Sienna Toohey and Henry Allan shine ahead of Brisbane 2032 Olympics
Two future stars of Australian swimming and potential medalists at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics announced themselves by storm on Tuesday night; Sienna Toohey and Henry Allan, 17, have shown why the excitement surrounding two country teenagers growing up three hours apart is very real.
In the second of the Australian swimming trials for next month’s Commonwealth Games and the Pan Pacific Championships in California later this year, Toohey and Allan reached their respective women’s 100m breaststroke and men’s 100m backstroke finals at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatics Centre.
The pair weren’t alive to witness the magic of the Sydney 2000 Olympics in the pool where they competed on Tuesday night – neither were most of their team-mates – but they have increased excitement in swimming circles about their raw potential ahead of their home Olympics in six years.
Toohey’s open-mouthed response was priceless when she looked at the board and realized she had shaved 0.46 seconds off her personal best to become the third-fastest Australian in history (at any age) with a time of 1:05.97, behind Leisel Jones (1:05.09) and Sarah Katsoulis (1:05.86).
More focus on her placings of late has helped propel her towards times approaching medal territory at senior international level.
“I was really happy about that,” Toohey said. “My legs were burning, but I wasn’t going to give up.”
Allan, meanwhile, faces a tense wait until Saturday before he officially finds out whether he deserves selection to the Dolphins first team. His time of 53.52 was outside Swimming Australia’s tough qualifying standard of 52.57, but selectors are expected to take him to Glasgow at least as part of the men’s 4x100m medley relay team.
The other option is Isaac Cooper, who competed in the 50-meter backstroke but did not compete in the 100-meter race. However, Allan is a long-term candidate with an extremely bright future and international experience will serve him well.
Young athletes from big cities can sometimes attract attention more quickly, but given their country upbringings and their commitment to traveling long distances to one day wear a golden cap at the Olympic Games, both swimmers have been rumored among discerning judges for some time.
Toohey made his international debut at the age of 16 at last year’s world championships in Singapore. Previous trials have revealed that his hometown of Albury, on the NSW-Victoria border, does not have an indoor swimming pool, forcing him to train outdoors in freezing conditions, often in the middle of winter.
Things have improved since then. Toohey told reporters he moved to Canberra with his mother and brother earlier this year. But she hasn’t been home for the last 10 weeks and admitted being away from her friends was very difficult, but it was worth it in the end, on a night when she secured qualification for her first Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.
“I don’t have many friends in Canberra but it was worth it,” said the Year 11 student, who is enrolled at Albury High School.
“My friends at school are the best group of friends I could ever ask for. They FaceTime me frequently during the day… I know I can leave for months and come back and they will treat me the same. It’s definitely hard to be isolated.”
“My teachers are very supportive of my sports. They prepare little booklets and packages for me and send them with my father when he comes to visit me. I go to school like everyone else, I just do it from home.
“I’m looking at it because I’m so young [2028] “It’s the LA Olympics, so I’m just trying to get as much experience as I can before then.”
If scientists had been doing backstrokes in the laboratory, they might well have created Allan. The Bendigo teenager grew 10 centimeters last year and now stands 203 centimeters tall.
Its reach and physique were designed specifically for its events.
Allan was philosophical about his comeback victory in last year’s world championship qualifiers, despite racing for experience as a 15-year-old the previous year.
There was a feeling among those around Allan that there was no need to rush the age-group star, who broke Australian records for fun and traveled to Melbourne for training sessions.
Allan only started swimming at the age of 13 when a neighbor invited him to practice one day.
She turns 18 at the end of this month and will be 24 by the time the Brisbane Olympics come around. There’s a lot of work to be done until then, but he’s already showing that the hype is justified.
The Allan train is just leaving.
“I won’t be too upset if I’m not selected… Definitely [think I can make it] for the relay,” Allan said.
“Seeing Sienna get into that team last year was just an eye-opener for me to see that such young people and people from New South Wales and Victoria could get into those team spots.”
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Tom Decent is chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
