Mollie Callaghan now owns half of the fastest 20 200m freestyle swims in history, after a 1:52.96 win on day 3 at Australian Trials in Sydney.

And there was more: Lani Pallister stormed to second place in a best of 1:53.65, making her 5th equal all-time with Canadian ace Summer McIntosh, with American Katie Ledecky's Rio 2016 victory in the event demoted out of the top 20 performances just shy of a decade on from the American's golden triple (200, 400, 800m) in Brazil.

The significance tock boxes for the Sydney final include:

• O'Callaghan is the consistency queen of the 200m free, the first of those left in the race already through the 1:53 barrier and building to the next leap as others prepare to follow her out of the dam and growing logjam.
• Pallister's 200m speed is a key pressure point in her 800m free challenge to Ledecky on the way to LA2028, and McIntosh if she sticks with the longest race on her long list of possibilities.

Here's how the Sydney race panned out between the St Peters Western club mates working under the guidance of coach Dean Boxall: O'Callaghan was the fastest on every length to the last turn, before Pallister clawed back 0.53sec in the hunt for home, chasing the Olympic and World champion:

Inez Miller and Hannah Casey, respectively 19 and 20, were the next home, on 1:56, while another teen, Milla Jansen, 6th in the final just over 1:57, swam a 1:56.71 in heats. Two years out from LA2028, the Dolphin wave looks very solid.

O'Callaghan, meanwhile, was under WR pace o the last turn.

How O'Callaghan's Splits Compare:

Sydney 2026
26.11; 54.32 (28.21) 1:23.43 (29.11) 1:52.86 (29.43) Mollie O'Callaghan
Brisbane 2024
26.64; 55.13 (28.49) 1:23.95 (28.82) 1:52.23 (28.28) Ariarne Titmus WR
26.59; 55.33 (28.74) 1:24.11 (28.78) 1:52.48 (28.37) Mollie O’Callaghan
Top previous best splits compared
27.34; 55.60 (28.26) 1:24.38 (28.78) 1:52.98 (28.60) WR Federica Pellegrini - Rome 2009
26.93; 55.94 (29.01) 1:24.74 (28.80) 1:52.85 (28.11) WR O’Callaghan - Fukuoka 2023
26.72; 55.23 (28.51) 1:24.00 (28.77) 1:53.01 (29.01) Titmus Fukuoka 2023

All of which confirms O'Callaghan, the first woman to race below 1:53 twice and now thrice, as the dominant force in 200m freestyle, with one Olympic and two World titles in the pantheon, at the age of 22 heading towards what would be her third Games at LA2028.

W200 Free All-Time Top 20 Performances

Before and after the Sydney Trials race:

Poolside wth Nicole Jeffery in Sydney:

O'Callaghan was asked what her 'plan' had been, with all those super-speedy first three splits lining up. She said:

"I think it's always the plan to give it a good hit. It's just learning how to race by myself and learning. I feel like obviously maybe I went out too fast, maybe I didn't. But I think we go back to the drawing board and see where I can make improvements, see where I can sit. And I think at the end of the day, it's a learning curve towards the Olympics."

As for her prospects at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July, and whether we might see a World record, she said:

"I won't put a time on it. I think it's one of those things trying to reach the impossible for women, and I think, like, being able to do 1:52, three times now, the only woman to ever do that, it's very promising. It's just about getting comfortable and knowing when to make that shift and what parts I need to move on."

How many events was she thinking about? "Ooh, I don't know. I think it'll decide by the end of this meet. Again, play by ear, see what I can make, what I can enter in."

Asked if she missed having Arnie Titmus in the race and in training, O'Callaghan replied:

"Um, not really, no. If I'm being completely honest, I motivate myself at the end of the day. Like, there's so many people who come and go, and there's so many other athletes who push me. And especially at  St. Peters, there's a variety of people, who are very passionate, so I would say, like, I think, yes, people leave their legacy, but also, it's about your self-motivation."

Turning back to her blistering first three laps, she's asked if she was "experimenting with a different way:

"I don't know. I don't know. I think the nerves… obviously that's a big thing, everyone knows. So I think I just played it by ear and did what I need to do. I'll talk to Dean. Obviously, he'll tell me, 'oh, you’re an idiot', or something like that, for doing something, but I think I live and learn, and this is just another thing off the list. So next time I do it, hopefully I’ll master it."

How hard did the last lap feel, having gone out quite hard?

"Definitely taxing on the legs and arms, and, um, it definitely is rapper, so I think, you know, we've got to learn from that. know it's been hard with a lot of the women dropping off, especially in the 4X1 and 4X2."

But the depth coming through is very promising? 

"I know. Last year, it was very hard to pick up the experience and get some of the kids onto the team and gather that up. So I think they've picked it up very well and they have got that confidence now to push it for the senior team."

How do you feel about being one of the more senior swimmers now? She laughs and starts by saying:

"Apparently I'm a veteran! At 22 that is kind of crazy to be on the team and be one of the most experienced swimmers. It's kind of mind blowing. I never really think about it until you ask me the question. It's such a privilege to hopefully motivate some of the younger kids, give them something to look up to, or follow my journey. I definitely don't say much unless they ask. I kind of just beat to my own drum as I have said many times, and I hope that sets a good example for them."

And so to Lani Pallister., That’s a pretty good PB, yeah?

"Yeah, I'm happier with that one than I was with the 400. I didn't think I'd be a 1:53.6, so taking off a full second… I think it's 1.1 off my time from Worlds last year - great. I was shocked, but also we've worked so hard and I think Dean has quite a big legacy with the 200 and I think if there's any program that's going to get the best out of me, especially for the 200, but also distance swimming obviously it’s that."

You have a big program now with the 2, 4, 8 and 15 - is that what you're doing?

"I think it's actually, in terms of volume, ends up being shorter than a world champs, because there's no heats for the 8 and the 15. So, still a big program in terms of events racing, but I don't think it'll be as taxing as a world champs with the eight-day program and heats and finals in the 8 and 15 as well."

She wasn't sure whether she would race the solo 200, 400, 800 and 1500 in international waters this season:

"I'm not 100% positive on the 2 yet. I've always said that the 2 is more, like, a relay swim  for me, but yeah, going a 1:53, I guess, puts my name in the ring for that. I don't think there's many that have gone sub 154. So, yeah, that's something for me to talk about, with Dean, because it's a pretty big backup going from Comm Games to Pan Pacs, and the big picture for me is 800 free at Pan Pacs."

We have seen a lot of senior swimmers retiring recently, how does it feel being one of the veterans now?

“I don't really feel like that. I know I turned 24 on Saturday, just gone. And I've only been on the team for 4 years now. Yeah, it's about 4 years. So as much as I've kind of been around, like I don't really feel like I've been on the senior team for that long. This is my 10th year travelling internationally with swimming. My 1st junior team was in 2017. So, I'm still learning, I'm still growing, Mollie’s been on more teams than I have, and I think the two of us kind of still think we are17 year olds on junior worlds together in 2019."

It feels like you've stepped up again this year. Does it feel like that to you and what you put that down to?

“I think it's still confidence. When I was at trials last year, I'd only been with Dean for 10 weeks, so I think having a full 18 months now at St. Peter's learning the processes, and the  holes and tapers, and that sort of thing. I’m still learning, obviously. A year's not really that long, but I'm just really excited moving forward. I think this is the happiest I've been swimming, and I think that showed when I did my post-race (interview) with Jenna last night and Mollie as well today. I'm surrounded by some of the most incredible women and also some of the males as well…I think truly St Peters has one of the most incredible cultures, and as someone that was out of it and is now in it, and seeing what it's like once you're in the program, it’s really, really special."

Asked what she thought of Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh’s fast times so far this year, Pallister said:

“I think it's really cool. I think it's really exciting that distance swimming can kind of be at the forefront of people's minds. I think for a long time when Katie was winning by 10, 15 seconds in the 800, it's kind of like, oh, Katie's winning another one. So, having the 800 is a blue ribbon of banners, is really special, and I think it's really cool that Arnie was part of pioneering that move forward in the 400, 800, and Simone's only 10 seconds off Katie in the 1500. I'm excited to have a crack at the 1500 at the end of this week, so I think this…. will be really, really cool for women's distance swimming and going into LA, it'll be a very big Olympic campaign."

Toohey at the Double in Dash

A day after a debut sub-1:06 in the 100m breaststroke, Sienna Toohey, 17, took a second win with a 30.57 in the dash , with fellow 17-year-old Lily Koch also under 31, on 30.97:

Toohey was asked how she felt coming back in after the thrills of yesterday. She said:

"It was good. I was a little bit tired from last night, more mentally more than anything, but I did the same thing last year, where I had the 100 one night, and then the next night the 50s. So I kind of knew what to expect. I think that helped a little bit.

Do you feel a bit more comfortable at this level than you did, sort of, maybe last year, and do you feel like you're sort of more relaxed about being around the senior swimmers?

 "I think, probably, in the aspect of being around senior swimmers, I'm a lot more chill, you know, I was a bit of a fangirl last year, but I never get any less nervous to race. I think for the 50, I don't really get that nervous, just 'cause it's a fun event, and it doesn't matter what the outcome is for me. But last night, I was definitely extremely nervous."

So, you've got a silver medal from the world champs in the relay. What would an individual metal mean for you in Glasgow?

"Oh, that would be honestly really, really cool. But everything's just about experience for me, you know, I'm just trying to build experience up before the Olympics. So, yeah, only thing anything that I can do to build that would help."

Have the senior swimmers supported you and helped you kind of on this journey

"Yeah, last year, we had a buddy system in place and I got Kaylee. So that was pretty cool, and she was very open to sharing everything that she could with me. You know, she made her first senior swimming team when was 16 as well, so just having someone that had that knowledge was really helpful, and they were all honestly really open to telling me or giving me any advice that I needed, which was really helpful."

 What do you think was the most important thing you learned from Kaylee last year?

"I think it was... don't let other people's expectations really weigh on you. So, obviously, I try and not focus on what other people want from me, but it's hard when, you know you're getting talked up a lot, but obviously at the same age, she was getting the same. So, yeah, it was just very helpful to hear from Kaylee that that was happening to her as well."