NSW State Open Championships: Olympic Gold Medallists Headline Dolphins Who’s Who for “Mini Trials” Meet at SOPAC
Olympic champions Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown and Kyle Chalmers will headline a who’s who of Australian swimmers who will converge on the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this weekend for the 2024 NSW State Open Championships.
The “Mini Trials” Meet that will also feature the Dolphins latest excitement machine, world champion and world record holder Mollie O’Callaghan and a host of Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls from 128 clubs.
The meet signals the serious start in the countdown for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Trials in Brisbane in June.
Swimming NSW Coaching Director Jon Shaw is excited with the line-up, knowing that in three months’ time there will be Olympic and Para spots on the line.
“It’s going to be a fast meet ’m sure and with the fields we’ve assembled there will be some great racing,” said Shaw.
“Just look at the names, McKeon, Titmus, McKeown, Chalmers, and O’Callaghan – just to name five - it doesn’t get much better and for the young stars of the future to get the chance to race these guys, it’s a great opportunity.
“We’re excited and it’s an Olympic and Paralympic year and I’m sure there will be some new faces, some new stars waiting in the wings to get their chances.
“I’m always excited to watch our Para team in action and especially our own world champion, world record holder and Tokyo medallist Timothy Hodge.”
Friday’s opening night will feature the women’s 100m freestyle in the first of the battle royals with defending Olympic champion McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) up against 2022 World Champion O’Callaghan.
A field that also includes the likes of 2015 World Champion and Olympic relay golden girl Bronte Campbell (Cruiz, ACT) her teammate Abbey Webb and youngsters like World Junior Champion Olivia Wunsch (Carlile, NSW), Milla Jansen (Bond, QLD) and Jamie De Lutiis (Wests Illawarra, NSW) who will also want in on the finals action.
Bronte thriving in her split coaching environment between Sydney and Canberra under the direction of Olympic gold medal coach Shannon Rollason at the Swimming NSW ACT Performance Hub.
While Olympic champion Titmus will also swim the 100m, she adds the 800m freestyle on night one; the 400m on Saturday night and the 200m on Sunday – one of the main attractions when she goes head-to-head with fellow St Peters Western, QLD training partner O’Callaghan.
Rio Olympic 100m freestyle gold medallist and 2022 world champion Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA) will start his campaign when he steps out to defend his pet event on the opening night.
Amongst a red-hot field will be the other three members of the 2022 Commonwealth Games 4x100m freestyle relay gold medal team, Zac Incerti (USC Spartans, QLD), Flynn Southam (Bond, QLD) and Will Yang (SOPAC Swim Club, NSW).
Sydney’s Yang only returned to competition last month, winning the men’s 100m freestyle final at the Victorian State Championships in an encouraging 48.52 – after undergoing successful back surgery last year to a remove a benign tumour located on his spine.
Twelve months ago, doctors discovered a “decent-sized benign tumour” in Yang’s spinal canal that was and pinching his spinal cords and causing excruciating pain – but after surgery and quite the post-operative journey, Yang, who won the 2022 Australian Trials (in Chalmers absence), has clawed his way back into Games contention under coach Adam Kable at SOPAC.
Yang had swum a personal best in the semi-finals at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games of 48.38, going on to finish fifth in the final in 48.55 – before joining Chalmers, Incerti and teenager flyer Southam to the relay gold.
While world backstroking queen McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) will also be in action – entering the 50, 100 and 200m backstrokes as well as the 200 IM, 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly.
With coach Michael Bohl confirming that while his super-charge had done everything asked for her in a training camp in Cairns this week, they would not confirm her final racing schedule until the team arrives in Sydney.
There will be a host of young local talent from throughout NSW, with regional centres supplying so many of the next generation swim stars like 15-year-old breaststrokers Sienna Toohey and Isabelle Rae from Albury Amateur, under the guidance of local coaching legend Wayne Gould.
Toohey, who has only just turned 15, emerged as Australia’s fastest 14-year-old since Australia’s greatest female breaststroker Olympic and world champion Leisel Jones – with two sizzling swims at the recent NSW Country Championships – clocking 31.54 (fourth fastest Australian in the 50m breaststroke this season) and her 1:08.39 (seventh fastest 100m breaststroke), nudging a long-standing Jones time from 2000.
2024 NSW State Open Championships
Session Times are:
Friday, March 15 Heats: 9am; Finals: 6pm
Races To Watch:
M 100m freestyle (Kyle Chalmers and Will Yang)
W 100m freestyle (Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan)
W 200m backstroke (Kaylee McKeown)
Saturday, March 16: Heats: 9am; Finals: 6pm
Races To Watch:
W 400m freestyle (Ariarne Titmus and Lani Pallister)
M 200m freestyle (Maximillian Giuliani and Flynn Southam)
W 100m backstroke (Kaylee McKeown)
W 50m freestyle (Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan)
Sunday, March 17: Heats: 9am; Finals: 5.30pm
Races To Watch:
M 100m butterfly (Matt Temple and Shaun Champion)
W 200m freestyle (Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan)
M 50m freestyle (Cameron McEvoy and Isaac Cooper)
W 1500m freestyle (Lani Pallister)
