Australia’s National Championships and World Champs Trials begin next week in Sydney, and the freestyle events are loaded up with the nation’s top stars.
On the men’s side, James Magnussen and Cameron McEvoy will swim identical schedules, each taking on the 50, 100 and 200 frees, plus a foray into the 50 fly.
Young distance star Mack Horton will handle the longer races from 200 meters up, and Thomas Fraser-Holmes is entered through the middle distances along with both IMs and the 200 fly.
Horton will get a chance to face off with the man whose legend he’s been chasing his whole career as an Australian distance man. Grant Hackett‘s comeback takes its first major steps in Sydney, in the very pool where he won his first two Olympic gold medals back in 2000.
Hackett will swim the 100, 200 and 400 frees, shooting for a potential relay spot on the Australian National Team for this summer’s World Championships.
On the women’s side, things are also headlined by freestylers. Sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell will swim the 50 and 100 frees. Also in those events is Alicia Coutts, though she’ll also focus on the 50 and 100 fly and the 50 back.
The big non-free name to watch will be Emily Seebohm, who will look to follow up her outstanding 2014 season by qualifying for the 2015 World Championships. Seebohm upset American star Missy Franklin in both backstrokes at last summer’s Pan Pacs, but could qualify for a rematch with a now-healthy Franklin at Worlds.
Seebohm takes over the full brunt of Australia’s backstroking corps after Belinda Hocking announced she’d be taking a break from the sport after a string of unrelated injuries.
A couple of up-and-coming names to keep an eye on: 16-year-old sprinting sensation Kyle Chalmers will be competing in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly. Meanwhile on the women’s side, 14-year-old Minna Atherton holds high seeds in a number of events.
Here’s a look at the event lineups for some of the bigger names:
- James Magnussen: 50 fly, 200 free, 100 free, 50 free
- Cameron McEvoy: 50 fly, 200 free, 100 free, 50 free
- Thomas Fraser-Holmes: 400 free, 200 free, 200 fly, 100 free, 200 IM, 400 IM
- Mack Horton: 400 free, 200 free, 800 free, 1500 free
- Grant Hackett: 400 free, 200 free, 100 free
- David McKeon: 400 free, 200 free, 100 free
- Kyle Chalmers: 100 free, 50 free, 100 fly
- Emily Seebohm: 200 IM, 100 back, 50 back, 100 free, 200 back, 50 free
- Cate Campbell: 100 free, 50 free
- Bronte Campbell: 100 free, 50 free
- Bronte Barratt: 200 IM, 400 free, 200 free, 100 free
- Brittany Elmslie: 200 free, 100 free, 50 fly, 50 free, 100 fly
- Alicia Coutts: 50 back, 100 free, 50 fly, 50 free, 100 fly
- Minna Atherton: 50 back, 100 back, 200 back
Full psych sheets here
The Australian national meet will also host some well-known international names. Most come from nearby New Zealand, but there’s a solid Swedish representation as well. Here’s a few of the top-seeded names:
- Lauren Boyle (New Zealand): 400 free, 1500 free, 200 free
- Matthew Stanley (New Zealand): 400 free, 200 free
- Michelle Coleman (Sweden): 200 free, 100 free, 200 back, 50 free, 100 back
- Jennie Johansson (Sweden): 100 breast, 200 breast, 50 breast
- Siman Sudartawa (Indonesia): 100 back, 200 back, 50 back
