The nation’s finest swimmers are set to reach new heights on the Gold Coast at the upcoming 2021 Australian Swimming Championships, which are being held from 14 April-18 April.
The championships will be streamed live on both SwimTV and Amazon Prime Video globally, with competitors from around Australia converging across five action-packed days to batte it out in the first national pool meet in more than a year. This is a new era for Swimming Australia, with the championships being streamed across the world into 240 Amazon Prime Video countries and territories and to more than 150 million customers.
Mitch Larkin (St Peters Western) will be eager to defend his titles on home soil with the Queenslander putting seven gold medals to his name in 2019. He’ll be the one to watch in the 50m,100m and 200m backstroke as well as the 200m individual medley.
His Dolphins teammate, Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers (Marion), also has a score to settle in the pool as he chases back-to-back titles in four events, including the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly.
Hometown favourite, Emma McKeon (Griffith University) will be on the hunt for medals as she takes to the water in the 100m butterfly, as well as the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle events.
This year’s event will see the heats swum in the evening and the finals take place the following morning, replicating and preparing the athletes for what they’ll experience at the Tokyo Olympic Games this July.
National Head Coach, Rohan Taylor, said the swimmers are looking to sharpen up their racing skills at this year’s championships after a long shutdown in 2020.
“All the swimmers are looking fantastic and it’s a true credit to the coaches and athletes after a lengthy time away for the most part of 2020 due to the pandemic,” he said.
“It’s set to be a great event and with so many of our elite swimmers in attendance there is sure to be some exciting racing.
“Everyone has been working so hard to prepare for this year with such a busy schedule ahead, obviously highlighted by the Tokyo Olympic Games in July and August.
“Queensland has always been a great place to host Australia’s swimming and I’d like to thank the City of Gold Coast for allowing us to be up here. They always put on a great show when we’re in town.”
Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate said: “Our eye has always been on ensuring maximum post Games legacy for our sporting venues so to have the best male and female swim stars here for the nationals is a huge coup for the coast.
“Tokyo is only months away – let’s get down poolside to cheer them on.’’
The 2021 Australian Swimming Championships set off on Wednesday 14 April with heats commencing from 6:00pm and finals starting the following day at 10:00am.
Can’t make it to live this event? You can catch all the action live from the Gold Coast Swimming & Aquatic Centre on on Amazon Prime Video at no extra cost to members. To sign up or start a 30-day free trial of Prime, visit: amazon.com.au/prime.
