Ceccon Clocks Season-Best 52.84 100 Back In Brisbane

2025 NATIONAL PREP MEET (AUS)

• Saturday, March 15th & Sunday, March 16th
• Brisbane Aquatic Centre
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
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The 2025 National Prep Meet in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia got underway today with age groupers and elite athletes alike taking to the pool. The competition offers a tune-up opportunity on the road to the all-important World Trials on the agenda for June.

This meet is in a rapid-fire racing format with timed finals in two sessions, one at 8am local and one at 2:25pm local.

24-year-old Thomas Ceccon of Italy was one of the high-profile athletes who dove in today, as the Olympic champion and world record holder has been training at St. Peters Western in Australia since last year. The versatile ace was entered in the Brisbane Senior Metro Championships on the books for last weekend; however, the meet was cancelled due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Ceccon took on his signature 100m backstroke event where he beat the field handily, crushing a solid in-season effort of 52.84.

Ceccon opened in 25.86 and closed in 26.98 to beat the field by well over 2 seconds. The next-closest competitor was Somerville House Aquatics’ Kalani Ireland who touched in 55.54 while New Zealand’s Zachary Dell was next in 57.17.

Ceccon’s effort today is a season-best and now ranks him #2 in the world. The crown is still worn by Great Britain’s newcomer Oliver Morgan, who ripped a time of 52.71 to come within .01 of his national record at last month’s BUCS Championships.

Ceccon was originally entered in the 200m free but wound up not racing the event. In his stead, it was 19-year-old Bond Olympian Flynn Southam who took the title.

Southam produced a time of 1:48.44 to represent one of two swimmers who dipped under the 1:50 barrier.

Joining him was St. Peters Western standout and Paris Olympian Kai Taylor who hit 1:49.24. Brisbane Grammar’s Ed Sommerville rounded out the podium in 1:51.85.

This marks Southam’s first competition since the Olympic Games and the teen made the most of the opportunity. His 200m free represented one of three victories, as he raced in the 0ff-event of the 800m free last night where he logged 8:20.93 and he also claimed 400m free gold in 3:57.87.

South was also a contender in the 50m free where he placed 2nd in a result of 22.63 behind winner Jamie Jack who beat the pack in 22.32.

Kiwi Michael Pickett clocked 23.06 for the bronze, tying the 23.06 17-year-old Joshua Conias put up during his age category’s contest.

Jack is currently ranked #1 in the world in the splash n’ dash, courtesy of the 21.66 he posted at last December’s Queensland Championships.

On the women’s side, 18-year-old Milla Jansen logged the fastest 50m freestyle of the day, turning in a time of 25.12.

The Bond teen has been as quick as 24.76 in her career, an outing she produced to take the gold at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.

Jansen also raced in the 200m and 400m freestyle distances on the day, hitting the quickest times of the field in each.

In the former, she registered 1:59.74 as the sole swimmer under the 2:00 barrier while in the latter she posted 4:17.92 to win by over 4 seconds.

University of North Carolina commit Olympia Pope put her breaststroking prowess on display as the 16-year-old topped both the 50m and 200m events.

Pope put up a time of 32.13 in the 50m breast and 2:32.32 in the 200m.

Her 50m time checks in as a new personal best, overtaking her previous PB of 32.24 established at the 2023 Australian Age Championships. The Miami swimmer’s 200m breast best remains at the 2:29.12 clocked at last year’s edition of that meet.

Additional Winners

• Bond’s 19-year-old Tilly King was the women’s 100m breast victor in a time of 1:09.41, beating the field by over 3 seconds en route to gold.
• The men’s 50m breast saw Gideon Burnes hit a mark of 28.27 to get the edge over Felix Wilson who was a hair behind in 28.34.
• Somerville House Aquatics’ Coco McGrath turned in a time of 2:35.50 to win the 15-year-old girls’ age race of the 200m breast. That was the 2nd-quickest time overall on the day.
• Layla Day was too quick to catch in the women’s 100m back, posting 1:01.22 for the gold.
• 21-year-old Bailey Lello took the men’s 200m breast in a result of 2:14.55 as the fastest result.