2023 Victorian Open Long Course Championships
- February 17 – 19, 2023
- Melbourne Sports Centres
- Long Course Meters (50 meters)
- Meet Site
- Psych Sheets
The psych sheets have been released for the 2023 Victorian Open Long Course Championships, revealing which Aussie stars are set to race. The meet will run at the Melbourne Sports Centres from Friday, February 17 – Sunday, February 19, 2023. As with many in-season championship meets in Australia, the Victorian Champs will feature many of the nation’s stars while also having many significant absences.
One of the biggest names seen in the psych sheets is Olympic gold medalist Kaylee McKeown who has entered to race seven events. McKeown is the top seed in her signature 100 backstroke and 200 IM and also holds the top seed in an off event, the 100 freestyle, in which she’s entered with a 54.29. McKeown’s other three events are the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and the 200 freestyle. While McKeown is regarded as a backstroker first and IMer second, her breaststroke is fairly competitive nationally. Her career best is 1:07.85 in long course.
This meet will be McKeown’s return to high-level racing following a dominant performance at the 2022 Short Course World Championships. There, she topped the podium in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, took bronze in the 200 IM, along with another two relay medals.
Lani Pallister also had a huge meet at the 2022 Short Course Worlds, pulling off a triple victory in the 400, 800, and 1500 freestyles. She added another gold in the 4×200 freestyle relay. Pallister is sticking to the shorter freestyles at the Victorian Open, entered as the top seed in the 200 freestyle (1:56.28) and the 400 freestyle (4:02.21). Pallister is also entered in the 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 50 freestyle, and 200 butterfly. 2023 will be an interesting opportunity for Pallister to make some moves on the international stage after her 2022 comeback, which included 1500 freestyle bronze at the long course World Championships.
In the men’s breaststroke, we’ll get a preliminary look at what could become one of the most exciting storylines at Australian Trials later this year. 200 breaststroke world record-holder Zac Stubblety-Cook won’t be racing here, but Matt Wilson and Samuel Williamson will be. In 2022 Wilson qualified to swim the 200 breaststroke at Worlds, joining Stubblety-Cook, but it was only ZSC who qualified to race the 100 breaststroke at the big meet. Williamson is the top seed in that event at the Victorian Open with a 59.82, followed by Wilson with a 1:01.01 and both will be gunning for a spot on the team later this year. Those two will also face off in the 50 breast, while Wilson seems to be more of a favorite to win the 200. The second seed to Wilson’s 2:10.14 is Yuta Imanishi of Japan (2:13.06), followed by Adam Selwood with a 2:13.09. We probably can’t expect and best times at this meet but the 100 breast showdown between Williamson and Wilson will be a good early look at what’s to come.
Brendon Smith is among those on the entry list here but he’s opted out of his two main events, the 200 IM and 400 IM. Instead, he’ll race a trio of 200s in the form of butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle, and the 100 free. Smith won Olympic bronze in the 400 IM in Tokyo and walked away with silver in the event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. While IM has been his focus internationally in recent years, he’s also become a recurring member of the men’s 4×200 freestyle relay.
An Australian man hasn’t made it past the prelims round at a major international meet since Matt Temple‘s performance at 2019 Worlds. It’s unclear whether Smith will make a bid for a spot on the team in the 200 fly later this year at 2023 Worlds and if so, he’ll likely need to improve upon his 1:58.66 entry time. He’s the only Australian entered here with a time under 2 minutes and will race against Japan’s Yuki Tsujino (1:58.85), Australian William Petric, Se-Bom Lee who raced the 400 IM for Australia at Tokyo 2020.
As outlined in a recent article, the top tier of female 100 freestylers right now made it hard to imagine anyone breaking through and disrupting the current squad of sprinters. One swimmer who will be looking to do just that, however, is teen Olivia Wunsch. Wunsch hit a new PB of 54.50 in the summer of 2022 while representing Australia at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. She’s one of a few teens who could break through into the 53 zone this year and start working her way toward a spot in the top 6.
Other swimmers to watch out for this weekend in Melbourne include breastroker Chelsea Hodges in the 50 and 100, William Yang in the 50 free, 100 free, and 50 fly, and Isaac Cooper in the 50 back, 50 free, 50 fly, 100 free, and 100 back. Check back once the meet gets underway to follow along with all the action at the 2023 Victorian Swimming Championships.
off the topic but did swimswam ever consider to set up a forum-like discussion area for fans? isn’t it more convenient?
Seems like Pallister has scratched the meet.
Kaylee just went 1:06.86 in the 100 breast ! One second PB.
You beat me to it! She looked fantastic. Watching on Kayo sports.
Nicholas Stoupas also went a PB in the 50 breast (29.40). Maybe he can take down Wilson’s 15 yo age record at age champs.
And 54.66 100 free very soon after
Kaylee’s on fire in the early season as she always was! Hope she could improve her fly as well. Her fly really costs her in IM.
Kaylee McKeown has never swum the 400IM internationally and I don’t think she’s done it domestically either since making waves in 2022 with a 4.31.74. She’s been lukewarm about the 200IM but the fact she’s swimming it here plus the 100/200BS suggests she will include it on her international program.
A slight correction. McKeown has not swum the 400IM internationally since 2018 CommGames where she failed to make the final.
The 400IM is directly before the 100 free at this meet so she couldn’t swim both, but as you say the fact she is swimming 200 breast does suggest she still has IM on her radar.
I suspect she will swim one of the IMs in Paris but not sure which one. From 2020 to 2022 she was 1,1,2 ranked in the 200IM and 2, DNS, 2 ranked in the 400IM. Easily has medal potential in both.
In terms of schedule, her potential would be:
D1: Nothing
D2: Nothing
D3: 400IM prelims, 100 back prelims, 400IM final, 100 back semis
D4: 100 back final
D5: Nothing
D6: 200 back prelims, 200 back semis
D7:… Read more »
Suspect that McIntosh stamping her authority over the 400IM may’ve nixed that one. Whilst a medal could still be possible; it’s been a race towards which she has shown reluctance over the years and the minor medal battle looks likely to resemble a rugby scrum.
In that no one has, yet, stamped their dominance over the 200IM; on that front the 200IM seems a better prospect albeit the tricky scheduling and her relay commitments.
Am not so sure she WILL pursue an IM in Paris. Fukuoka is possible but whilst she’s a cinch to qualify; whether she decides to progress with it may hinge on the relative competitveness of her time vs the Americans/McIntosh.
Yeah I think she could still do either but the 2IM is much more likely for a number of reasons:
1. More likely to win gold as Summer seems to be running away with the 4IM.
2. She has openly stated she doesn’t like 4IM and only swam it because she was good at it.
3. Her 2 other events are a 100 and a 200. If she’s only going to do 1 IM then it the 200 would seem to fit in with her training better than the 400.
It would be the best fit as regards her skills set and I would agree that the gold is not yet a lock for anyone, unlike the 400.
However, unless she can produce a sub 2.08; it is exceedingly unlikely that she’s likely to contend for gold …….. and the podium fight in this event promises to be just as rough as that for the minors in the longer event.
TBH, her odds are less friendly for either IM than either of her backstroke events. Whether this plays a part in her decision making remains to be seen however the key either way is likely to be the quality of both her backstroke and IM times.