Harris Hurries To Dominant 24.1 Dash Victory, The Aussie Sprint Spark Alive, Kicking & Pulling
Meg Harris on why she's focussed on the 50 for now but wants 50 and 100m berths come LA2028; Kyle Chalmers matches his 22.89 best in the 50 'fly for all comers mark; a full house of tickets to Singapore in the 400 medley finals (Smith, Petric, Ramsay and Forrester) as Trials close in Adelaide
As we noted yesterday, the Australian 4x100m free force has reached a change of guard post-Paris and three years ahead of the next Olympic target. If that timing is the best it can be at the turn of tides, then Meg Harris' time in the 50m free provided a reminder that there's a dash of speedy continuation in the mix.
On a day when this happened ... (and the Dolphins team for World titles was named) ...
Craig Lord
... and Kyle Chalmers continuation took the Australian Allcomers 50 'fly mark below 23 for the first time, with a 22.89 victory in a final that delivered a DQ for the other alpha sprinter in the line-up, Harris produced the sprint dominance of the day.
She would have won it by simply matching her 24.24 from heats but the Olympic silver medallist from Paris 2024 - closest to double sprint champion at the Games, Sweden's Sarah Sjöström, who's focus this season is motherhood - was even sharper in the showdown without the pressure to be so: 24.17.
Coached by Damien Jones at the Rackley Performance centre, Harris heads to Singapore Worlds knowing three things:
- The United States has three women faster than her so far the season: Gretchen Walsh, 23.91, Torri Huske, 23.98, and the sub-24er who shared the dash podium with Sjostrom and Harris in Paris, Kate Douglass, locked out in 24.04 at U.S. Championships.
- The big meet is rarely a repeat of the trials, and sometimes that's dramatically the case in dash events. In 2024, Douglass and Walsh headed to Paris with bests of 23.91 (Americas record) and 24.06; in Paris, Douglass missed the final and Walsh took fourth by 0.01sec in 24.21 behind one of the China-23-g0-free. That ebb and flow can and does happen to anyone, another reason why predictions are as useful as a dry stick soaked in oil when trying to put out a fire.
- Harris saved her best for just the right moment: 23.97, for Olympic silver behind Sjöström's latest stunner, a golden 23.71.
The circumstances of the two trial meets, USA and AUS, are wholly different, of course. Over 24 in Indy and you're out; one 24.70 in Adelaide and ... well, you're in, yet not in.
Head coach Rohan Taylor and team will decide along the way but today, three women got inside the 50n free cut for Singapore, one out front by a big margin, the others two on a 24.70 snap: Olivia Wunsch and Alexandra Perkins are already on the team, so the decision on who gets the dash swim in Singapore needn't be rushed.
Harris says she has been working on the 50m as part of her process of staying motivated in the doldrums-like period straight after an Olympics. She raced the 100m in heats yesterday to secure a right to a relay spot but bypassed the final and will not face the two-lengthewr at Worlds.
Meanwhile, Harris explained to News' Code Sports in Adelaide:
“I’m pretty happy, I’ve been focusing on that this year. I definitely would have liked to get under 24 seconds but I can’t be happier with the swim - I’m on the team so it’s on to the World Champs now. I definitely love the 100 but this year I was focusing on finding love and motivation for the sport again and the little things I enjoy about it. One of those was that I did so well in the 50 last year so I wanted to see if I had any potential in that and focus on that.”
She aims to be in the both there 50 and 100m at the LA2028 Olympics. For more quotes and lines of her love for the sport and , see the Code coverage.
The final day of action in Adelaide also witnessed a full house of qualifiers in the 400m medley finals, courtesy of Brendon Smith (4:12.81), William Petric (4:13.23), Ella Ramsay (4:36.12) and Jenna Forrester (4:36.19).
Last day Winners
- all photos by Delly Carr - courtesy of Swimming Australia:
Clockwise from top right: Meg Harris, Kyle Chalmers, Ella Ramsay, and Brendon Smith - by Delly Carr, courtesy off Swimming Australia
Other reports on Day 6 finals (the women's 1500m to follow) below...
