With the anti-doping test statistics have been released for the Singapore World Championships, there are some interesting lineup decisions noted that had not yet been announced. Regarding the statistics, as Sean Griffin reported:
“World Aquatics has released anti-doping testing statistics, including tests carried out by other organizations and compiled by the World Aquatics Integrity Unit. The data only includes swimmers entered in the meet and excludes those not participating, though unentered swimmers are still subject to testing.”
The data also includes events for each athlete, which for swimmers has given some insights into a few last-minute roster and entry changes.
Australian 200 butterflier Abbey Connor does not appear on Aquatics integrity’s list of swimmers who either have had or are in the pool for anti-doping tests for the World Championships in Singapore. Connor made the final in the event last summer in Paris, where she finished 8th.
Instead, Elizabeth Dekkers appears on the list as an entrant in the 200 fly. She finished third in 2:07.36 in the event at Australian Trials, behind Connor (2:07.14) and winner Brittany Castelluzzo (2:06.91). However, she holds a best time of 2:05.20 from last April that ranks her as the 14th-fastest swimmer in history .
Dekkers has been a mainstay in this event on the world stage in recent years. She placed fifth at the 2022 World Championships, took silver at the 2023 World Championships and then placed fourth at the Paris Olympics.
She also won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and won bronze at short course worlds in both 2022 and 2024. Notably, she came within three-hundredths of a second of Ellen Gandy’s short course Australian Record in Budapest last December with her time of 2:02.91.
In long course she is Australia’s third-fastest woman in history, and shakes up what was looking like a slightly sleepy 200 fly field behind phenom Summer McIntosh and Regan Smith. On experience alone she may be a favorite to make the podium along with that pair.
So far this season Dekkers ranks 12th in the world, but seventh among women who will be Singapore.
2024-2025 LCM Women 200 Fly
McIntosh
2:01.99
| 2 | Regan Smith | USA | 2:04.99 | 07/31 |
| 3 | Tess HOWLEY | USA | 2:05.20 | 07/22 |
| 4 | Caroline BRICKER | USA | 2:05.80 | 06/03 |
| 5 | Elizabeth Dekkers | AUS | 2:06.12 | 07/31 |
| 6 | Alex Shackell | USA | 2:06.13 | 05/01 |
| 7 | Yu ZIDI | CHN | 2:06.43 | 07/31 |
| 8 | Audrey Derivaux | USA | 2:06.46 | 05/01 |
| 9 | Brittany Castelluzzo | AUS | 2:06.86 | 04/22 |
| 10 | Keanna Macinnes | GBR | 2:06.93 | 05/24 |
| 11 | Abbey Connor | AUS | 2:07.14 | 06/12 |
| 12 | Lindsay Looney | USA | 2:07.30 | 05/15 |
| 12 | Chen Luying | CHN | 2:07.30 | 03/21 |
| 14 | Helena Rosendahl BACH | DEN | 2:07.47 | 07/31 |
| 15 | Ellen WALSHE | IRL | 2:07.48 | 07/30 |
She added time last year in Paris to clock 2:07.11 for joint-fourth, but had previously dropped time (2022) or been around her best (2023) in the summer.
The entry lists have not formally been released, and Swimming Australia did not respond to a request to confirm the news. An Instagram post from three weeks ago indicates that Connor was still planning to race at that point.
Additional Aussie Event News (Based on these Doping Lists)
- Kyle Chalmers will not swim the 50 fly this summer after setting a monster new best of 22.89 this season, and is instead only entered in the 50 free and 100 free. This will be his first time swimming the 50 free at the World Championships and comes after he set a new best of 21.68 to finish 2nd behind Cam McEvoy at Trials. Jesse Coleman takes Chalmers’ spot in the 50 fly.
- Mollie O’Callaghan will only swim the freestyle events in Singapore after placing 2nd in the 100 back behind Kaylee McKeown in Adelaide but dropping the event for Worlds. Hannah Fredricks will take the next spot up in the 100 back.
- 16-year-old Sienna Toohey will swim both the 50 and 100 breast after taking the win in both events at Trials, and will swim in her first senior International meet for the Green and Gold
I like Dekkers’ stroke. It kinda reminds me of Jessicah Schipper’s- a fellow Aussie female 200 fly phenom from the 2000’s
Wondering want happened. Anyway, cool Dekkers is onboard. It is impressive how much she has achieved being the only swimming at that level who only uses on kick per stroke cycle!
I bet once she starts using 2 kicks per stroke cycle, she will get PBs and contest podiums 💪
Rumour is they tried but it just doesn’t work for her.
She has been on podiums.
Thanks, Joel, for replying. I know she’s been in podiums, but not Olympic podium. She has all the potential, but that technique flaw has a clear limit. She was third in trials for Singapore. It would be a bit like learning to walk again, specially if she learnt the wrong coordination early, and has done thousands of metres with that movement pattern.
Still time for LA. Hope someone at SA realises it and guides her 🙇♀️, so she significantly improve the 50 and 100 m, and can go head to head with McIntosh in the 200 m.
Hey I just noticed that Tess Howley has the right time on the top times chart but she is only ranked 8th when she should be 6th. That would also mean USA has 2-6 on the top times this year.
Good catch! Fixed it.
Pity Swimming Australia haven’t put out a media release to explain the reason! World Aquatics have the change in the final entries! That would save all the conjecture…
It is a bit strange. They didn’t even have to provide a reason — just a simple post letting everyone know that Abbey has withdrawn from the team and been replaced by Lizzy would suffice.
Agree totally. It leads people on to think the worst…
Don’t think the worst. Not drugs, not injured. Sometimes life trumps swimming. Not the only team member withdrawal so I’m sure there’s a press release coming soon enough.
These athletes continue to get horrendous PR/media advice from their federations. Is there like a directory of awful public relations people that these federations all go to for their hires?? How is it possible that global swim culture is so bad that every single one of these federations makes consistently poor hires in this department?
Took the good part of a week for a presser just to hear Abbey Connor pulled out for personal reasons. And the surprise news Zac S-C has pulled out due to injury! So the Aussie men will be weak in the breaststroke events and medley relay….
Where’s the presser? The medley relay was already cooked anyway.
Nevermind it’s up on the website now: https://www.swimming.org.au/articles/dolphins-confirm-team-changes-for-singapore-world-championships
Abbey isn’t qualified for any other events. If true, she must’ve pulled out. If SA put Dekkers in over her then that’s completely unfair
S.A would not go against their own qualifying procedures. Abbey either injured or pulled out of her own accord for her own reasons.
Is Connor injured. Otherwise this is completely unfair.
She must have withdrawn for some reason. No way she was replaced against her will.
I know in Athletics, World Athletics doesn’t let you compete at the world championships if you haven’t had a certain amount of tests by a certain date, I’ve not heard of that in swimming but it could be something I’ve missed
I don’t think anything like that exists in swimming.
Connor was announced in the team, so it’s not a case of Swimming Australia doing something unfair. She’s either injured or has another reason for withdrawing.
Why wasn’t Dekkers originally named in the AUS A team to compete at TYR Pro Series? Smells a bit fishy to me.
She perhaps declined.
There is no chance that SA would suddenly change their selection procedure. There will be a good reason.
Swimming Australia has been absolutely mum on the change (to us and others).
We all remember what happened last time this went down, but…
Perhaps she didn’t want to cough up $2500
Interesting point: Moesha Johnson isn’t listed to swim the 1500m freestyle, even though other swimmers who do both open water and pool events—like Florian Wellbrock and Gregorio Paltrinieri—are entered in the men’s race.
In Australia, open water swimmers were allowed to qualify for pool events outside the usual selection process at the Australian Trials. At Trials, Tiana Kritzinger came 2nd and swam under the Swimming Australia qualifying time, but didn’t make the team. This is because, based on overall rankings, Moesha Johnson was considered 2nd and Kritzinger 3rd. Any thoughts?
Johnson is entered in the 1500. See over here: https://swimswam.com/elizabeth-dekkers-appears-to-replace-abbey-connor-in-the-200-fly-for-australia-in-singapore/#comment-1585094
I don’t know the answer but it seems strange.
WAQ have published the entries to the website now but the relay only swimmers are still missing. I created seeded entry lists:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-8vXNqC-2USyzJURvxcxsksRUC7vdtKsiZlIFrdm8B0/edit?usp=sharing
Do you (or anyone else for this matter) know why the pool entries are out but not the Openwater entries when the Openwater starts next week and Pool is not for another 2 and a bit weeks?