Latest news with #AriarneTitmus
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lani Pallister swims into Australian history as rivals caught in 'never seen' drama
Aussie swimmer Lani Pallister has broken a 10-year-old Commonwealth record to cap off an incredible meet at the world championship selection trials in Adelaide. On a dramatic final night in Adelaide, Pallister's historic swim in the women's 1500m freestyle grabbed the headlines after Australian Olympic great Cate Campbell was left stunned by 'never before seen' drama in the women's 50m freestyle. Pallister won the women's 1500m free in 15 minutes 39.14 seconds, one second inside the previous Commonwealth benchmark set by New Zealander Lauren Boyle in 2015. Her extraordinary swim was also the third fastest time in the event's history and brought an end to the selection trials in style, as Australia's 40-strong team for the upcoming Singapore World Championships was finalised. The 23-year-old Pallister was the standout swimmer of the meet after also breaking Ariarne Titmus' Australian record in the 800m freestyle. She also clocked a personal best in the 400m free after swimming under the four-minute mark for the first time on her way to victory. "It has been a good week ... it has shown what I can do," Pallister said. "Every time I finished a race, 200 to the 1500, there's always something that I looked to be like that can be so much better... I'm just so excited to build on it, I don't think that's my limit by any means." Pallister will compete in four freestyle events at next month's worlds, ranging from 200m to 1500m. During the final day of the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials, Lani Pallister won the women's 1500 freestyle in 15:39.14. This is a new Australian and Commonwealth record, and now she is the 3th fastest performer of all time in the event. — Swimming Stats (@SwimmingStats) June 14, 2025 10 year record BROKEN ⛓️💥Lani Pallister has set a new Commonwealth Record in the women's 1500m freestyle, breaking New Zealand's Lauren Boyle's old mark of 15:40.14 set in 2015 😳🔥This girl is an IRONWOMAN 👏👏 — Australian Dolphins Swim Team (@DolphinsAUS) June 14, 2025 Pallister's incredible feat came after Paris Olympic silver medallist Meg Harris booked her ticket to Singapore by taking out the women's 50m freestyle. Harris touched ahead of Olivia Wunsch and Alexandria Perkins, who both finished second after a dead-heat that threw up a massive dilemma for national selectors and left Olympic great Campbell stunned. Wunsch and Perkins both touched in 24.70, which was two hundredths of a second inside Swimming Australia's qualification standard for the worlds. But confusion reigned about which swimmer would claim the second spot in the event behind Harris, with Australia's coaching staff to make a call depending on their schedules and event lineups in Singapore. Fortunately, both women already qualified for Singapore in other events, with Wunsch in the 100m free and Perkins in the 50m and 100m butterfly races. Wunsch has swum faster in the event previously, while Perkins' swim represented a new personal best as she is more of a butterfly specialist. But a gobsmacked Campbell said during commentary for Nine that it was a situation she had never seen before. "This will be very interesting to see what happens and who gets that spot," the Olympic great said. "It's not something that I have encountered before. It's not something that I am aware what the protocols are." Australia's 40-strong team is book-ended in age by 16-year-old Sienna Toohey and 31-year-old Cam McEvoy, who will race at a staggering seventh world championships. Kyle Chalmers also finished the meet in style after equalling his personal best in the 50m butterfly, winning in 22.89. Chalmers is unlikely to swim the event at the worlds though, given it's scheduled on the same day as the 4x100m freestyle relay. with AAP
ABC News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Kaylee McKeown, Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O'Callaghan and Zac Stubblety-Cook on life and swimming post-Olympics
Swimming careers don't last that long. Two Olympics is very good, three is exceptional. The class of 2021 from the Tokyo Games are now some of Australia's all-time greats: Kaylee McKeown, Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O'Callaghan, Zac Stubblety-Cook. Coming out of Paris, the quartet and their contemporaries are older and somewhat wiser. Some, like Titmus, are taking a year off, while those swimming on are working out what it is exactly they want from the sport. The instinctive, youthful and very fast swimmers of Tokyo have grown up in front of our eyes and even though they're only in their early to mid-20s, they've taken on some of the baggage that comes with age: doubts and questions creep in. Stubblety-Cook won gold in the men's 200m breaststroke in Tokyo, he won a World Championship and set a world record before following it up with silver in Paris. "The last eight years have very much been [as a] younger athlete, really hungry and really one after the other," Stubblety-Cook said. "Last year I had a lot of time off, and a lot of time to reflect and see where I was at, and make sure I really wanted to commit to the next four years. "The way Mel (Marshall, his coach) put it to me the other day, it was like you go from being capable but mentally not knowing how you did it, and then you swap over at some point and all of a sudden you realise, 'Oh, shit, how do I do this?'" he said. Stubblety-Cook has another chance at a World Championship in Singapore next month after winning the 200m breaststroke at the Australian Selection Trials in Adelaide. "Mel and I both believe my best time is still in me, so I'm still chasing that, and I think that's the goal over the next three years, and just to get better and better each year." He said he was excited at the prospect of swimming at the World Championships. "Everyone's keeping their cards close to their chests, and I know a lot of people have a lot of time off and down time," Stubblety-Cook said. "I actually think it will come down to a race, I don't think it will be all that fast," he said. Like so many of the Paris veterans, Stubblety-Cook said he'd had a sharp comedown after the Games. "I mean the 'Olympic Blues' is always like something to be mindful of, I think people underestimate, especially first time, what it is. Paralympic veteran Rohan Crothers said he still suffers from the post-Paralympic comedown despite competing at the top level for over a decade. "You spend your entire life training and preparing for this one competition and then it's over in thirty seconds, or over in a minute," Crothers said. "And you get back home and everyone's happy to see you and they all support you, but then two weeks later, life goes on and that can be really difficult to cope with as an athlete. "But I think one of the great things about sport is that it's not just about the competition, it is also the community," Crothers said. Mollie O'Callaghan has five Olympic gold medals at just 21. But for most of those years she's been head down, swimming up and down a pool — now she's lifting her head, but it hasn't been easy. O'Callaghan said she'd been to a dark place this year but had learnt so much about herself. She wrapped up the women's 100m freestyle final at the Australian Selection Trials to book another spot for the World Championships in Singapore next month after winning the 200m freestyle earlier in the week. She won the 100m freestyle World Championship in 2022 and 2023. Her time of 52.87 seconds was her fastest time of the year, but she said she wasn't concerned with times. "Dean (Boxall, her coach) and I've spoken and it's just about racing and enjoying it," O'Callaghan said. Do you have a story idea about women in sport? Email us abcsport5050@ O'Callaghan dislocated her kneecap in January, which meant she was on a modified program for the first part of the year. She has a hyper-mobility which makes her susceptible to dislocations. "You can't really predict injury. You can't predict sickness. You can't predict any of that. You can try and prevent it all you want, but sometimes those things just happen," she said. "And look, there's a lot of tears, but I think in the long run, I've learned so much about myself and I wouldn't change a thing. "Moments like this make it even more special. "You have to step into that dark place to get the best out of yourself. "That's what sports is about. It's putting yourself in that hole to see how mentally strong you are, and I've definitely done that this season. "I think this year, originally the plan was just to have fun with it, and I think soak in and take everything that we normally don't get to do while we're so focused in on an Olympic cycle. Titmus talks a lot about wanting to have fun and explained what that meant to her. "Obviously it's like the friendships, I think getting to travel, getting, getting to do what my dreams are," she said. "Getting the opportunity to go around the world, to see new things, trying my hardest. "But I think fun at the end of the day is hopping in the pool knowing that I gave it my all and got the best out of myself." Sam Short is still just 21, but already he's an Olympic veteran and a former World Champion in the 400m freestyle. On Friday, he added the 1,500m freestyle title to the races he's previously won at these trials: the 400m and 800m. For Short, fun is racing and living on the edge of success and failure. "It's a very brutal sport — one thing wrong and everyone will see it," he said. "So much training comes down to fine margins and it is hard, but it's why I love the sport — you know you stuff up one bit and you're going to pay the price," Short said. Benjamin Goedemans was second, just half a second behind Short and will make his first national team at the World Championships. In other results, Ella Ramsay won her second race of the trials and booked another ticket for Singapore by winning the women's 200m breaststroke final after previously winning the 200m individual medley and coming second in the 100m breaststroke. Swimming Australia has named a team of 25 for the World Para Swimming Championships in September and also in Singapore. It's led by some of the biggest names in the sport including Paris flag-bearer, Brendan Hall, Alexa Leary, Benjamin Hance, Tim Hodge and Crothers. Crothers said he was still motivated to continue swimming for the greater good as well as personal success. "Why I swim, why I still compete is for that little two minute golden window after a race where I get a platform and an opportunity to inspire young kids with a disability to get involved with the community, get involved with sport," he said. "I didn't think I was going to be anyone or achieve anything in my life until I saw another swimmer race for about two-and-a-half minutes at the Beijing Paralympics. "And that has literally changed my entire life — it's given me so many incredible opportunities. "So, although it's a small moment for me as an athlete, I place so much value and absolutely treasure the impact that my sporting achievements and my sporting ability can have on Australia and the world-wide community," Crothers said.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Why Olympic icon Dawn Fraser broke down in uncontrollable tears at Australian swimming trials
Olympic icon Dawn Fraser was highly emotional at the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide on Thursday night - and given the scintillating performance of her goddaughter Lani Pallister in the 800m freestyle final, she had every reason to be. In a touching moment, Fraser - who famously won gold in the 100m freestyle at three successive Summer Games between 1956 and 1964 - was seen poolside embracing Pallister after she created her own slice of sporting history. On the fourth day of competition, Pallister, 23, smashed Ariarne Titmus 's Australian women's 800m freestyle record which she set at last year's Paris Olympics. Pallister's slick time of 8:10.64 was also five seconds under her previous personal best - and the third-fastest swim of the year globally over the distance. American superstar Katie Ledecky (8:04.12) and Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh (8:05.07) are the two swimmers Pallister is chasing. 'I'm pretty happy with that time,' she said post race. It comes after Pallister earlier this year moved to the famed St Peters squad in Queensland under Titmus's coach, Dean Boxall. She was previously trained by her mother Janelle Elford. Meanwhile, Fraser, 87, recently revealed she lost 22kg following a fall on her driveway in December last year - and that she could have died following subsequent surgery. 'The pain was excruciating,' she told News Corp when reflecting on the incident at her Noosa home on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. 'I'd never felt pain like that before. I've never sort of fallen or broken anything in my life and it was a shock to me.' And the cause of the fall? Fraser was trying to open a case of soft drink when she slipped on a small ledge and fell onto hard concrete. Fraser's hospital X-rays were grim - they revealed a broken hip, four cracked ribs and potential internal bleeding. Given her age, the anaesthetist warned 'Dawny' she may not survive the operation. 'When the anaesthetist came in and said I could die, that was frightening,' she said.
ABC News
12-06-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Lani Pallister breaks the 800m freestyle record and gets a hug from Dawn Fraser
Lani Pallister has smashed Ariarne Titmus's Australian women's 800m freestyle record set at last year's Olympic Games. Pallister's time of 8:10.84 was more than a second faster than the old mark and five seconds under her previous personal best. It also ranks as the third-fastest swim of the year. "I'm pretty happy with that time," Pallister said, after sharing an emotional hug with godmother and Australian swimming champ Dawn Fraser poolside. "I would have liked just under eight-ten, but I think it's a big three years coming up, so to do that on eight weeks, 10 weeks of work with everyone at St Peters is huge." This year Pallister, who was previously coached by her mother Janelle Elford, moved to the St Peters squad in Queensland under Titmus's coach, Dean Boxall. "I didn't know what time I was going [during the race]," she said. "Usually, I have a little look to see if I could see the scoreboard or not, but all I could see was Dean doing these ones [mimicking fast kicking], kicking his legs on the last 50 and I was like OK 'it's either going to be real close to my best time or close to the time we spoke about'. So yeah, I'm really happy." Pallister said she was keen to get back to work to prepare for the World Championships in Singapore next month, but said the result doesn't change her goals. "It doesn't really change much, I think I'm using this year just to race, have fun," Pallister said. Multiple Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown won her third title at the national swimming trials in Adelaide, taking out the 200m backstroke. "I'm not going to be harsh on myself, I am happy with that," McKeown said. "If I look back on my preparation for this year, I had four months, spent four months in a group where I wasn't finding myself really happy and made the decision a week before the national to move to Sunny [Sunshine] Coast. "I still haven't got a house to live in, I'm in Airbnb's and it has been really a hard transition. "It's just the things that people don't really see when you come in and race." Despite winning three out of three races at the nationals, McKeown has been either critical of her times, or lukewarm at best as she was on Thursday. Her time in the 200m was the fastest in the world this year, but she said it would count for nothing once the World Championships begin in Singapore next month. "No, it doesn't matter what you do here, it depends what you do on the day in an international meet," she said. "I could be doing world records here, get to an international meet and come last. "So, it really doesn't matter what I do here, what form I'm in, I've just got to get my mind right and see what I can do in a few weeks' time. Asked what was motivating her to go on, she said: "I want to go to a third Olympics." "I want to be on American soil and show them what the Aussies have," she said. Second place-getter Hannah Fredericks, who has made her first Australian team, said it was difficult to see the likes of McKeown and Mollie O'Callaghan criticise their own times. "I idolised Kaylee for example, and Mol and it's always hard to see them be so hard on themselves," she said. She said McKeown congratulated her after the swim. "She just said like, 'I'm so, so happy for you'," Fredericks said. Rio gold medallist Kyle Chalmers won the men's 100m freestyle in a time that was faster than he swam to win the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He said his state of mind outside the pool was translating to fast times in it. "Now, I'm really happy and content," he said. "Like I've got a fantastic new coach, physiologists who are working with me every single day who believe in me 100 per cent, a fiancée who's incredible and I'm preparing to be a dad, living on a farm. "Like there's so many amazing things going on outside of the pool that I think it allows me to come here and have fun. "I'm not here with pressure and expectation, like anything I kind of achieve from this point on is just the icing on the cake in my career. "I'm physically, mentally, and emotionally in a great place and I think when all of those buckets are topped up, I can swim well in the pool." Reflecting on McKeown and O'Callaghan, who have both said during the meet that they're struggling to enjoy swimming, Chalmers said athletes had to find the right attitude to get the most out of their sport. "I mean, everyone's probably very different, like you've got to enjoy what you're doing," Chalmers said. "This is my 10th year on the Australian swimming team now and my 14th trials, like it goes so quickly. "It doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was arriving here for, you know, London 2012 trials. "It goes so quickly, and I think it's just you've got to slow down and enjoy it." In other results, Brittany Castelluzzo made her first Australian team by winning the women's 200m butterfly final. Paralympic stars, Alexa Leary and Rohan Crothers both won their 100m freestyle events.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Summer McIntosh sets third world record in 5 days at Canadian Trials, matching a Michael Phelps milestone
Summer McIntosh has entered rare air, or water if you will. With a dominant all-around performance Wednesday night, the three-time Olympic champion became the first swimmer to break a world record in three different individual events at one long-course meet since Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Advertisement McIntosh, still only 18 years old, accomplished the feat in the span of five days at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, British Columbia. The Toronto native completed the world-record trifecta in one of her favorite events, the 400m individual medley. Racing against her previous world record, she clocked in at 4:23.65. McIntosh bested the 4:24.38 time she posted at the 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials. "I think 400 IM is the race I've come close to mastering for myself,' McIntosh told CBC Sports' Devin Heroux afterward. 'So going into tonight, I knew it would take an extra little push if I wanted to lower, or, go a best time I'd like to say, since I hold the world record." McIntosh added: "I mean, overall, happy with the time, but I know I can go faster. But I'm excited to keep pushing this event and always like having room for more." McIntosh took back the 400m freestyle world record on Saturday with a 3:54.18, surpassing the 3:55.38 mark Australia's Ariarne Titmus set in 2023. Advertisement Two days later, McIntosh topped the 200 IM world record of 2:06.12, which was previously established by Hungary's Katinka Hosszú in 2015. McIntosh finished in 2:05.70. In another poolside interview Wednesday, seconds removed from her incredible 400 IM swim, McIntosh said that this year's Canadian Swimming Trials is probably the best meet of her career so far. It's now widely recognized as one of swimming's top single-meet showings ever. Even so, McIntosh is her own harshest critic. She emphasized that she still can improve the breaststroke leg of the race. "I think world records are made to be broken," McIntosh said, via CBC Sports. "So by the time I leave this sport, I want to make sure that record is as fast as possible. Advertisement "I think that really keeps me going because I know there's always going to be the next generation of kids growing up, and they're going to be chasing the record, so I've got to give it my best effort to see how long it can stand." Right now, though, McIntosh is the "next generation," and she's already sharing a milestone with the legendary Phelps.
