Distance dynamos Lani Pallister and Sam Short will spearhead the 24-member Australian team to contest the World Short Course Championships in Beijing in December - she after an 8:01. Aussie all-comers record in the 800m free for a 200-1500m golden sweep; he after a 14:15.10 career high in the 1500m freestyle shadowing the 20-odd-year record pace of Dolphin giants for a third time this week.

At the conclusion of the Australian Short Course Championships in Sydney today, a young and promising team was selected to contest the final major championship of the year.

As well as Short and Pallister, who carried all before them at the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships this year, the team includes fellow individual Commonwealth gold medallists Jenna Forrester, Alex Perkins, Iona Anderson, Brittany Castelluzzo, Flynn Southam and Ben Armbruster.

The absence of some established stars, like Olympic champions Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O’Callaghan and Kyle Chalmers, has created an opportunity for six rookies to make their Australian team debuts, including surprise 200m butterfly winner Alex Quach (25).  

How close have you been to the Australian team before? 

“Honestly, not too close. But there have been moments where I've almost had the chance, that if I put everything together correctly, but every time I came to it, I just kind of crumbled a little bit."

Not today: 1:51.65, a massive lifetime best, a ticket to Beijing and a Dolphin number to grace his name.

Times when you didn't think you'd make it?

"Yeah, many, many moments where I felt super low. And some times when my family, my friends, my loved ones really convinced me to push on and on through the disappointment and what not. That's what the emotion was about, because if I (missed again) it would have made it harder to kind of bounce back from it.  But I think this can be the reverse, the springboard to spring all the way into believing that moving to Brisbane was the right move. And it has been, so I'm so happy for that.”..." Alex Quach

Quach Pins A Perseverance Of Dolphin Digits To His Name

“I figured it all out and it was a beautiful moment. It really took a while to settle in, and then as soon as I got out, just super emotional.” - Alex Quach, on realising that he’d hit his 1:51 target in the 200m butterfly for a ticket to Beijing World titles

State Of Swimming +Nicole Jeffery

There was talk of perseverance and patience here, too:

Southam’s Spur: ‘I Got Sick Of Coming Second to Kyle Chalmers’

Explain the underpin of perseverance and patience. Defeat and longing to be No1, first up, then what’s driving him to LA2028: the totem of ‘Cam McEvoy’s book of super specificity’ - Flynn Southam

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

• More Day 4 Race Reports Below

Olympic and world 50m freestyle champion Cameron McEvoy, who set a national record of 20.22s at the World Cup meet in Baku yesterday, skipped the championships in Sydney, but he may still be in contention for direct selection by World Aquatics, based on his performance on the World Cup circuit.

Head coach Rohan Taylor praised the performances of Pallister (200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m titles) and Short (400m, 800m, 1500m) and the durability of Forrester (national record in 400IM, silver 200m free/200m back/200IM and 400m free) in Sydney this week. Said Taylor:

“Those three without a doubt have been standouts here but also it’s been great to see the likes of Amelie Smith and Marcus Da Silva come through the ranks and shift the dial. Also credit to (former Russian) Mark Nikolaev, it’s a credit to his consistency and perseverance that he has earned his Dolphin number tonight.

“The international exposure in Beijing is an opportunity to come together and build towards LA 2028 and the meet presents a great opportunity for our younger swimmers to learn from established Dolphins – this is a springboard meet ahead of long course World Championships next year.

“It’s a learning opportunity for younger athletes to learn how to travel, become more resilient and perform when it matters most in an unfamiliar environment including time zones, weather and diet."

The team in full at the foot of last-day coverage from Sydney.

Sydney - Australian S/C Championships - Day 4

• RESULTS IN FULL INCLUDING PARA EVENTS

Women’s 800m freestyle (QT 8:18.85) - Pallister's Fourth Gold

• 1 Lani Pallister 8:01.66 (All Comers record, QT), 2 Jenna Forrester 8:16.81 (QT)

Lani Pallister closed nationals with a fourth freestyle gold, the 200-1500m sweep completed in an Australia all-comers record of 8:01.66, with Jenna Forrester adding another Beijing qualifier to her pile in 8:16.81.

So, straight to it. How was that one, Lani?

“Yeah, fine, the same as the rest of the week. I think it's just under plus eight (seconds outside her PB), so kind of similar to what I added in the 400 and the other ones, but it’s a ticket on the plane to China."

What is it you hope to get out world short course?

“I'm someone that gets FOMO (fear of missing out), so I don't really like missing teams when I have an opportunity to represent Australia, and I think it's important to get straight back into training after you've had a break and have a goal to aim for. So I think that's the biggest thing for me is just making sure I'm constantly looking forward and setting myself a benchmark and getting the best out of myself.”

Men’s 1500m freestyle (QT 14:32.10) - Short On 14:15, Hackett Rattled For A Third Times This Week

• 1 Sam Short 14:15.10 (PB, QT)

In all three of his biog wins this week, over 400, 800 and 1500m, Sam Short has cast a shadow over Australian records more than two decades old. Today, it was this one:

• 14:10.10 (then a WR, still a CR) - Grant Hackett - 7 August 2001 Australian Championships, Perth

That's precisely 5 seconds, which means 0.083 seconds per length. Timny margins are not the sole preserve of sprinters...

So, to the mixed zone to hear Sajm sum up:

“It was a ten-second PB and only five second’s off  Hacky’s national record  and it will put me in the middle of the pool at worlds because there's no heat at short course worlds."

Was that the ambition this evening? 

“I just wanted to get a good time to make sure I was in the middle in the fastest heat. Finals atmosphere, with a bunch of boys going sub 14:10.:

So how does this week, do you think, set you up for the next campaign?

“Better than I could have expected, to be honest. I just wanted to tick the box. The qualifying time was 14:32, I think, so I just needed to get under that. After the 800, I thought: You know what? I think I'm ready now to smash short course. I've maintained really well since Pan Pacs without really doing much, to be honest. My diet hasn’t been very good. I’ve just been doing everything I wanted to do on my break, and still swimming and, you know, the results have been good. So I'm keen to lock in and really give it a crack in December… I’ve never been to China, so I’m really excited.”

Women’s 200m butterfly (QT 2:05.53) - Castelluzzo Adds Another Wing To Her Beijing Campaign on 'Fly

Brittany Castelluzzo added the 200m title to her 100m crown in 2:04.52, her magnet of speed almost drawing Poppy Stephen inside the qualification target for World s/c titles.

Stephen fell just 0.09sec shy for silver in 2:05.62, the bronze to teenager Jess Cole in 2:09.64.

Asked to sum up, Castelluzzo said:

“It was pretty tough. I haven’t been back training for too long, so 200 fly is definitely pushing the battery at the moment. But, yes, happy with how I executed the race."

So why do you want to do the triple this year of major championships?

“I think it's just that I want every opportunity basically to represent Australia. That's a massive honour, I think, if I look back at my career when I'm older, I want to make sure I've done everything that I possibly can do and gone on as many teams I can. So every opportunity to race is a great chance."

Commonwealth Games was a bit of a breakthrough for you. How do you look back on that trip?

“I was really happy with my times at both Comm Games and Pan Pacs, doing PBs on the international stage. So, yeah, I look at it just like a good stepping stone in the right direction towards LA. I have confidence in myself in the training I've done over the years, and I think it coming to a fruition at Comm Games and Pan Pacs was really nice, but there's still a lot of things I know we can work on, so there's room to improve.”

What do you want to get out of world short course? 

“I think it’s another option in the race, I think it's going to be a pretty busy program if I'm on the team. Hopefully, the 200 fly, 100 fly, and 200 free and relays as well. So I think any chance to back up those races and just get some really good fast racing done will help me later in my career, hopefully."

Women’s 50m freestyle (QT 23.76) - Perkins Returns

Alex Perkins withdrew from action when the health niggles she's been having since the Commonwealth Games flared up again. She felt well enough to get back on her blocks for the last day of action in Sydney - and emerged with another national title, in a career high of 23.45, inside the Beijing cut.

Liv Wunsch, Carlile's flag-bearer at a meet marked by more progressive for the club through the ranks - and already on the team for Beijing from victory in the 100m - was next home, in 24.05.

A dramatic week, then, for the winner? Says Perkins:

“It has been a little bit, a bit unlike me. I've been struggling with some little health things since I got back from (Comm Games) campaign, so just in the process of sorting that out, and I think it's hard for me to be kind to myself sometimes, but I really felt like my body needed the rest from those 100s (freestyle and butterfly) and I'm just really glad I could put the 50s together and get some good things out of this week."

What does that mean for world short course for you? 

“Fingers crossed I’m on the team. I think no one knows for certain, with such a small team size, but crossing my fingers for that, and then... I'd love to get a swim in that 100 fly. That's a bit of my pet event. I came third, it was my first international medal, at short course two years ago, so if I get that opportunity, that would be amazing, but I also knew what I was doing pulling out of it, so I can't really regret anything."

And you're feeling better today? 

“Yeah, I think I surprised myself in that (50m freestyle). I was pretty nervous because I haven't been feeling my best, but I'm really happy I was able to get up for it.”

In other finals - Qualifiers:

• Women’s 200m breaststroke (QT 2:19.59) - Tara Kinder 2:18.89
• Men’s 200m breaststroke (QT 2:04.15) - Joshua Yong 2:03.13 (PB)

Winners with No QT:

• Women’s 100m IM (QT 58.47) - Iona Anderson 59.51
• Men’s 100m IM (QT 52.20) - Joshua Collette 52.73

The Australian team for World S/C titles in Beijing