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WATCH: World Champion Sam Williamson’s 50 Breast & Other Australian Open Day 4 Race Videos

2025 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The final session of the 2025 Australian Open Championships unfolded in Brisbane. Didn’t catch the action live? No worries — if you weren’t able to tune in, we’ve got you covered with full race videos, courtesy of the “Australian Dolphins Swim Team” on YouTube.

Tonight’s lineup featured the men’s 100 freestyle, women’s 200 freestyle, men’s 400 IM, men’s 50 breaststroke, men’s 200 butterfly, women’s 200 backstroke, women’s 100 butterfly, and women’s 1500 freestyle.

As a reminder, this is not the Australian selection meet for the 2025 World Championships. Most swimmers are using this competition as a tune-up for the World Championship Trials, which are set for June 9–14 in Adelaide.

MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE — FINAL

  • World Record — 46.40, Pan Zhanle (2024)
  • Australian Record — 47.04, Cameron McEvoy (2016)
  • Commonwealth Record — 47.04, Cameron McEvoy (2016)

GOLD  – Thomas Ceccon, 48.41
SILVER – Jamie Jack, 48.63
BRONZE – Flynn Southam, 49.05 

Italian Thomas Ceccon secured his third win of the meet in the men’s 100 free, touching the wall in a winning time of 48.41, finishing ahead of the field. He narrowly missed his season-best of 48.17, set at last month’s Brisbane prep meet. In tonight’s race, he split 23.20/25.21, compared to 23.06/25.11 — slightly off pace on both 50s.

Speaking after the race, Ceccon said the time wasn’t particularly impressive, but he would take it given the circumstances. “It’s the fourth day of racing, so I’m a bit tired,” he said. “But I’ll still take the underwater — it’s way better than last year because I’ve been training with Dean Boxall now, and I’m using fins in practice for 2k per day, so it’s very different from the European style.”

Ceccon is currently training with Dean Boxall at St. Peters. He is using this meet to qualify for the World Championships this summer, after receiving special permission to compete here instead of at last week’s Italian Nationals. He narrowly missed the required 48.09 to add this event to his Worlds schedule. He has been as swift as 47.71, a time he posted at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

22-year-old Jamie Jack continued to impress, clocking 48.63 for the silver medal — just outside his lifetime best of 48.27 notched at the Queensland Championships in December. It marked his second runner-up finish of the meet, following a 21.96 effort in the 50 free last night.

Reflecting on his performance, Jack said he’s grown accustomed to training alongside Ceccon and trying to match him underwater. “I’ve been kind of used to training next to him and trying to really chase him after those underwaters,” he said. “It’s been good fun and that was a good experience. I tried to put myself out there and definitely hold on, and it’s quite motivating to try and chase him at the end.”

Jack added, “He brings a different aspect and he’s world-class, so it’s good to have him here. He’s a great training partner and I think he definitely makes me go faster.”

19-year-old Flynn Southam, who represents Bond and entered this meet as the defending champion in the 200 free — where he finished 7th — touched for bronze in 49.05, well off his career-best 47.77 from the 2023 World Championship Trials.

*Men’s 100 Freestyle starts at 18:48*

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – FINAL

  • World Record – 1:52.23, Ariarne Titmus (2024)
  • Australian Record – 1:52.23, Ariarne Titmus (2024)
  • Commonwealth Record – 1:52.23, Ariarne Titmus (2024)

GOLD – Mollie O’Callaghan, 1:55.71
SILVER – Lani Pallister, 1:57.06
BRONZE – Brittany Castelluzzo, 1:57.31

Following strong performances in the 100 free, 100 back, and 50 back, 21-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan — the 2024 Olympic champion in the 200 free — logged 1:55.71 to win the event and post the 2nd-fastest time in the world this year, just behind China’s Liu Yaxin, who registered 1:54.96 at the Chinese Spring Championships last month.

St. Peters’ O’Callaghan split 27.57/ 29.51/ 29.71/28.92 en route to her win tonight. After the race, she revealed that she had nearly pulled out of the event due to her knee injury that had progressively worsened throughout the week. She also noted that she had missed a significant amount of training recently.

O’Callaghan’s training partner, Lani Pallister, nabbed 2nd with a time of 1:57.06. Her performance tonight was about 1.5 seconds off her lifetime best of 1:55.57, which she set at the Olympic Trials last June. Notably, she clocked 1:55.99 at this same meet last year, finishing 3rd, before logging that personal mark at the Trials.

Pallister recently made the move from Griffith University—where Michael departed at the end of last year and her mom remains an assistant coach—to join St. Peters Western under Boxall.

200 fly winner Brittany Castelluzzo rounded out the podium with a near-best time of 1:57.31, following up on her first-ever sub-2:07 swim in the 200 fly. The Tea Tree Gully swimmer’s career-best in this event remains 1:56.77, which she set last June.

Cruiz’s Abbey Webb, who trains under the guidance of Shannon Rollason, put up a time of 1:57.80 for 4th. Webb made headlines last November,  when she threw down a 1:56.68 at the Japan Open.

Notably, rising star Inez Miller, just 18 years old, posted a time of 1:57.82 for 5th, narrowly missing her lifetime best of 1:57.72 from the Junior Pan Pacific Championships last August, where she walked away with gold.

*Women’s 200 Freestyle starts at 32:40*

MEN’S 400 IM – FINAL

  • World Record – 4:02.50, Leon Marchand (2023)
  • Australian Record – 4:09.27, Brendon Smith (2021)
  • Commonwealth Record – 4:08.70, Lewis Clareburt (2022)

GOLD – Lewis Clareburt, 4:13.06
SILVER – William Petric, 4:18.58
BRONZE – Se-bom Lee, 4:18.69

New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt was victorious in the men’s 400 IM, hitting the wall with a time of 4:13.06 to represent as one of three swimmers to venture under the 4:20 barrier. The 2024 World Champion was slightly off his 4:10.86 mark from this same meet last year, but he upgraded his medal color from silver to gold.

The Kiwi has been as fast as 4:08.70 in this event, a time he posted to win the 2022 Commonwealth Games almost three years ago. He fell 6th at the Paris Olympics with a time of 4:10.44, after placing 7th in Tokyo three years prior.

Clareburt on his win: “Yeah, you know, it’s always good coming up here to Australia and racing against a few of the Aussies. It’s sort of one stepping stone towards World Champs this year. I wasn’t, you know, obviously overly happy with Paris last year, so I have to try and make things right this year and in the next four-year cycle.”

He added, “So, you know, it’s awesome coming over here and racing against the rest of the guys. Yeah, I just love being able to come to Australia. It’s only a three-hour flight over and I get some good racing in.”

20-year-old William Petric of St. Peters touched the wall in 4:18.58 — a far cry from his 4:11.78 lifetime best set at last year’s Olympic Trials. That personal best ranked him third on the all-time Australian rankings, behind only Brendon Smith (4:09.27, 2021) and Thomas Fraser-Holmes/Leith Brodie (4:10.13, 2013).

Australian record holder Smith, who trains alongside Petric at St. Peters, chose not to swim this event today.

Two-time Olympian Se-bom Lee secured bronze with a time of 4:18.69, a promising in-season swim for the taper specialist, who holds a PB of 4:14.16 from the 2021 Olympic Trials.

*Men’s 400 IM starts at 48:00*

MEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE — FINAL

  • World Record — 25.95, Adam Peaty (2017)
  • Australian Record — 26.32, Sam Williamson (2024)
  • Commonwealth Record — 25.95, Adam Peaty (2017)

GOLD – Sam Williamson, 27.10
SILVER – Grayson Bell, 27.59
BRONZE – Joshua Collett, 27.83

Melbourne Vicentre’s Sam Williamson staked his claim on the men’s 50 breast, stopping the clock at 27.10 to defend his title with a time faster than last year’s 27.16. The Craig Jackson-coached swimmer, who holds the Australian record at 26.32 from his World Championship-winning swim in 2024, was slightly off his season-best 26.66 from February.

Paris Olympian Williamson, who finished 24th in the 100 breast at last year’s Games, reflected on his race tonight and admitted the start wasn’t ideal.

“I think I’m getting absolutely smoked by Grayson [Bell] off the start, especially this morning,” Williamson said. “I popped up and saw he was a body length in front and thought, ‘Oh God, not this again.’ But I knew if I stuck to my race plan, I could still get to the wall first.”

He added, “There’s a lot we’ve got to fine-tune over these next few weeks.”

Williamson’s win completed a sweep of the sprint breast events in Brisbane, following his victory in the 100 (1:00.46) on Monday. He said he was excited about the 50 being added to the Olympic lineup for Los Angeles 2028.

“The good news for me is there’s the 50 now in LA, so there’s another event on the program I can take care of,” he said. “This year was all about getting more front-end speed under my belt, and we have three more years to build on that.”

He said he’s looking forward to Worlds as well. “It’s exciting to go to Singapore this year to defend my title, but I know there’s also the individual 100 and the relays, so I’m still doing everything I can in the water to live for that relay.”

Somerville House’s Grayson Bell, 28, recorded a time of 27.59 to take runner-up honors, while Bond’s Joshua Collett logged 27.83 for bronze. Bell had posted a personal best of 27.55 in the prelims, and Collett notched a new lifetime best tonight by shaving 0.03 off his previous mark.

*Men’s 50 Breast starts at 1:21:50*

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY — FINAL

  • World Record — 1:50.34, Kristof Milak (2022)
  • Australian Record — 1:54.46, Nick D’Arcy (2009)
  • Commonwealth Record —  1:52.80, Ilya Kharun (2024)

GOLD – Harrison Turner, 1:57.28
SILVER – William Jordan, 1:59.52
BRONZE – Sean Alcorn, 2:00.51

The men’s 200 fly was very much subdued compared to other events we’ve seen over the past 4 days, as just 2 racers dipped under the 2:00 barrier.

21-year-old Harrison Turner of Nudgee College topped the field in 1:57.28, coming close to his personal best of 1:57.07 from last year’s Olympic Trials, where he finished second behind Bowen Gough.

Turner was followed by Brisbane Grammar’s William Jordan, who posted a 1:59.52 for 2nd tonight.

Sean Alcorn, 18, representing Peel Aquatics, clocked 2:00.51 to earn a spot on the podium.

*Men’s 200 Butterfly starts at 1:31:30*

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE — FINAL

GOLD – Hannah Fredericks, 2:10.73
SILVER – Georgina McCarthy, 2:13.13
BRONZE – Xiandi Chua, 2:15.11

There was no Kaylee McKeown in the women’s 200 back tonight, as the world record holder and Olympic champion withdrew from the event after winning both the 50 and 100 distances earlier in the meet.

McKeown also headlines off the pool deck though, announcing via Instagram that she will be moving her training base from Griffith University to the USC Spartans. The move follows a period of transition at Griffith, where her longtime coach Michael Bohl left for a role with the Chinese Swimming Association after the Paris Olympics. Since then, McKeown had been training under Mel Marshall, who took over Bohl’s position.

In her announcement, McKeown said, “I’d like to thank everyone from @griffithuniswimclub over the past three years, it has truly been everything and more. It’s been a crazy week, but I’ve decided to head back home to where it all started on the Sunshine Coast with @uscspartans.”

In her absence tonight, St. Peters’ Hannah Fredericks logged a time of 2:10.73 to take gold. The 22-year-old has been as fast as 2:08.25 in the event, which she posted at the 2024 Olympic Trials, where she finished 3rd.

When asked about her strong underwaters, Fredericks said, “Oh, that’s actually my weakness. But, yeah, no, the one thing I’ve been fortunate enough this season is that we did have Leon [Marchand] train with us, and his underwaters are just on a different level. So it was really interesting watching that because we’ve definitely been focusing on that now.”

When asked about not having McKeown to race against tonight, she added, “Well, Kaylee, she’s the best. I love watching her swim, how she ticks with everything. At the end of the day, when she comes to the pool, she’ll give it 110%, whether it’s in the peaks of training or in taper. So it’s always sad that she’s not here because she’ll clock the best time in the world. Usually, it’s pretty cool to watch that. But, yeah, it’s also nice to see everyone else out there giving it a crack.”

On her performance tonight, after narrowly missing out on an Olympic spot last year, she stated, “I’m happy with that. Like, that shows I’m on par, on track. At the end of the day, I train with Jackie [Barclay], she’s insane, so you know she keeps me honest, making sure I’m on the right track.”

The aforementioned Barclay, who won silver in this event at the 2024 Worlds before finishing 17th at the Paris Games, was well off the pace, placing 7th with a time of 2:16.01—nearly nine seconds off her lifetime best of 2:07.03.

The Philippines’ Xiandi Chua found herself on the podium with a time of 2:15.11, securing 3rd, just behind Georgina McCarthy of New Zealand, who recorded 2:13.13.

*Women’s 200 Backstroke starts at 1:48:55*

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

  • World Record – 55.18, Gretchen Walsh (2024)
  • Australian Record – 55.72, Emma McKeon (2021)
  • Commonwealth Record – 55.59, Maggie MacNeil (2021)

GOLD – Alexandria Perkins, 57.44
SILVER – Brittany Castelluzzo, 58.25
BRONZE – Lily Price, 58.52

USC Spartan Alexandria Perkins, 24, struck gold in the women’s 100 fly. After being edged out by Japan’s Rikako Ikee, who did not swim this event, by just 0.07 in last night’s 50 fly, Perkins touched the wall in 57.44, coming within arm’s reach of her career best of 57.10 from last June’s Olympic Trials. Perkins finished 13th in this event at the Paris Games with a time of 57.84.

Perkins has been on fire this week in Brisbane, previously notching personal bests in both the 50 (25.00) and 100 free (54.21) events.

Brittany Castelluzzo was back in the pool after nabbing bronze in the 200 free, this time checking in at 58.25 to add a silver medal to her collection—giving her one of each color from this meet. Just like in the 200, she wasn’t far off her best, which stands at 57.80.

22-year-old Lily Price of Rackley, coached by Damien Jones, captured bronze in 58.52, repeating her podium finish from the 50 fly yesterday. She owns a lifetime best of 57.64 from March last year and placed 4th at the 2024 Olympic Trials with a 57.70. With the retirements of Emma McKeon and Brianna Throssell, Price is in a strong position to challenge for a spot on the World Championships roster in about a month.

*Women’s 100 Butterfly starts at 2:18:55*

WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – FINAL

  • World Record – 15:20.48, Katie Ledecky (USA), 2018
  • Australian Record – 15:46.13, Maddy Gough, 2021
  • Commonwealth Record – 15:40.14, Lauren Boyle (NZL), 2015

GOLD – Moesha Johnson, 16:02.59
SILVER – Caitlin Deans, 16:17.40
BRONZE – Eve Thomas, 16:24.43

In the absence of wide-ranging freestyler Lani Pallister, who opted for the 200 free earlier in the session where she collected silver, Miami’s Moesha Johnson took control of the women’s 1500 free and never looked back, winning in 16:02.59. The time was just off her personal best of 15:55.75 from the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, where she finished 4th. She also surpassed her 16:02.70 clocking from the Paris Olympic final last July, where she was 6th.

Johnson, who earned silver in the 10K open water event in Paris, also clocked 8:25.42 in the 800 earlier this week, just 0.02 off her best.

25-year-old New Zealander Caitlin Deans logged 16:17.40 for silver, clipping her personal best of 16:17.98. At the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, she placed 10th in this event.

Later in 2024, Deans represented New Zealand in Paris as part of the 4×200 free relay team, alongside Erika Fairweather, Eve Thomas, and Laticia-Leigh Transom. The team posted a swift 7:54.37 in the heats before finishing 8th in the final.

Fellow Kiwi Thomas rounded out the podium in 16:24.43.

*Women’s 1500 Freestyle starts at 2:30:40*

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