Campbell was disqualified before being re-instated to the silver after a successful protest to the Jury of Appeal.
With all eyes on Campbell and an all-star cast in the 100m freestyle final the unfortunate happened after touching the wall second behind fellow Olympic relay gold medallist and Wollongong product McKeon, the scoreboard quickly lit up with the dreaded DQ and an announcement Campbell had moved before the starting signal.
But later in the evening following a successful protest the Jury of Appeal reversed the decision –awarding the silver medal to Campbell.
Taking nothing away from McKeon, who finished strongly over the final 25 metres to power home over Campbell to win the race in a faster time than Campbell’s winning time from 2019.
In a revised podium the medallist in the women’s 100m freestyle were:
- Emma McKeon (Griffith University) 53.00
- Cate Campbell (Knox Pymble) 53.05
- Madison Wilson (Marion) 53.50
“The official line was there was movement on the block before the starting signal but I think I’ve been in the sport long enough to know when I should be disqualified and when I shouldn’t be and I shouldn’t have been,” said Campbell.
“We protested showing the start from various angles and proving there was no movement. I think it’s good that we were able to protest and the right decision has now been made and I am able to maintain a clean slate,” said Campbell.
It was reversed before the end of the night and she had another silver medal in her keeping when she anchored the Knox Pymble girls to second in the 4x100m medley relay, pumping out a sizzling split time of 52.81.
Earlier in the night McKeon left nothing to chance in the final of the women’s 50m butterfly, zooming out of the blocks to display the technique which has make her one of the world’s finest butterfliers.
Women’s 50m butterfly
- Emma McKeon (Griffith University) 25.87
- Brianna Throssell (UWA West Coast) 26.32
- Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar) 26.93
Women’s 400m Individual Medley
Meanwhile Newcastle’s Commonwealth Games representative and former US-based University swimmer Meg Bailey (Hunter), training under SOPAC-coach Adam Kable, showed why she will be one to watch come the Olympic Trials, winning the 400IM ahead of Rio Olympian Blair Evans in 4:41.22.
- Meg Bailey (Hunter) 4:41.22
- Blair Evans (UWA West Coast) 4:45.49
- Jacinta Essam (Ginninderra) 4:45.81
In other events Queensland teenager and Tokyo Olympic hopeful Kaylee McKeown up-staged Australian swimming’s biggest names to set a new NSW All-Comers record of 2:06.38 in the 200m backstroke.
The 2020 world rankings leader (with her 2:05.83 from the South Australian Championships) took 0.02 off the 11-year-old mark set by dual Olympic finalist’s Belinda Hocking’s 2009 time of 2:06.40.
McKeown lined up against a star-studded field, with fellow 2019 World Championship silver medallist in the 100m backstroke and World Short Course world record holder Minna Atherton (Brisbane Grammar) second in 2:08.59 and three-time Olympian and three-time world champion Emily Seebohm (Griffith) third in 2:1012.
Women’s 200m backstroke
- Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans) 2:06.38
- Minna Atherton (Brisbane Grammar) 2:08.59
- Emily Seebohm (Griffith University) 2:10.12
Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers (Marion) backed up his power-packed morning swims to again signal his intentions in a year that has already been turned on its head and will continue to spin for some time yet in the rocky road towards Tokyo – delivering a 48.28 after a 48.27 heat this morning – both swims after a 200m butterfly.
Chalmers wrote himself into the NSW record books tonight – taking a rare double in the 200m butterfly and backing up to win the 100m freestyle.
He signalled his intentions during the morning heats with a personal best in the 200m butterfly and his back-up swim to head the qualifiers into the 100m freestyle final.
And he delivered another double dose tonight – taking out the 200m butterfly in 1:57.35 – a similar time many Australian swimming fans can relate to with soon to be Hall of Famer Jon Sieben clocking 1:57.04 to set a new world record and take the Olympic gold in Los Angeles in 1984.
Men’s 200m butterfly
- Kyle Chalmers (Marion) 1:57.35
- Nicholas Brown (UWA West Coast) 1:59.47
- Alex Quach (Auburn) 2:00.14
Before another impressive performance to win the 100m freestyle in 48.28, just 0.01 slower than his heat swim, to beat Japan’s 28-year-old Shinri Shioura (48.90) with Alex Graham (Bond) 49.19 third and James Roberts (Somerset) fourth in 49.64.
Interested spectators included 1988 US Olympic champion Matt Biondi and 2000 Olympic 4x100m freestyle gold medallist and Swimming NSW president Chris Fydler.
Chalmers looks stronger than ever in the water, brimful of confidence.
Earlier in the day, Chalmers spoke about his confidence and his growing rivalry with world champion Caeleb Dressel. (LINK).
Men’s 100m freestyle
- Kyle Chalmers (Marion) 48.28
- Shinri Shioura (Japan) 48.90
- Alex Graham (Bond) 49.19)
Men’s 50m breaststroke
In the men’s 50m breaststroke local boy and former 200m breaststroke world record holder Matthew Wilson (SOPAC) continued to surprise himself taking out the 50m final in 27.96 – just 0.30 outside his own NSW record.
- Matthew Wilson (SOPAC) 27.96
- Josh Palmer (Marion) 28.07
- Jake Packard (USC Spartans) 28.17
Women’s 100m breaststroke
In a blanket finish it was the girl from Bond, World Championships team member and National 200m breaststroke champion, Jenna Strauch who out-touched the field to take the win in 1:08.33.
- Jenna Strauch (Bond) 1:08.33
- Leiston Pickett (Southport) 1:08.63
- Georgia Bohl (Griffith University) 1:08.63
In the women’s 800m freestyle it was Kiah Melverton (TSS Aquatic) who continued her consistent summer, adding another title to her collection from the 2019 Australian Short Course, Queensland and South Australian State Championships, taking the gold medal in 8:31.41.
Her 17-year-old rival and World Junior Champion Lani Pallister (Cotton Tree) led through the first 100m before Melverton took control of the race and as hard as Pallister tried couldn’t bridge the gap, still recording a solid 8:36.63 with Dahlas Rogers (USC Spartans) third in 8:41.64.
Women’s 800m freestyle
- Kiah Melverton (TSS Aquatic) 8:31.41
- Lani Pallister (Cotton Tree) 8:36.63
- Dahlas Rogers (USC Spartans) 8:41.64
Men’s 50m backstroke
- William Yang (Loreto Normanhurst) 25.12
- Tristan Hollard (Southport Olympic) 26.08
- Kai Van Kool (Manly) 26.19
Men’s 50m freestyle Multi-Class
- Rowan Crothers S10 (Yeronga Park) 23.44
- Oscar Stubbs S13 (SOPAC) 24.89
- Jacob Templeman S13 (USC Spartans) 25.61
Men’s 200m IM Multi-Class
- Timothy Hodge SM9 (Auburn) 2:18.56
- Matthew Levy SM7 (North Sydney)
- Joshua Alford SM14 (Tuggeranong Vikings) 2:21.65
Women’s 50m freestyle Multi-Class
- Katja Dedekind S13 (USC Spartans) 28.01
- Corry Taylor S14 (Nelson Bay) 28.36
- Ella Jones S8 (Springwood) 32.64
Women’s 200m IM Multi-Class
- Keira Stephens SM10 (Hervey Bay) 2:38.61
- Taylor Corry SM14 (Nelson Bay) 2:35.28
- Mei Ichinose SM9 (USC Spartans) 2:43.48
Written by Ian Hanson, Hanson Media Group
