2025 Worlds, Day 3 Oceanian Recap: Turner Becomes AUS’s 1st Male 200 Fly Finalist In 22 Years

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
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  • Prelims: Day 1
  • Finals: Day 1

The Australia men have a long and distinguished history in the freestyle events, through Kieran Perkins, Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, Michael Klim, Eamon Sullivan and now Kyle Chalmers, but their track record in the stroke events has been a little spottier.

Nowhere has that been more evident than in the 200 butterfly. Matt Temple was just 0.27 seconds away from a final in 2019, but Australia has not put a man into the top eight at a long course world championships since 2003. Justin Norris and Travis Nederpelt made the final in Barcelona, adding time from the semi finals to finish 7th and 8th in 1:28.22 and 1:58.95, respectively.

The wait has been so long that the man to break the drought was not yet born at that point. Harrison Turner, born February 2004, was not always set on swimming – he competed in athletics at a national level, and it was the offer of a scholarship at Nudgee College that decided his path.

He took a break from the sport after the Tokyo Olympic Trials, where he placed 13th in the 100 fly and 16th in the 200, but couldn’t stay away for long.

The rise since has been dizzying for the 21-year-old. He placed 2nd in the 200 fly last summer at Australian Trials in 1:57.07, a new best but not quite under the Olympic ‘A’ standard that would have seen him selected. That was 0.70 seconds faster than the previous year, where he also finished 2nd, that time in 1:57.77 – for a swimmer who had been 2:07.17 just two year prior.

He was a beneficiary of Kaylee McKeown‘s decision to withdraw from the short course world championships squad last December, taking the place that opened up in the 24-strong Australia team and becoming Dolphin #868. He swam the 100 free and 200 fly there, finishing 17th and just off his best of 1:52.63 in the fly, one which ranked him 7th all-time among Australian men.

He neared his long course best at the Australian Open Championships in March, clocking 1:57.28, but performed a demolition job at Trials two months later. He slashed more than two seconds off, winning the final in 1:54.90 to lead by three seconds and vault to #2 on the Australian rankings, less than half a second behind Nick D’Arcy, but more was still to come.

Australian Top-5 All-Time, Men’s 200 Butterfly

1. Nick D’Arcy, 2009 – 1:54.46
2. Harrison Turner, 2025 – 1:54.74
3. Matt Temple, 2021 – 1:55.25
4. David Morgan, 2019 – 1:55.25
5. Grant Irvine, 2013 – 1:55.32

He knocked more time off this morning, going 1:54.74 to place 8th before his semi-final swim of 1:54.94. That put him 0.24 seconds ahead of 9th place Martin Espernberger, the bronze medalist from the 2024 world championships and an Olympic finalist last summer.

His last three swims have been his only three under the 1:55, 1:56 and 1:57 barrier. He has skipped right over any growing pains at this level, and looks a force already. It will not take another 22 years before the Green and Gold are back in another final.

Other Day 3 Oceanian Highlights:

• Erika Fairweather has rebounded well after being disqualified in the heats of her favored 400 free, qualifying third into the final of the 200 free tomorrow. She was shockingly consistent on her final three 50s, splitting 29.48/29.45/29.50, as the only swimmer in the field to keep all her 50s under 29.5. Her time of 1:55.52 comes in just 0.08 seconds off her National Record from 2023, and with two-thirds of the Paris podium (Ariarne Titmus and Siobhan Haughey) not here in Singapore, she may still head home with a medal.
• Both Mollie O’Callaghan (1:55.49, 2nd) and Jamie Perkins (1:55.89, 5th) also made it through to the women’s 200 free final tomorrow, although O’Callaghan has not looked as dominant as years past so far. She’ll have the opportunity to add to her 4×100 free relay gold tomorrow evening, while Perkins makes it two-for-two after making the 400 free final on Day 1.
• Fiji’s Samuel Yalimaiwai set his first ever Fijian Record in long course, clocking a time of 28.54 to shave 0.26 seconds off the old mark held by Tachi Vakasama. That comes just weeks after his gold and short course national record set at the start of the month at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau, and sees him follow in the footsteps of his elder brother Temafa Yalimaiwai who owns the 100 and 200 fly marks, and was part of the men’s 4×100 free relay team that set that record in the Commonwealth Games final in 2022.
• Lewis Clareburt was a semi-finalist in the men’s 200 fly, and although he dropped a second in the semifinals to go 1:55.24, he ended up just 0.3 seconds outside the finalists in 10th. That is a new best by the Auckland-based swimmer, who has been trying a different approach to training this year, knocking 0.36 seconds off the 1:55.60 he went to win commonwealth gold back in 2022. He could be a medal contender in the 400 IM on the final day if he manages to drop time from his best and Oceanian Record of 4:08.70 there.
• Kouki Watanabe came within five-hundredths of a 14-year-old Northern Mariana Islands record in the 50 breast that is only three years younger than him. He was 31.36 to finish 70th, just off Eli Wong’s 2011 mark.
• Kaylee McKeown did it once again, storming home on the second 50 to win the 100 back for her fourth individual world title. Her time of 57.16 was a new best, just 0.03 seconds off Regan Smith‘s World Record, and continues her unbeaten streak against the American swimmer in major finals. The last time she was beaten in this race at a major championship was all the way back in 2019, where she placed 5th aged just 18. Having dislocated her shoulder after Australian Trials, and come into these championships with a stated aim of ‘falling back in love with the pool’, the decision not to drop this event looks to have worked out.
• Lani Pallister couldn’t quite match her Australian Record of 15:39.14 from Trials, but showed gutsy determination in going out with Katie Ledecky for the first 400 meters. She faded to 3rd behind a stunning swim from Simona Quadarella but took her second worlds bronze in the event after doing so in 2022, although she was seven seconds faster this time. There could be more distance hardware to come tomorrow in the men’s 800 free, where Sam Short will be in lane 5 after a swim of 7:42.22 in the heats today, although Benjamin Goedemans just missed out in 9th in his first ever world championships swim.

For complete results, in-depth analysis, and coverage of performances from all countries, be sure to check out our full session recap.

National Records

• Australia: Men’s 4×100 free relay – 3:08.97
• Kazuumi Nestore (Palau): Men’s 50 fly – 26.56
• Katerson Moya (Micronesia): Men’s 50 fly – 26.67
• Leo Lebot (Vanuatu): Men’s 50 fly – 29.24
• Jacob Story (Cook Islands): Men’s 100 breast – 1:02.93
• Lanihei Connolly (Cook Islands): Women’s 100 breast – 1:07.40
• Samuel Yalimaiwai (Fiji): Men’s 50 breast – 28.54

Continental Records

• Australia: Men’s 4×100 free relay – 3:08.97

Oceanian Medal Table Through Day 3:

Overall Medal Table Through Day 3: