Olympic Champion Olivia Wunsch On The Mend From Mono, Still Plans To Race At Australian Trials

Olympic gold medalist Olivia Wunsch recently shared that she has been battling glandular fever—commonly known as mono—for the past few months. Despite the setback, she expressed gratitude for being back to training and building toward the upcoming World Championship Trials in Adelaide from June 9–14.

The Michaela Pattinson-coached swimmer posted the news on Instagram, saying, “S/O [shoutout] to glandular fever these last few months — grateful to be back building again into Trials.”

The 18-year-old is not the first elite swimmer to face mono leading up to a major meet. Fellow Olympic champions Regan Smith and Leon Marchand battled the illness early in 2024, about six months before their respective trial meets, while Gregorio Paltrinieri faced it just before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Wunsch isn’t the only high-profile Australian swimmer battling setbacks; fellow sprinter and 200 free Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan has been struggling with chronic knee issues, while reigning 50 breaststroke World Champion Sam Williamson suffered a knee injury that extended into his thigh. Additionally, two-time Olympic medalist Iona Anderson is dealing with a persistent back problem.

Wunsch’s most recent competition was the Victorian Open this past February, where she posted times of 25.15, 54.16, and 1:58.97 in the 50, 100, and 200 free, while also matching her personal best in the 50 fly (26.34).

She was one of the breakout stars of the 2023 World Junior Championships in Netanya, Israel, where she claimed five gold medals and one bronze. Held in late September, about eight months before the Australian Olympic Trials, the meet saw her break 54 seconds in the 100 free for the first time.

At World Juniors, she won the 50 free with a personal best of 24.59, took gold in the 100 free in 53.71, and earned bronze in the 50 fly with a time of 26.53. She also contributed to 1st-place finishes with impressive relay splits of 52.73 and 52.61 on the 100 free legs of the 400 medley and 400 free relays.

At Trials, Wunsch posted personal bests in all her finals swims, including 24.45 in the 50 free for 4th, 53.17 in the 100 free for 5th, and 58.30 in the 100 fly for 8th. She also set PBs in the prelims, with a 53.30 in the 100 free, 58.55 in the 100 fly, and 1:57.84 in the 200 free, finishing 10th overall in the latter.

Her 5th-place finish in the 100 free secured her a spot on the Olympic team, where she earned a gold medal as part of the prelims 4×100 freestyle relay squad, leading off with a 53.94 split. Although she clocked multiple sub-53 relay splits from a swing position at World Juniors, coaches chose to slot her onto the lead-off leg in Paris—likely to help calm nerves as she made her senior-level debut.

Wunsch ended 2024 ranked 15th globally in both the 50 and 100 freestyles, the highest-ranked junior swimmer in those events, while also placing 51st in the 200 free and 61st in the 100 fly.