Australia unveil teams for Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs
Australia has named a strong swimming team for next month’s Commonwealth Games, led by 15 Dolphins athletes, including world record holders Kaylee McKeown and Cam McEvoy, as well as backstroke star Henry Allan.
On the sixth and final night of the Australian trials, selectors announced a squad of 60 swimmers from both the able-bodied (42) and para (18) programs for the Glasgow Games, which begin on 24 July.
McKeown and McEvoy hold the long-distance world records – Ariarne Titmus retired last year – while the likes of Mollie O’Callaghan, Kyle Chalmers, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Shayna Jack, Sam Short and Meg Harris are among those set to spearhead Australia’s campaign during the six-day competition in Scotland after the Games were controversially moved from Victoria.
As far as trials go, the results were encouraging, but there were only a handful of truly standout performances. There was little danger in the results throughout the week and most of the favorites got the job done.
Experienced campaigners such as McKeown, O’Callaghan, Chalmers, McEvoy and Harris failed to break personal records in Sydney, but many of these benchmarks are world records. They were all pleased to know their preparations were geared towards reaching the top in Glasgow in six weeks.
Dolphins team for Commonwealth Games (24 July – 2 August)
Henry Allan, Iona Anderson, Ben Armbruster, Emily Beecroft, Victoria Belando Nicholson, Hannah Casey, Brittany Castelluzzo, Kyle Chalmers, Jessica Cole, Isaac Cooper, Lizzy Dekkers, Jenna Forrester, Hannah Fredericks, Jasmin Fullgrabe, Matt Galea, Alyssa Gillespie, Ben Goedemans, Jasmine Greenwood, Meg Harris, Kirralee Hayes, Timothy Hodge, Mia Hogan, Jack Ireland, Jamie Jack, Shayna Jack, Jenna Jones, Tara Kinder, Tiana Kritzinger, Se-Bom Lee, Bailey Lello, Beau Matthews, Cam McEvoy, Kaylee McKeown, Madeleine McTernan, Inez Miller, Tommy Neill, Mollie O’Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Lakeisha Patterson, Col Pearse, Alexandria Perkins, William Petric, Ella Ramsay, Alex Saffy, Gemma Sellick, Sam Short, Brendon Smith, Edward Sommerville, Flynn Southam, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Kai Taylor, Matt Temple, Liam Togher, Sienna Toohey, Harrison Turner, Harrison Vig, Molly Walker, Amelia Weber, Sam Williamson, Elijah Winnington.
That was until McEvoy broke the 23-second barrier for the first time in the 50-meter butterfly on Saturday night; this was a significant milestone given that the event came on the heels of the 50 meters freestyle, which was her preferred choice in the Commonwealth Games programme.
Among the established stars, Short (200m, 400m and 800m freestyle), Lani Pallister (200m freestyle), Lizzy Dekkers (200m butterfly) and Jenna Forrester (400m individual medley) lowered their lifetime bests.
But it was 17-year-old breaststroke prodigy Sienna Toohey who delivered one of the best moments of the week; He stared open-mouthed at the board, 0.46 seconds shy of his personal best in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Short was arguably the swimmer of the meet, winning four events and showing the benefits of a tough training regime devised by coach Damien Jones ahead of his second Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, Pallister was impressive on the women’s side. “I’m happy about it because I could make it feel as bad as I did in 15:40,” he said of his 1500m freestyle victory on the final night.
“I wasn’t too happy with my 400 and 800. I woke up a little sick yesterday, so I was coming in today and checking a box. Not being sick is an excuse.”
Freestyle is shaping up to be a major force for Australia in Glasgow and there is a possibility of a clean sweep of gold in this stroke.
Australia can enter three swimmers per event at the Commonwealth Games, compared to the finals at the Pan Pacific Championships, where one team is also selected.
Dolphins team for Pan Pacs (August 10-15)
Iona Anderson, Ben Armbruster, Hannah Casey, Brittany Castelluzzo, Isaac Cooper, Jacqueline Davison-McGovern, Lizzy Dekkers, Chelsea Douyere, Jenna Forrester, Hannah Fredericks, Matt Galea, Max Giuliani, Ben Goedemans, Meg Harris, Charlie Hawke, Jamie Jack, Milla Jansen, Moesha Johnson, Tara Kinder, Tiana Kritzinger, Se-Bom Lee, Bailey Lello, Euan Liney, Kaylee McKeown, Inez Miller, Mollie O’Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Alexandria Perkins, William Petric, Ella Ramsay, Sam Short, Nick Sloman, Brendon Smith, Ed Sommerville, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Stuart Swinburn, Kai Taylor, Sienna Toohey, Harrison Turner, Molly Walker, Amelia Weber, Sam Williamson, Elijah Winnington, Olivia Wunsch.
Allan, 17, booked his first Dolphins race after winning the men’s 100m backstroke title.
“The Commonwealth Games is a good game in the sense that it’s not a world championship or the Olympic Games so you don’t have all the depth of the world attacking you,” McEvoy said of the team’s rookies.
“This gives them a chance to come in and try for a world championship and then an Olympics in Los Angeles. I would say this is probably the best year to be a rookie in a four-year cycle.”
Meanwhile, Chalmers, McEvoy, Jack, Flynn Southam, Matt Temple and Allan have withdrawn from the Pan Pacific Championships, which will be held in Irvine from 10-15 August.
The Dolphins, which features both non-disabled and paid athletes, will be chasing a record gold medal run in Glasgow, with the 28 championship event on the Gold Coast in 2018 firmly within reach. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Australian swimmers collected 25 gold medals.
Australia’s prospects have also been boosted by an expanded swimming programme. There will be 56 events, from 52 in Birmingham and 50 on the Gold Coast to 42 disabled and 14 para in Glasgow.
Dolphins team for Para Pan Pacs (August 28-30)
Montana Atkinson, Jesse Aungles, Emily Beecroft, Victoria Belando Nicholson, Ricky Betar, Lewis Bishop, Stephanie Bruzzese, Declan Budd, Rowan Crothers, Jasmin Fullgrabe, Tom Gallagher, Jasmine Greenwood, Brenden Hall, Benjamin Hance, Kirralee Hayes, Tim Hodge, Jack Ireland, Jenna Jones, Ahmed Kelly, Beau Matthews, Maddie McTernan, Jake Michel, Riley Moore, Chloe Osborn, Lakeisha Patterson, Grant Patterson, Col Pearse, Alex Saffy, Callum Simpson, Darren Sisman, Amelie Springett-Kelly, Keira Stephens, Ruby Storm, Kael Thompson, Liam Togher, Alexander Tuckfield, Harrison Vig.
Another advantage is the absence of Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh, who chose to skip the Commonwealth Games and focus on the Pan Pacs.
The Australian team will depart for a training camp in Germany on July 11, before arriving in Glasgow on July 21. After the Commonwealth Games, the team will head to San Diego for a training camp ahead of the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine.
“The Commonwealth Games is a great competition to get a lot of profile and visibility for Australia,” Australian coach Rohan Taylor said. “Unfortunately, this is not a village environment… but any international racing is good.
“Pan Pacs focuses more on simulating our L.A. experience with training camp, and the competition itself is really short and sharp.”
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Tom Decent is chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
