McKeown Eyes 800 Free Relay, Chalmers Entered In 100 Fly For Aussie World Trials

Apr 24, 2023

The final start list for the 2023 Australian World Championships Trials has been published so we now know which events key athletes are slated to swim once the action begins on Tuesday, June 13th.

As a refresher, we know that Cate Campbell has bowed out of the meet, as has Jenna Strauch, Minna Atherton, Mitch Larkin and Zac Incerti, among a few others.

Additionally, although multi-Olympic medalist Bronte Campbell is racing at these Trials, she has said she will be forgoing competing at this summer's World Championships should she qualify.

Jack Cartwright was originally missing from the draft start list but has since been included.

And there's the unexpected entrant of 36-year-old Olympic medalist Andrew Lauterstein.

Below I’ve listed individual events for the high-profile stars who are set to race at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Center. While, on the whole, there weren't any eye-popping surprises, there are a few significant pieces of information we can glean.

Emma McKeon is Not Entered in 200 Free

Australia's winningest Olympian of all time Emma McKeon has indeed entered her bread-and-butter sprint butterfly and freestyle events but has opted out of the 200m free.

She hasn't raced the event individually since the 2021 Australian Olympic Trials where she clocked a time of 1:54.74 behind Ariarne Titmus who earned the top spot in 1:53.09. McKeon would up relinquishing her individual 200m free slot for Tokyo but helped her nation earn bronze in the 4x200m free relay with a 1:55.31 split.

With McKeon opting out of the 200m free entirely for these Trials, she is also giving up her spot on that same relay for this summer in Fukuoka. That leaves an additional slot up for grabs with no shortage of firepower waiting to pounce.

Kaylee McKeown Set to Race 200 Free

With the aforementioned absence of McKeon in the 200m free, Kaylee McKeown‘s presence in the individual event at these Trials is even more pronounced.

In addition to racing the 200m IM and all three distances of the backstroke discipline, World Record holder McKeown is vying for a spot on the 4x200m free relay.

21-year-old McKeown produced a lifetime best of 1:56.88 while competing at the non-selection Australian National Championships this past April. Prior to that outing, McKeown owned a career-quickest result of 1:57.76 from 2021.

McKeown will have her work cut out for her in this 200m free, however, with the likes of Titmus, Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris, Lani Pallister, Madi Wilson, Shayna Jack and more all gunning for the coveted spots on the squad.

Kyle Chalmers Taking on 100 Fly

24-year-old Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers continues to make his mark on the 100m fly in addition to the 100m and 200m free events.

This 1fly is nothing new for the Marion man, who owns a lifetime best of 51.37 from the 2020 New South Wales State Open Championships. That outing represents just one of two sub-52-second swims from Chalmers, who also posted a mark of 51.67 at last year's World Championships Trials.

In Budapest, Chalmers settled for a 22nd place finish with a time there of 52.70 while it was teammate Matt Temple who made the final with a 5th place result of 51.15.

Chalmers raced this 1fly at the aforementioned Australian National Championships where he notched a time of 52.09.

Elijah Winnington Climbing the Entire Freestyle Flight of Stairs

Elijah Winnington may be the reigning world champion in the 400m free but the St. Peters Western star is expanding his horizons at these Trials.

The Dean Boxall-trained 23-year-old is entered in every distance of the freestyle, from the 50m to the 1500m. If his entries hold, Winnington will be racing at least once on each day of the competition, setting up a busy schedule for the Olympian.

Winnington's domestic competition is heating up in even his primary events, however, as Sam Short wreaked havoc on the 400m and 800m free races at Aussie Nationals. Short currently ranks 1st in the world in the former (3:42.46) and 3rd in the world in the latter (7:42.96) to give Winnington a run for his money next week.

Key Women's Entries

Bronte Campbell – 50m/100m freeElizabeth Dekkers – 100m/200m flyJenna Forrester – 200m/400m IM, 200m free, 200m backMaddy Gough – 200m/400m/800m/1500m freeMeg Harris – 100m fly, 5om/100m/200m freeShayna Jack – 50m/100m/200m freeEmma McKeon – 50m/100m fly, 50m/100m freeKaylee McKeown – 200m IM, 50m/100m/200m back, 200m freeLeah Neale – 50m/100m/200m/400m freeMollie O’Callaghan – 50m/100m back, 50m/100m/200m freeLani Pallister – 100m/200m/400m/800m/1500m freeOlympia Pope – 50m/100m/200m breastElla Ramsay – 200m/400m IM, 100m/200m breast, 200m freeAriarne Titmus – 100m/200m/400m/800m freeBrianna Throssell – 100m/200m fly, 100m/200m freeMadi Wilson – 100m back, 50m/100m/200m free

Key Men's Entries

Ben Armbruster – 50m/100m fly, 50m free, 50m backJack Cartwright – 50m/100m/200m freeKyle Chalmers – 100m/200m free, 100m flyIsaac Cooper – 50m free, 50m/100m backJosh Edwards-Smith – 50m/100m/200m backBowen Gough – 50m/100m/200m flyMack Horton – 200m/400m/800m freeAndrew Lauterstein – 50m freeSe-Bom Lee – 200m fly, 200m/400m IMCameron McEvoy – 50m/100m free, 50m flyTommy Neill – 200m/400m/800m free, 200m/400m IMSam Short – 200m/400m/800m/1500m freeCody Simpson – 50m/100m fly, 100m freeBrendon Smith – 200m/400m free, 200m fly, 200m/400m IMFlynn Southam – 50m/100m/200m freeZac Stubblety-Cook – 100m/200m breastSam Williamson – 50m/100m breastElijah Winnington – 50m/100m/200m/400m/800m/1500m free