2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Swimming: August 6-13
- Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro
- Prelims – 9:00 a.m/12:00 p.m PST/EST (1:00 p.m local), Finals – 6:00 p.m/9:00 p.m PST/EST (10:00 p.m local)
- SwimSwam previews
- Day 1 Schedule & Results
- Live Stream (NBC)
With all the Australian stars who are competing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the youngsters stacked the highlight reel tonight. Although just one medal was one by Oceania on day 2, some of the swims were indicative of what the green and gold’s future holds for the next few years.
For the women, 17-year-old Tamsin Cook wowed the crowd by earning a finals berth in the women’s 400m freestyle event after clocking a personal best in prelims. Headed into the meet, Cook’s best time was a 4:05.30, but she smashed that mark to sneak into the final with a new PB of 4:04.36. Ultimately, Cook wound up with a finals time of 4:05.30, but finished 6th overall, again at just 17 years of age.
Cook won the event at last summer’s World Junior Championships in a new meet record time (4:06.17), so at the rate this youngster is dropping time, she’ll be a podium force come Tokyo 2020.
18-year-old, Kyle Chalmers, made things happen for the men when starring on the Aussies’ 4×100 freestyle relay. Chalmers scored the fastest split of the entire prelims field, rocking a monster 47.04 to give the Aussies a great lane position. The morning field, by the way, included such powerhouses as Anthony Ervin, Jimmy Feigen and Marcelo Chierghini, just to name a few.
Chalmers rocked another sub-48-outing tonight, splitting a mighty 47.38, the 2nd-fastest on his squad; only Cameron McEvoy was faster. The double World Junior Champion has proven he belongs with the big boys of sprint freestyle and is quickly becoming a player in that highly competitive field.
Cook will be swimming in the women’s 800m freestyle in Rio, while Chalmers will look to put his speed to the test against the best individual 100m freestylers in the world later in the meet.
Oceania Records as of Rio Day 2:
- AMERICAN SAMOA – Women’s 100m breaststroke
- Evelina Afoa, 1:08.74
- GUAM – Women’s 400m freestyle
- Valerie Gruest, 4:19.58
Oceania Medal Table as of Rio Day 1:
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Australia | 2 | 0 | 1 |