2021 SWIMMING AUSTRALIA OLYMPIC TRIALS
- Saturday, June 12th – Thursday, June 17th
- South Australia Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Adelaide, Australia
- Sole Olympic-Qualifying Opportunity
- 2021 Swimming Australia Olympic Nomination Criteria
- Meet Site
- Final Start List
- Live results
- Qualifying Criteria
- Day 4 Finals Live Stream (Amazon Prime required)
Delivering the third Australian record of the session, Ariarne Titmus posted an 8:15.57 800 freestyle to take out her own previous mark in the event of 8:15.70 by just 0.13 seconds.
Titmus swam that former Australian record at the 2019 World Swimming Championships en route to a bronze medal behind Katie Ledecky‘s 8:13.58 and Simona Quadarella‘s 8:14.99. Titmus was still a bit shy of Rebecca Adlington‘s 2008 Commonwealth record which sits at an 8:14.10, as well as Katie Ledecky‘s world record of 8:04.79 from 2016.
Titmus kept her splitting fairly consistent with how she swam the race back in 2019, staying around 31s for the majority of her 50 splits.
Split Comparison:
| 2021 Australian Trials | 2019 World Championships | ||||
| 50m | 28.83 | 28.83 | 28.46 | 28.46 | |
| 100m | 31.09 | 59.92 | 30.55 | 59.01 | |
| 150m | 31.29 | 1:31.21 | 31.17 | 1:30.18 | |
| 200m | 31.54 | 2:02.75 | 31.37 | 2:01.55 | |
| 250m | 31.38 | 2:34.13 | 31.44 | 2:32.99 | |
| 300m | 31.43 | 3:05.56 | 31.44 | 3:04.43 | |
| 350m | 31.31 | 3:36.87 | 31.56 | 3:35.99 | |
| 400m | 31.59 | 4:08.46 | 31.76 | 4:07.75 | |
| 450m | 31.11 | 4:39.57 | 31.07 | 4:38.82 | |
| 500m | 31.30 | 5:10.87 | 31.34 | 5:10.16 | |
| 550m | 31.00 | 5:41.87 | 31.24 | 5:41.40 | |
| 600m | 31.08 | 6:12.95 | 31.77 | 6:13.17 | |
| 650m | 30.93 | 6:43.88 | 31.76 | 6:44.93 | |
| 700m | 31.23 | 7:15.11 | 31.61 | 7:16.54 | |
| 750m | 30.63 | 7:45.74 | 30.27 | 7:46.81 | |
| 800m | 29.83 | 8:15.57 | 28.89 | 8:15.70 | |
Titmus’ record marks her 3rd Australian record of the meet, having previously lowered the 200 and 400 marks to a 1:53.09 and a 3:56.90, respectively. That also means that Titmus has qualified to race all 3 of those events this summer in Tokyo for Australia, having handily swum under the Olympic qualifying standards in all 3 of her races.
Behind Titmus in the 800 freestyle, Kiah Melverton swam an 8:19.05 to also undercut the required time of 8:29.70. That’s the second event that Melverton has qualified for so far this week, following her second-place finish in the 1500 freestyle.
Titmus and Melverton’s 800 freestyle efforts move them up to the #2 and #3 spots in the world this season, behind only world record holder Katie Ledecky who swam an 8:13.64 in March at the San Antonio stop of the 2021 TYR Pro Swim Series.
2020-2021 LCM Women 800 Free
Ledecky
8:12.57
| 2 | Ariarne Titmus | AUS | 8:13.83 | 07/31 |
| 3 | Katie Grimes | USA | 8:17.05 | 07/29 |
| 4 | Simona Quadarella | ITA | 8:17.32 | 07/29 |
| 5 | Sarah Koehler | GER | 8:17.33 | 07/29 |
Titmus’s swim keeps her as the 7th fastest swimmer in the history of the event, now only 0.03 seconds away from Jazz Carlin‘s 6th ranked time of 8:15.54.
Women’s Long Course 800 Freestyle All-Time Performers
- Katie Ledecky – 8:04.79 (2016)
- Rebecca Adlington – 8:14.10 (2008)
- Wang Jianjiahe – 8:14.64 (2019)
- Simona Quadarella – 8:14.99 (2019)
- Li Bingjie – 8:15.46 (2017)
- Jazz Carlin – 8:15.54 (2014)
- Ariarne Titmus – 8:15.57 (2019)
- Lotte Friis – 8:15.92 (2009)
How Lani Pallister didn’t swim the 800? I thought she would try to post a time there like her mum
she scratched and flew home early. didnt have the meet she wanted
That’s a shame … would have been good experience for next Olympic trials .. even if she didn’t win .. just turning up is good experience