 breaststroke champion Jake Michel has the men’s fastest seed time and SB9 swimmer Kiera Stephens is the top women’s seed.

The session will wrap up with the early timed-final heat of the men’s 1500 freestyle event. James Smith will be the top seed this morning in 15:34.87 as he tries to swim a time that will crack the top eight.

Women’s 100 Freestyle — Prelims

• World Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 2023
• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Meg Harris (RACKL) — 52.71
2. Mollie O’Callaghan (STPET) — 52.90
3. Shayna Jack (STPET) — 53.29
4. Milla Jansen (STPET) — 53.66
5. Alexandria Perkins (USCS) — 53.71
6. Olivia Wunsch (CARL) — 53.75
7. Hannah Casey (BOND) — 54.23
8. Chloe Rowe-Hagans (STAND) — 54.41

Meg Harris and Mollie O’Callaghan were the only women under 53 seconds in this morning’s 100 freestyle prelims, with Harris coming out on top after swimming 52.71 to O’Callaghan’s 52.90.

Harris had the fastest split in the field on both 50s, splitting 25.36 on the opening 50 and 27.35 on the 2nd 50. O’Callaghan had the 2nd fastest 50 split for both, swimming 25.53/27.37 to finish 2nd in prelims.

Harris’ lifetime best stands at 52.52 from the 2024 Australian Trials, a time she was only two tenths off of this morning. O’Callaghan’s best is 52.16 from the 2023 World Championships. They will both be chasing those times tonight.

Shayna Jack qualified 3rd, splitting 25.63/27.66 to stop the clock in a new season best 53.29. Her lifetime best is 52.64 from the 2023 Australian Championships.

Milla Jansen set a new personal best 53.66 to qualify 4th overall, just five hundredths ahead of Alexandria Perkins, who swam 53.71 for 5th.

Olivia Wunsch (53.75) and Hannah Casey (54.23) took 6th and 7th respectively, both off their lifetime bests, while 22-year-old Chloe Rowe-Hangans took 8th in 54.41, a four tenth drop from her previous best of 54.81 and her 3rd time ever under 55 seconds.

Lani Pallister took 9th, just one spot out of the final, with her lifetime best 54.44.

Men’s 200 Backstroke — Prelims

• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Se-Bom Lee (SOSC) — 1:58.22
2. Stuart Swinburn (COSAC) — 1:58.48
3. Joshua Edwards-Smith (GUSC) — 1:58.55
4. Adam Graham (MNLY) — 1:58.89
5. Henry Allan (BDE) — 1:59.61
6. Matthew Magnussen (NCOLL) — 1:59.84
7. Tate Sirianni CRAN) — 2:01.29
8. Jack Morrow (STAND) — 2:01.67

Se-Bom Lee earned the top spot in the men’s 200 backstroke finals tonight after swimming 1:58.22 to be the fastest Australian in the prelims.

He split 28.12/29.99/30.22/29.89 to finish about a second off his seed time of 1:57.27, and two tenths ahead of Stuart Swinburn’s 1:58.48 in the 2nd qualifying spot. His lifetime best is 1:57.02 from the 2024 Australian Trials.

Swinburn was 27.82/29.70/30.32/30.64 to add four tenths from his lifetime best of 1:58.04, which he swam in May.

Joshua Edwards-Smith, who was the top Australian seed coming into the morning, swam 1:58.55 to qualify 3rd for tonight’s final. Smith’s lifetime best is 1:55.42 and he swam 1:56.28 last summer at the World Championships.

Korea’s Lee Juho swam the fastest time of the morning, touching in 1:57.72 after splitting 27.30/29.85/30.14/30.43, but he is not able to swim in the championship final and will be racing in the ‘B’ final, bumping up 9th finisher Jack Morrow, who swam 2:01.67, into the ‘A’ final.

Men’s MC 100 Backstroke — Prelims

Benjamin Hance, an S14 swimmer, scored the most points in the men’s 100 backstroke prelims. He stopped the clock in 59.06, bringing in 852 points to outscore 2nd place Timothy Hodge (S9), who swam 1:04.67 for 788 points. Fellow S9 swimmer Liam Togher took 3rd with 765 points, with his time of 1:05.31.

Women’s MC 100 Backstroke — Prelims

Madeleine McTernan (S14) won the women’s 100 backstroke prelims by more than 100 points, scoring 837 for her lifetime best time of 1:07.97. This swim is also a new Australian S14 record in the event, with the former record being her own previous best time of 1:07.97.

Airlie Davis (S14) took 2nd with 710 points after swimming a personal best 1:11.79. She was the only other swimmer to bring in more than 700 points with Chloe Osborn (S7) finishing 3rd wit 967 points after she swam 1:29.64.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Prelims

• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Bailey Lello (STPET) – 2:10.61
2. Zac Stubblety-Cook (NUN) — 2:11.73
3. Joshua Yong (HLDR) — 2:13.48
4. Joshua Collet (BOND) — 2:13.88
5. Ethan Cook (CARL) — 2:14.05
6. Finlay Schuster (NCOLL) — 2:14.29
7. Joshua Anderson (BGRAM) — 2:14.36
8. Harrison Biddell (MARI) — 2:14.66

The men’s 200 breaststroke prelims went to 23-year-old Bailey Lello in 2:10.61, less than a second off his lifetime best 2:09.79 and his 2nd fastest swim ever in the event, overtaking the 2:10.65 he swam at the 2024 Australian Trials.

Lello was out fast, splitting 29.59 on the first 50 to be one of just two swimmers under 30 seconds on the first 50 with Zac Stubblety-Cook as the other with his 29.98.

From there, Lello split 33.02/33.71/34.29 to stop the clock about a second ahead of Stubblety-Cook’s 2:11.73.

Stubblety-Cook split 29.98/33.29/33.56/34.90 to finish 2nd in prelims, a little under three seconds off his season best of 2:09.09. He holds the Commonwealth and Australian records at 2:05.95 from 2022.

Joshua Yong picked up 3rd place, splitting 30.33/34.02/34.22/34.91 to touch in 2:13.48. HIs best time is 2:08.08 from the Australian Trials in 2024.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke — Prelims

• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Ella Ramsay (NUN) – 2:25.00
2. Tara Kinder (MVC) — 2:27.13
3. Matilda Smith (MIAMI) — 2:28.23
4. Sienna Harben (GUC) — 2:29.33
5. Amelie Smith (ROCKC) — 2:29.41
6. Julia Spedding (GUSC) — 2:31.24
7. Sienna Toohey (ALBU) — 2:31.37
8. Reidel Smith (NUN) — 2:32.66

There were five women under 2:30 in this morning’s prelims session, led by Ella Ramsay, who swam 2:25.00 to earn the middle lane for tonight’s final by more than two seconds over the rest of the field.

Ramsay split 33.03/36.94/37.13/37.90 to have the fastest splits in the field on all four 50s. Her final time of 2:25.00 was a little more than two seconds off her lifetime best 2:22.87 from the 2024 Australian Trials.

Tara Kinder, who was the top seed coming in, swam 2:27.13 to finish 2nd, a full second ahead of 3rd place finisher Matilda Smith. Kinder was 33.36/37.33/37.63/38.81 to add a little more than three seconds from the 2:23.84 she swam in March of 2025, which is the only time she has been under 2:24.

Smith swam 2:28.23 for 2nd, another full second ahead of 4th place finisher Sienna Harben. This was a three second add from her best of 2:24.89, which she swam in April of 2024.

Sienna Harben and Amelie Smith had a close race for 4th to be the final swimmers under 2:30. harben split 33.03/37.60/38.45/40.25 to stop the clock in 2:29.33, just eight hundredhts ahead of Smith’s 2:29.41.

Smith came home stronger than Haraben, splitting 34.17/38.14/38.94/38.16. Both women added from their best times in the event.

Men’s MC 50 Breaststroke — Prelims

Jake Michel (SB14) set himself up nicely to win another breaststroke event tonight, scoring almost 200 points more than the rest of the field in the Multi-Class 50 breaststroke. He stopped the clock in 29.70 to pick up 798 points. this was 192 points more than 2nd place finisher Ahmed Kelly, who swam 54.95 to pick up 606 points in the SB3 class.

Women’s MC 50 Breaststroke — Prelims

The women’s Mixed-Class 50 breaststroke prelims went to Ruby Halliday, an SB7 swimmer, by just 16 points over 16-year-old Sahrah Hancock, who is classified as SB6. Halliday stopped the clock in 45.38, picking up 618 points, while Hancock swam 48.44 to score 602 points. It could be a clos race tonight between these two. The 3rd qualifier, SB6 athlete Amelie Kelly-Springett was also close in points, swimming 48.91 to rack up 585 points for 3rd.

Men’s 1500 Freestyle — Timed Finals (Early Heat)

• 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