By AFP – Agence France Presse April 17, 2024 Order Reprints Print Article Text size Two-time world champ Mollie O’Callaghan fired a Paris Olympics cautioning Wednesday with a blistering 100m freestyle at the Australian champions, while Kaylee McKeown signed up with an elite group in the 200m collection. In a high-calibre field including 5 of the 10 fastest entertainers in history, O’Callaghan touched initially on the Gold Coast in 52.27 seconds. Meg Harris (52.59 ), Tokyo Olympic champ Emma McKeon (53.09) and Shayna Jack (53.20) were all under the certifying time required to make Paris, while Cate Campbell and Brianna Throssell directly missed it. It establishes a big fight at the Australian Olympic trials in Brisbane in June with simply 2 slots readily available. “Pretty excellent time. I would have liked quicker, however plenty more things I’ve got to enhance,” stated O’Callaghan, who might target 6 gold medals in France. Asked what she will be dealing with ahead of the Olympics, she responded: “Top trick.” All-conquering backstroke star McKeown swam the seventh-fastest 200m collection ever, touching in 2:06.99 to shatter an Australian record that had actually stood because 2009. She is just the 5th female ever to dip under 2:07 and simply the 2nd in the previous 8 years along with Canadian experience Summer McIntosh, who is set to be a crucial Olympic competitor. “I’m up for the obstacle (of swimming the assortment in Paris),” stated McKeown, who owns the world records in all 3 backstroke disciplines. “It’ll be tough with the backstroke however I believe I’m putting myself in a position to evaluate myself as finest I can.” In a race boasting the previous 3 world champs, Elijah Winnington touched initially in the males’s 400m freestyle in a world-leading time this year of 3:41.41. He edged Sam Short (3:41.64) and South Korea’s Kim Woo-min (3:45.12), who swam on an invite. Zac Stubblety-Cook, the Tokyo Olympic 200m breaststroke gold medallist, got the 100m title in 59.85, the only swimmer to split one minute. Ariarne Titmus clocked a competitive 8:17.80 to win the females’s 800m freestyle less than 2 seconds ahead of Lani Pallister. Titmus stunned Katie Ledecky to win the Tokyo Olympics 200 and 400m gold however ended up second behind the American excellent in the 800m. Ledecky has actually swum an 8:14.97 this year to lead the 2024 rankings. mp/pbt
O’Callaghan, McKeown In Ominous Olympic Form At Australian Championships – Barron’s
