Out Of The 24 Women Under 53 Seconds In The 100 Free, 8 Are Australian

2022 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, May 18 – Sunday, May 22, 2022
• SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Oaklands Park, South Australia
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entry List
• Live Results
• Live Stream (Amazon Prime)
• World Championships Qualifying Criteria

WOMEN’S 100 FREE – FINAL

Top 8:

1. Mollie O’Callaghan- 52.49
2. Shayna Jack– 52.60
3. Meg Harris– 53.09
4. Madi Wilson– 53.19
5. Ariarne Titmus- 53.68
6. Brianna Throssell- 53.82
7. Leah Neale- 54.21
8. Rebecca Jacobsen- 54.93

The depth of Australian women’s sprinting showed up and showed out once more in the 100 free at Australian trials. Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, and Meg Harris rounded out the top three, and their times also made them the #1, #2, and #3 ranked swimmers in the world for the 2021-22 season in this event.

In addition, O’Callaghan and Jack’s times of 52.49 and 53.09 respectively make them the eighth and eleventh fastest performers of all time in the women’s 100 free.

But what’s more impressive is that they are now the seventh and eighth Australian women to go under 53 seconds in this event. In other words, 8 out of the 24 women who have been sub-53 in the 100 free are Australian. This is the most out of any country, as the rest of this group of elite sprinters consists of 3 from the United States, 2 from the Netherlands, 2 from Great Britain, 2 from Canada, 1 from Germany, 1 from Japan 1 from Denmark, 1 from Sweden, 1 from Hong Kong, 1 from China, and 1 from France.

List of Women Who Have Gone Sub-53 In The 100 Free:

1. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden- 51.71 (2017)
2. Emma McKeon, Australia- 51.96 (2021)
3. Cate Campbell, Australia- 52.03 (2018)
4. Simone Manuel, United States- 52.04 (2019)
5. Britta Steffen, Germany- 52.07 (2009)
6. Bronte Campbell, Australia- 52.27 (2018)
7. Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong- 52.27 (2021)
8. Mollie O’Callaghan, Australia- 52.49 (2022)
9. Mallory Comerford, United States- 52.59 (2017)
10. Penny Oleksiak, Canada- 52.59 (2021)
11. Shayna Jack, Australia- 52.60 (2022)
12. Libby Lenton, Australia- 52.62 (2009)
13. Femke Heemskerk, Netherlands- 52.69 (2015)
14. Pernille Blume, Denmark- 52.69 (2017)
15. Taylor Ruck, Canada- 52.72 (2018)
16. Charlotte Bonnet, France- 52.74 (2018)
17. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands- 52.75 (2012)
18. Anna Hopkin, Great Britain- 52.75 (2021)
19. Madi Wilson, Australia- 52.76 (2021)
20. Rikako Ikee, Japan- 52.79 (2018)
21. Fran Halsall, Great Britain- 52.87 (2009)
22. Zhang Yufei, China- 52.90 (2020)
23. Meg Harris, Australia- 52.92 (2021)
24. Abbey Weitzeil, United States- 52.99 (2021)

Keep in mind, this 100 free performance was done by the Aussies without their biggest stars, as Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, and Bronte Campbell were not at trials and will not race at Worlds. We mentioned in our relay preview that their lack of a presence wouldn’t be a problem for Australia’s 4×100 free relay in Budapest, but the performances in the 100 free tonight give us even greater confidence that the country will head into the relay as heavy favorites.

Here’s how they compare with the USA and Canada after their respective trials:

As you can see, the added up times of the four Aussies is three seconds faster than that of the top four Americans and Canadians. In addition, the fourth-fastest Aussie, Madi Wilson, has a season-best time that is faster than Torri Huske and Kayla Sanchez, the fastest American and Canadian respectively.

Last year at the Olympics, Australia broke the world record in the 4×100 free relay and won by over three seconds while Canada took silver and the United States took bronze. This year, they seem primed to defend their title at Worlds once more. But alas, anything can happen come time for the actual competition, so you shouldn’t count out the underdogs just yet.