Shayna Jack Earns Redemptive 200 Free B-Final Win; 7 Women Under 1:57 In Australia

2023 AUSTRALIAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

• Tuesday, June 13th – Sunday, June 18th
• Prelims at 10am local (8pm previous day EDT)/Finals at 7pm local (5am EDT)
• Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Center
• LCM (50m)
• World Championships Selection Criteria
• Meet Central
• Final Start List
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap/Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap/Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Live Recap/Day 3 Finals Live Recap
• Live Results
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Australia has no shortage of depth when it comes to women’s freestyle events, as demonstrated by the 200m freestyle on day three of the nation’s World Championship Trials.

After all was said and done in Melbourne, a total of seven women dipped under the 1:57 threshold to liven up the discussion of who possibly could be representing the green and gold in the 4x200m free relay next month in Fukuoka.

We reported how 19-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan upset reigning Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Ariarne Titmus in the A-final this evening.

O’Callaghan ripped a new lifetime best of 1:53.83 to grab the gold while Titmus settled for silver in a season-best of 1:54.14. Lani Pallister produced a mark of 1:56.03 to round out the podium.

After missing the A-Final by just .06, Shayna Jack picked up a redemptive B-Final win in a mark of 1:56.82 to also make her presence known.

Here were the top 7 times in the women’s 200m free event:

1. Mollie O’Callaghan – 1:53.83
2. Ariarne Titmus – 1:54.14
3. Lani Pallister – 1:56.03
4. Madi Wilson – 1:56.68
5. Shayna Jack – 1:56.82 (B-Final)
6. Kiah Melverton – 1:56.85
7. Brianna Throssell – 1:56.87

As a point of reference, at the 2022 U.S. Nationals, just two swimmers – Katie Ledecky (1:54.50) and Erin Gemmell (1:56.14) – beat the 1:57 barrier. At the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II, only 3 racers were under 1:57 – Ledecky (1:55.11), Allison Schmitt (1:56.79) and Paige Madden (1:56.80).

Of note is the fact that Aussie Kaylee McKeown also owns a sub-1:57 time on the season, having produced a lifetime best of 1:56.88 at April’s Australian National Championships. She opted out of the event at this competition after already qualifying for Fukuoka in the 200m IM and 100m back races thus far. Nevertheless, she brings the 1:56-zone Aussie swimmers to a total of 8 on the season.

Before tonight’s 200m free, MOC had already qualified for the World Championships in the 100m back, while Titmus and Pallister nailed QT’s in the 400m free. Throssell, too, had already added her name to the Fukuoka roster in the 100m fly.

One glaring absence among tonight’s top 200m free finishers was Olympic medalist Meg Harris. The Marion swimmer was subdued in the prelims, posting a morning mark of 1:57.81 to capture the 8th seed.

But the 21-year-old added time when the medals were on the line, ultimately registering 1:58.03 for 8th place, despite her owning a lifetime best of 1:56.29.

With the aforementioned names well over a second ahead of the Olympian, it’s unlikely Harris will get a nod to repeat her performance as a member of the bronze medal-earning 4x200m free relay from Tokyo.