Recap of Day Five Finals at the 2025 Australian World Championship Trials

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

2025 AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• Monday, June 9th – Saturday, June 14th
• SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Oaklands Park, South Australia
• Prelims at 11am local (9:30pm ET night before)/Finals at 7:30pm local (6:00am ET) nights 1&2; 7pm local (5:30am ET) nights 3-6
• LCM (50m)
• Swimming Australia World Championships Selection Criteria
• Meet Central
• Livestream (VPN needed outside of Australia)
• Start List
• Heat Sheets
• Results
• Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2  | Day 3 | Day 4

We’ve made it to the penultimate night of racing at the 2025 Australian World Championship Trials with tonight’s agenda including some of the most highly anticipated races of the meet.

The women’s 100m freestyle contains one of the tightest fields as the athletes are vying not only for the top two individual spots but also for a coveted slot on the 4x100m free relay.

Olympic medalist Meg Harris led the field out of the heats, however, she has withdrawn from tonight’s final. That means Mollie O’Callaghan, Olivia Wunsch, Milla Jansen and Shayna Jack are very much in the mix for gold with everyone saving some fuel for tonight’s main event.

Olympic medalist and former world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook will also be in the water as the clear favorite in the men’s 200m breaststroke while Bradley Woodward will try to fend off Joshua Edwards-Smith in tonight’s men’s 200m backstroke.

Add in the women’s 200m breast and the men’s 1500m free and we’ve got quite the show in store as action unfolds from the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre.

Men’s 200 Backstroke – FINAL

• World Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Piersol, USA (2009)
• Australian Record: 1:53.17 – Mitch Larkin (2015)
• AllComers Record: 1:53.72 – Mitch Larkin, AUS (2015)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Bradley Woodward – 1:56.22
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 1:57.98

GOLD – Joshua Edwards-Smith, 1:56.94
SILVER – Bradley Woodward, 1:57.14
BRONZE – Stuart Swinburn, 1:58.89

Joshua Edwards-Smith didn’t hold back with his post-race celebration as the 22-year-old Griffith University swimmer nailed a World Championships-worthy effort of 1:56.94 to take the 200m back title.

He was strong from start to finish, splitting 27.41/29.33/30.02/30.18 to hold off Bradley Woodward, who also was under the qualification time with a silver medal-worthy 1:57.14.

Stuart Swinburn rounded out the podium in 1:58.89.

Edwards-Smith talked post-race about the disappointment of missing out on the Paris 2024 Olympic team and how bouncing back to qualify here was what he set out to achieve.

His performance this evening represented the 4th-best result of his career, one which boasts a lifetime best of 1:55.42 from the 2022 Queensland Championships.

Women’s 100 Freestyle- FINAL

• World Record: 51.71 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2017)
• Australian Record: 51.96 – Emma McKeon (2021)
• AllComers Record: 52.06 – Cate Campbell, AUS ( 2016)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Mollie O’Callaghan – 52.33
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 54.16

GOLD – Mollie O’Callaghan, 52.87
SILVER – Olivia Wunsch, 53.38
BRONZE – Alex Perkins, 53.53

It was a very tight race among this women’s 100m freestyle pack, one that contained four teenagers, a testament to the ever-present depth waiting to rise to the surface within this sprinting nation.

Mollie O’Callaghan got the job done for gold, producing the sole time of the field under the 53-second barrier.

The 21-year-old Olympic multi-medalist produced a swift 52.87 to grab the gold and add a remarkable 4th individual event to her potential Singapore lineup after already nailing QT’s in the 50m back, 100m back and 200m freestyle.

O’Callaghan finished 4th in this event in Paris but was the 2022 and 2023 world champion. Her time tonight inserts her into slot #4 in this season’s world rankings.

Slightly surprising was that Olivia Wunsch snagged the silver, putting up a solid 53.38 to earn her bid in this event for the World Championships.

That was just .21 off her lifetime best of 53.17 registered at last year’s Olympic Trials, despite being reportedly afflicted with granular fever (mono) in the lead up to this competition.

Alex Perkins rounded out the top 3 with a mark of 53.53 to add her name onto the 4x100m freestyle relay while Abbey Webb will join her as the 4th swimmer in 53.83. However, Hannah Casey tied Webb for that 4th slot, with Milla Jansen capturing 6th in 53.95.

Olympic medalist Shayna Jack was shut out, finishing a disappointing 8th in 54.03.

As a refresher, Meg Harris was this morning’s top performer in a mark of 53.01 but withdrew from the final.

For perspective, the top 4 American women’s 100m freestyle performers include Torri Huske (52.43), Gretchen Walsh (52.78), Simone Manuel (52.83) and Kate Douglass (53.16).

Men’s 200 Breaststroke- FINAL

• World Record: 2:05.48 – Qin Haiyang, CHN (2023)
• Australian Record: 2:05.95 – Zac Stubblety-Cook (2022)
• AllComers Record: 2:05.95 – Zac Stubblety-Cook (2022)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Zac Stubblety-Cook – 2:07.40
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 2:10.32

GOLD – Zac Stubblety-Cook, 2:09.09
SILVER – Bailey Lello, 2:10.74
BRONZE – Finlay Schuster, 2:11.65

The Mel Marshall-trained Zac Stubblety-Cook accomplished his mission of qualifying for the World Championships, hitting a winning effort of 2:09.09. That positions the former world record holder and Olympic multi-medalist just outside the list of top 10 performers in the world this season.

Stubblety-Cook took silver in the 200 breast at the Paris Olympics with a time of 2:06.79 and helped the Aussie mixed 4×100 medley relay snag silver despite dealing with COVID-19 at the meet. He also revealed on Instagram after the competition that he broke his neck at the end of 2023, but did not reveal how he suffered the injury.

Joshua Yong touched second but wound up being disqualified for flinching at the start.

With that disqualification, Bailey Lello earned silver in 2:10.74, painstakingly short of the 2:10.32 Swimming Australia-mandated qualification time needed for Singapore.

Finlay Schuster collected bronze in 2:11.65.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke- FINAL

• World Record: 2:17.55 – Evgeniia Chikunova, RUS (2023)
• Australian Record: 2:20.54 – Leisel Jones (2006)
• AllComers Record: 2:20.04 – Rie Kaneto, JPN (2016)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Ella Ramsay – 2:22.87
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 2:25.91

GOLD – Ella Ramsay, 2:23.92
SILVER – Tara Kinder, 2:24.61
BRONZE – Hayley Mackinder, 2:27.93

The top 3 performers in this women’s 200m breaststroke all dipped under the 2:30 barrier, led by 2024 Olympian Ella Ramsay.

20-year-old Ramsay of Griffith University produced an effort of 2:23.92 to capture gold and add this event to her World Championships lineup. Ramsay already made the Singapore roster earlier in the meet, courtesy of her 200m IM and 100m breaststroke performances.

Ramsay’s lifetime best remains at the 2:22.87 notched at last year’s Trials and in Paris she placed 12th overall in a time of 2:24.56.

Tara Kinder reaped silver in tonight’s final, hitting 2:24.61 to also clear the QT of 2:25.91. 22-year-old Kinder of Melbourne Vicentre already made the World Championships roster in the 200m IM behind Ramsay.

Hayley Mackinder rounded out tonight’s podium in 2:27.93.

Of note, B-Final winner, 16-year-old Lily Koch, fired off a time of 2:30.48, a mark which would have tied fellow 16-year-old Amelie Smith for 5th place in the A-final. That represented the 3rd-swiftest performance of Koch’s young career and the 2nd-best of Smith’s career to date.

Men’s 1500 Freestyle – FASTEST HEAT

• World Record: 14:30.67 – Bobby Finke, USA (2024)
• Australian Record: 14:34.56 – Grant Hackett (2001)
• AllComers Record: 14:34.56 – Grant Hackett, AUS (2001)
• 2024 Trials Winner: Matthew Galea – 14:58.96
• SwimAustralia Qualifying Time: 15:01.89

GOLD – Sam Short, 14:52.43
SILVER – Ben Goedemans, 14:52.99
BRONZE – Nick Sloman, 14:56.59

It was a thrilling race to the final touch in this men’s 1500m freestyle, with a cap-less Sam Short being chased by Ben Goedemans through the final 100 meters.

Rackley’s 21-year-old Short lost his cap during the race, which threw off his tempo a tad, but he still remained composed to put up a solid time of 14:52.43, the 4th-swiftest outing of his career. He easily clear the Swimming Australia-mandated QT of 15:01.89.

As did 21-year-old Goedemans who ripped sub-30-second splits on each of his final 6 50s en route to silver by less than half a second.

The Dean Boxall-trained Goedemans turned it on the final stretch and nearly caught Short, registering a final time of 14:52.99. That was a huge personal best, overtaking the 14:57.75 he notched at last year’s Australian National Championships. He’s now Australia’s 7th-quickest man in history.

Open water ace Nick Sloman turned in a time of 14:46.59 as tonight’s bronze medalist.

Short now ranks 8th in the world on the season while Goedemans is ranked 9th thus far this season.

This checks in as Short’s 4th World Championships qualification after having earned bids in the 400m, 800m and 200m free, although he said he will most likely drop the individual 200m free. Goedemans also is now a multiple-event qualifier, having already earned a spot in the 800m freestyle event.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 Australian World Championship Trials: Day Five Finals Live Recap