2024 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- April 17th – 20th
- Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, Queensland, Australia
- LCM (50m)
- Non-Olympic Qualifying Event
- Meet Central
- Final Start List
- Live Results
This article has been updated since the final start lists have been published.
The 2024 Australian Swimming Championships will see action spanning April 17th – 20th. Although the competition is a non-selection event, it’s an important tune-up milestone along the pathway to the Australian Olympic Trials on the agenda for June.
But it’s not just a who’s who of Australian swimming entered in this elite affair. Several outsiders will also be present to give us an international flair and must-see matchups with fewer than 120 days to go until Paris.
We’ll be treated to multiple key battles at the competition, but here are a few significant entries to whet your appetite before the main event.
Of note, 17-year-old World Junior Championships multi-medalist Olivia Wunsch is not entered in this meet.
Originally world record holder Ariarne Titmus was not entered but the final start list reveals she is indeed set to compete. She’s taking on the 100m/200m/400m/800m free races.
Significant Entries
- 20-year-old Jenna Forrester is back. The 2023 World Championships bronze medalist in the 400m IM has been off the grid, bypassing this year’s World Championships and New South Wales State Open Championships. However, the St. Peters Western ace is entered here, expected to take on a packed schedule which includes the women’s 200m IM/400m IM, 400m/800m/1500m free, 50m/200m fly and the 200m back.
- As is typical at an Australian competition, the women’s sprint freestyle events are stacked with world-class talent. The women’s 100m free alone will see 6 of the fastest Aussie women in history in Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, Mollie O’Callaghan, Bronte Campbell, Shayna Jack and Meg Harris. Newcomers Milla Jansen and Hannah Casey will also try to ruin someone’s medal-hunting quest.
- The men’s 200m free is another potential barn burner as the field is ripe with speed. Chasing the gold will be Kyle Chalmers, Maximillian Giuliani, Tommy Neill, Elijah Winnington, Flynn Southam and more. Cody Simpson is also lurking, albeit well back as the 34th seed. At the NSW Championships earlier this month, it was 18-year-old Southam who grabbed the top prize, beating Giuliani 1:48.28 to 1:48.53, respectively. Giuliani remains Australia’s #2 performer in history, courtesy of the 1:44.79 put up last December.
- We’ll see the former and current men’s world champion in the 400m freestyle compete side by side at this meet. Sam Short and Korea’s Kim Woomin will take to the pool, with the former having won gold in Fukuoka while Kim earned Korea’s first gold of this year’s edition in Doha. Short owns a lifetime best of 3:40.68 while Kim owns a PB of 3:42.71.
- The women’s 100m breaststroke field is intact, with Jenna Strauch, Abbey Harkin and Chelsea Hodges all among the pack. Strauch and Hodges are still on the rebound from having dropped out of last year’s World Championships due to injuries. They’ve been steadily improving, with Strauch owning a season-best of 1:07.30 and Hodges posting 1:08.80 last September. However, 15-year-old Sienna Toohey is on the move, with the Albury Amateur Swim Club teen registering a time of 1:07.97 at NSWs.
Key Swimmers to Watch
- Iona Anderson
- Ben Armbruster
- Minna Atherton
- Kyle Chalmers
- Lewis Clareburt (NZL)
- Abbey Connor
- Tamsin Cook
- Isaac Cooper
- Joshua Edwards-Smith
- Jenna Forrester
- Maximillian Giuliani
- Alex Graham
- Maddie Groves
- Abbey Harkin
- Chelsea Hodges
- Rikako Ikee (JPN)
- Zac Incerti
- Lee Juho (KOR)
- Mitch Larkin
- Linnea Mack (USA)
- Cameron McEvoy
- Kaylee McKeown
- Kiah Melverton
- Tommy Neill
- Mark Nikolaev
- Emily Seeebohm
- Daiya Seto (JPN)
- Sam Short
- Cody Simpson
- Brendon Smith
- Flynn Southam
- Jenna Strauch
- Zac Stubblety-Cook
- Taku Taniguchi
- Kai Taylor
- Matt Temple
- Ariarne Titmus
- Sienna Toohey
- Ippei Watanabe (JPN)
- Sam Williamson
- Matt Wilson
- Elijah Winnington
- Bradley Woodward
- Kim Woomin (KOR)
- William Yang
as per cam’s ig story, the sydney open has a new event called the “cam mcevoy sprint challenge”. the top 12 finishers from the men’s and women’s 50 free are invited, and the new event is hosted after saturday heats.
format is 3×25 free from a dive, on 10 min
First heat has 6 swimmers, second has the other 6. each round, 2 swimmers are eliminated from each heat.
it’s essentially skins but the top 2 don’t go head to head, and the winner is determined by the fastest cumulative 75 rather than just the final 25.
this also confirms mcevoy’s attendance at the sydney open. likely isaac cooper’s as well since he is a 50 guy, kyle may follow… Read more »
No Wunuch shrewd move ???? She will be better than Mollie but not this year
The final entries have been posted with a few noteworthy additions:
TITMUS, ARIARNE – 100 Free, 800 Free, 400 Free, 200 Free
GROVES, MADELINE – 50 Fly, 100 Fly
WATANABE, IPPEI – 100 Breast, 200 Breast
TANIGUCHI, TAKU – 100 Breast
Great work Troyy, as always! Thanks.
The event is even more interesting now.
So Titmus in. Thanks Troyy.
Australia’s teenage phenom is a teenager no more. A happy 20th birthday to Mollie O’Callaghan! What a record of achievement as a teenager:
First female to win the 100-200 Freestyle double at World Championships.
Back to back 100 Free titles at World Championships.
Broke Pellegrini’s long-standing 200 Free world record.
8 gold medals at World Championships (LC).
9 world records.
Gold medals at Olympics, long and short course Worlds, Comm Games.
Her U20 records are pretty unreal, .62 faster in the 100 free and .8 faster in the 200 free than any other teenager.
Also holds the U20 record in the SCM 50 back. Still a lot of history to come, fingers crossed.
Matthew Temple is about to pull another 50.6 out of nowhere
hardly out of nowhere if he swam 50 point at every competition since worlds
Mens 400 free has the last 3 world champions, 2022 Winnington, 2023 Short,2024 Woomin
Why couldn’t the National Championships have been delayed by about two months so that they could also act as the Olympic trials? I know it’s important to give the athletes a good hit-out before the all-important trials but the Sydney Open is also coming up and can serve that purpose. Having the two biggest domestic meets of the year so close together seems weird.
That would be confusing and pointless because all of the focus would be on the Olympic aspect of the meet.
The Olympic Trials needs to be standalone. Next to the Olympics itself, it is the biggest and most important swimming meet of the year for Aussies.
From 1996 to 2016 the national championships were the Olympic trials.
They’re not anymore.
And that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.
By all means have a standalone Olympic trials but have a gap of about five or six months from the nationals, like the USA does. The national titles are diminished when they become just another lead-in meet.
I was originally of similar mind when they decided to move Trials (correctly) to June but still retain Nationals in April thinking why not save the $$$ and just have the one meet.
However, I realised that the extra serious racing opportunity would still be valuable and there have been relatively few cases of swimmers peaking for the wrong meet.
As for your alternative of holding Nationals 6 months out from Trials; I really don’t see this bringing back any lost “lustre” to the meet as the new timing (early January) would see most swimmers in distinctly sub-optimal condition.
I kinda like that there’s a meet most months of the LC season for the athletes to have a hit out.
Dec – Multiple options
Jan – SA Champs
Feb – Vic Champs
Mar – NSW Champs
Apr – Nationals
May – Sydney Open
Jun – Trials
Jul – Olympics/Worlds
You have no idea about the Olympics : is giving the swimmers racing much needed in a Olympic year
The SHORT vs Kim Woomin should be a great race
It’ll be fun to watch but men’s mid distance tends to be pretty slow in season
Short went 3:42 here last year.
Short dropping somthing nasty in that 400,800,1500. Particularly with Kim and Elijah in the race. Wr watch maybe
probably not the 1500 at this stage. he went 14:58 12 months ago
Lol how did I forget that. I was literally there
Given how Winnington went in Doha, it would be more like a 3-way race.