Swimming Australia Updates Worlds Selection Criteria After Stroke 50s Olympic Addition

The 2025 Australian Swimming Trials are on the horizon, set to kick off in Adelaide, Australia, from June 9 through June 14. The competition will serve as the official qualifier for the World Aquatics Championships, which will take place in Singapore, running from July 26 to August 3.

Swimming Australia has recently amended its selection criteria for Worlds, following the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) announcement that 50-meter stroke events (backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly) will be added to the Olympic program. As a result, these events are now being treated with the same priority as all other individual events at the Trials. This means that the top two finishers in each final who achieve the qualifying standard will be selected for the World Championships team.

This marks a significant shift from the previous policy, where only the swimmer who touched first was eligible for selection in the stroke 50s. Swimming Australia initially signaled the change by posting a version of the criteria with crossed-out text (pictured below), which has since been replaced by a new policy.

The revised selection framework is outlined below:

Individual Olympic Events:

• Swimmers who place within the top 2 in the final at Trials who swim faster than the Swimming Australia qualifying time.
• If only the winner of the final swims faster than the Swimming Australia qualifying time, only they are eligible to be selected for the event.
• If no swimmer in the final swims faster than the qualifying time, a swimmer who qualifies for the team in a different event if they have “met any applicable World Aquatics qualification time(s) for the relevant event.”

Medley Relays:

• The highest and second-highest ranked swimmers in each of the stroke 100s will be eligible for selection to the team in the medley relay.
• Swimming under the Swimming Australia qualifying time does not guarantee an athlete selection in a relay event – selection is at the sole discretion of the selection panel.
• No additional athletes will be selected solely for the purpose of competing in the mixed 4×100 medley relay.

Freestyle Relays:

• First and second place finishers in the 100 and 200 freestyle finals will be selected to the team.
• Third – eighth place finishers in the 100 and 200 freestyles will be considered for selection as “relay-only” swimmers. The following factors are considered:
  • Past relay performances
  • Past relay skills
  • Performances at previous domestic and international events
  • Any other factors the SA Selection Committee considers relevant

Non-Olympic Events (Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay):

• The National Head Coach will decide who, if anyone, races in the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay at World Championships.

Each section of the selection criteria is qualified by the fact that the selection panel has absolute discretion. That means that the aforementioned criteria will most likely be used, but if something unexpected happens, the panel can us their discretion to fill out the team.

Additionally, there is no automatic selection criteria for the World Championships based on, for example, results at last summer’s Olympic Games.

Swimming Australia’s World Championship Qualifying Times: