2018 AUSTRALIAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, October 25th – Saturday, October 27th
- Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre
- Heats at 10am local (9:30am Sat.)/Finals at 6:30pm local (4:30pm Sat.)
- SCM
- Qualifying meet for 2018 Short Course World Championships squad
- Aussie SC World C’ships Selection Criteria
- SwimSwam Meet Preview
- Entry List
- Day 1 Prelims Recap/Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap/Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap
- Day 3 Finals Recap
- Live Results
Now that the 3-day meet that was the 2018 Australian Short Course Championships has concluded in Melbourne, the 20-member roster has been named to represent the nation in Hangzhou at the Short Course World Championships this December.
Nicholas Brown, Abbey Harkin, Jorden Merrilees and Greyson Bell are among the new members of the squad, making their Australian Dolphins debut. But, they’ll join Aussie racing mainstays Emily Seebohm, Cameron McEvoy and Mitch Larkin.
Although they notched qualifying marks in one more event over the course of the competition, Aussies Kyle Chalmers, Jack McLoughlin, Lani Pallister, Elijah Winnington, Matthew Wilson, Emma McKeon and Laura Taylor have made themselves unavailable for selection due to training and/or competition plans.
20 swimmers also represented Australia at the 2016 edition of Short Course World Championships, which resulted in a modest 9th place finish in the overall medal table. The Aussies’ performance was marked by just 2 golds in the form of Mitch Larkin in the 100m back and Brittany Elmslie in the women’s 100m free.
Australian Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren said of this year’s line-up, “We are half way into the Olympic cycle so this team will get some good race experience and take a lot out of being on team and training and preparing with this group of athletes.
“It is great to have the leadership of some really experienced multi-campaigners like Emily, Cam, and Mitch. To have athletes with that experience on team is a real plus for everyone.
“It is also fantastic to see Cam McEvoy make a return to the Dolphins team after three months working with his new coach Chris Nesbit.
“Short Course is an event that is growing in attention internationally and we will face very tough competition in China from other nations who have well established short course swimmers.”
Coaches selected to join the team in China this December are David Lush of Brisbane Grammar, Dean Boxall of St. Peters Western, Chris Nesbit of TSS Aquatics and Scott Talbot of Nunawading.
The Australian Dolphins Short Course World Championship team is as follows:
| Name | Club | Qualifying event |
| Minna Atherton | Brisbane Grammar | 100m, 200m backstroke |
| Holly Barratt | Rockingham | 50m freestyle |
| Grayson Bell | TSS Aquatic | 50m breaststroke |
| Nicholas Brown | UWA West Coast | 200m butterfly |
| Carla Buchanan | Acacia Bayside | 400m freestyle |
| Jack Gerrard | Melbourne Vicentre | Relay only swimmer |
| Alexander Graham | Bond | 200m freestyle |
| Madeleine Gough | TSS Aquatic | 800m freestyle |
| Jessica Hansen | Nunawading | 100m breaststroke |
| Abbey Harkin | St Peters Western | 400m IM |
| Thomas Fraser-Holmes | Griffith University | 400m IM |
| Cameron Jones | St Peters Western | 50m freestyle |
| Mitchell Larkin | St Peters Western | 200m IM, 200m backstroke |
| Cameron McEvoy | TSS Aquatic | 100m freestyle, |
| Jorden Merrilees | Melbourne Vicentre | 200m backstroke |
| Emily Seebohm | Brisbane Grammar | 100m, 200m backstroke |
| David Schlicht | MLC | 400 IM |
| Jenna Strauch | Bond | 200m breaststroke |
| Ariarne Titmus | St Peters Western | 400m, 800m freestyle |
| Louis Townsend | Rackley | 100m freestyle |
Very few nations take the World SC championships seriously and Australia is no exception. Still, it’s strange that so many swimmers competed, qualified but made themselves unavailable for the event. it’s hard to predict which members of the Australian team are likely to win a medal without knowing what the strength of the other nations will be. But I think Seebohm, Titmus, Larkin and possibly McEvoy will make it to the podium even if the fields are quite strong. When it comes to the relays, the team looks pretty weak. I can see Australia really struggling to put a team together in the women’s 4X100FS and 4X200FS and for the medley relay they seem to lack a butterflyer. The men’s… Read more »
W4x100 free- No one on the WR relay is on australia’s SCM worlds team. USA normally doesn’t send their A team to SCM worlds either, but we’ll see if it’s different this year. Canada damned their results with their qualification system, so they won’t contend either. I would say Sweden could contend, but Sjostrom is skipping SCM worlds too. It’ll most likely be won by the Netherlands. Australia could get a minor medal, but will be grasping for straws to put together a relay team. Ironically, this will be Australia’s hardest women’s relay to medal in.
W4x200 free- Same as the W4x100 free, except I think china will win this. China has been in the medals or just outside in… Read more »
They could swim Holly Barratt in the fly. She’s got a decent 50 fly in her.
If Barratt swims butterfly who swims the freestyle leg? The only alternatives seem to be middle distance freestyle specialists or IMers.
Seebohm has a flat start 54 mid LCM PR. Not ideal, but it’s the best australia can do with the team they selected.
Buchanan swam 53:39 for 3rd at trials.
Carla Buchanan, selected for the 400 free finished 3rd in the 100 in 53:39 and Holly Barratt split 59:49 in the club relay, so with Seebohm and Hansen it’s actually a pretty solid medley relay team.
The 4×200 is harder with really only Titmus and Buchanan – Gough and Seebohm are your only other options and the 4×100 I guess is Barratt, Buchanan, Seebohm and Titmus.
Medley is easy: Seebohm, Hansen, Barratt (59 in the club relay for fly leg) and Buchanan (3rd in the 100 free at trials in a 53:39)
4×100 is struggle street: Barratt and Buchanan, Seebohm and Titmus?
4×200 not much better: Titmus, Buchanan, Seebohm? and Gough?
I wonder if Zac Stubblety-Cook also made himself unavailable. He didn’t make the published qualifying times (missed in the 200 breast by 0.01), but he seemed like a better discretionary choice than Greyson Bell for the 50 breast…