2024 SOUTH AUSTRALIA STATE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- January 19th – January 21st
- SA Aquatic & Leisure Center
- LCM (50m)
- SwimSwam Preview #1/SwimSwam Preview #2
- Day 1 Recap
- Entries/Results
The 2024 South Aussie State Open Championships continued today from SA Aquatic & Leisure Center. The meet serves as an in-season training competition for athletes, with all eyes on the Australian Olympic Trials looming in June.
We already reported how 24-year-old Matt Temple logged a strong performance in the men’s 100m fly, ripping a time of 50.60 to turn in the 3rd-best time of his career.
Temple was in the water earlier in the evening, racing the men’s 100m free. The Marion athlete clocked a mark of 48.99 to snag the silver behind teammate and Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers. Chalmers posted 48.82 while Germany’s Josha Salchow rounded out the podium in 49.32.
Chalmers already ranks 9th in the world, courtesy of his season-best 48.15 registered at last month’s Japan Open. Salchow was 48.39 at that same competition.
Of note, 17-year-old Marcus Da Silva placed 4th in tonight’s 1free final, producing an effort of 49.45. That’s a significant personal best for the NSW athlete, slicing just over half a second off his previous PB of 49.98 from last month’s NSW States.
Da Silva was also inside that previous career-quickest later in tonight’s session, hitting a 49.59 lead-off on his squad’s silver medal-earning men’s 4x100m free relay.
Also in the water tonight was Australian and Oceanian record holder Sam Williamson. The 24-year-old Melbourne Vicentre athlete took on the men’s 50m breast where he notched 27.48 as the gold medalist and sole racer under the 28-second barrier.
Williamson crushed a lifetime best of 26.51 at the Japan Open to establish the aforementioned records in the event. His outing in Tokyo rendered him the 8th-best performer in history.
Additional Notes
- Olivia Lefoe followed up her 50m back victory from night 1 with another gold in the 100m back. She notched a result of 1:02.05 to get the job done.
- William Sharp of Nunawading was the men’s 200m back gold medalist in 2:01.56.
- The women’s 100m breast saw Melbourne Vicentre’s Tara Kinder score a time of 1:09.21 to get to the wall first. She earned a mark of 1:08.49 for a new PB at the Japan Open.
- Kayla Hardy touched in 4:45.14 to win the women’s 400m IM by nearly 12 seconds. That was within striking distance of her career-quickest 4:44.25 logged at the 2022 Australian Championships.
- Cruiz athlete Abbey Webb topped the women’s 200m free podium in a result of 1:58.69. She represented one of two swimmers to dip under the 2:00 barrier, with Jaimie Delutiis hitting 1:59.85.
- Nunawading’s William Petric posted a time of 1:59.97 as the sole men’s 200m IMer under 2:00. This represents Petric’s 2nd sub-2:00 result, as his owns a PB of 1:59.29 from last year’s Australian World Trials.
- The women’s 50m fly saw 17-year-old Olivia Wunsch get it done for gold. She touched in 27.09 to edge out Brittany Castelluzzo who settled for silver in 27.16. Jessica Deane was also sub-28 in 27.69.