Sam Williamson Wins Again In Post-Knee Injury Comeback At 2026 Vic Open

2026 VICTORIAN OPEN LC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, February 13th – Sunday, February 15th
• Melbourne Sports Centres (MSAC) Outdoor Pool
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap
• Live Results

The 2026 Victorian Open Long Course Championships kicked off yesterday at the Melbourne Sports Centres (MSAC) outdoor pool.

Although not a qualifying competition, this 3-day affair is an important benchmark on the way to the all-important Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships selection meet, the 2026 Australian Swimming Trials on the calendar for June 7th – June 13th in Sydney.

On day two, we already reported how 22-year-old Olympic finalist Erika Fairweather of New Zealand fired off a new Vic Open All Comers record en route to winning the women’s 400m free.

The Kiwi stopped the clock at a swift in-season effort of 4:02.52 to top the podium. You can read more about her performance here.

Another New Zealand Olympian made some noise, with 26-year-old Lewis Clareburt reaping gold in the men’s 200m IM.

Now training in Australia, Clareburt produced a time of 1:58.31 to represent the sole competitor to clear the 2:00 barrier in the race.

Gabriel Gorgas was next to the wall in 2:02.17 and Aussie two-time Olympian Se-Bom Lee rounded out the podium in 2:02.29.

Clareburt is his nation’s record holder in this event, courtesy of the 1:57.06 he turned in at the 2025 World Championships to place 5th overall. His time here checks him in just outside the list of top 10 performers in the world this season.

25-year-old Brittany Castelluzzo of Tea Tree Gully added another piece of hardware to her Vic Open haul, this time taking on the women’s 100m free.

Castelluzzo pulled out the victory in a time of 57.99, narrowly defeating Nunawading 20-year-old Isabella Boyd who notched 58.21.

Mackenzie Burns of St. Andrew’s bagged the bronze in 1:00.78.

Castelluzzo’s result tonight represents just the 2nd time she’s dipped under the 58-second threshold. The other result was the 57.80 logged at the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials.

The men’s 50m fly saw a duel between Isaac Cooper and Matt Temple, with the pair ultimately separated by just .03 when all was said and done.

Cooper claimed the gold in 23.72 with Temple immediately behind in 23.75. Joseph Hamson rounded out the podium in 24.06.

In his first competition since recovering from a knee injury that rendered him out of last year’s World Championship Trials, 28-year-old Sam Wiliamson clinched the victory in the men’s 100m breast.

Williamson registered a time of 1:00.68 for the decisive win, with Joshua Yong next to the wall in 1:01.45 followed by Bendigo East’s Cameron Jordan who notched 1:02.03.

Williamson’s lifetime best in this 1breast event rests at the 58.80 he put up at the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials to rank as his nation’s 3rd-swiftest performer of all time. There in Paris, he settled for disappointing 24th place in 1:00.50.

Additional Notes

• Cameron Bladen of the Tigersharks ripped a 200m free time just .01 outside of his lifetime best for gold. 24-year-old Bladen blasted 1:47.98, falling just shy of the PB of 1:47.97 notched at last year’s Olympic Trials. Gorgas was back in the water this evening, nabbing silver in 1:50.89 followed by James Mcbride‘s time of 1:51.29.
• After claiming bronze in the 400m free, Victentre’s Tara Kinder turned in a time of 2:28.75 as she tried the women’s 200m breaststroke on for size. That garnered her the gold ahead of 17-year-old teammate Lily Koch‘s mark of 2:31.14 and Reidel Smith‘s bronze medal-worthy 2:31.69.
• The women’s 50m free saw Chloe Rowe-Hagans nab gold in 25.06, a new lifetime best. Her effort overtook her previous PB of 25.31 from last year’s Trials. Burns was back, good enough for silver in 25.78 and Aly Lawson produced 25.90 for bronze.