Day 8 Oceania Recap 2025: Harris Seizes Gold with Remarkable Performance

By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Entry Book
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8

Meg Harris standing atop the Singapore podium. (Photo Credit: Nardia Mulkerrins)

Meg Harris has been a key contributor to the Australian team for years, helping secure multiple Olympic and World Championship relay titles, including a 51.87 split on the 4×100 freestyle earlier in the meet. Tonight, for the first time, she became an individual world champion.

The 23-year-old claimed the women’s 50m free title with a time of 24.02, winning by over two-tenths of a second. She got off to a strong start, staying within striking distance of American underwater specialist Gretchen Walsh—who swept both sprint butterfly events—before taking the lead after the first few strokes and never relinquishing it.

“Starting low, finishing strong, I’m pretty happy with that,” Harris said of her race strategy. “That’s the most fun I’ve had in a race.”

The win represents a significant milestone for Harris, who earned her first individual Olympic medal last summer with a silver in this distance.

The triumph culminates an event refocus for Harris, who previously concentrated on the 100m and 200m free for most of her senior international career. Harris first rose to prominence at the 2019 World Junior Championships, where the then-17-year-old captured double bronze in the 50m (24.89) and 100m (54.58) free.

Following the 2019 World Juniors and leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, Harris was training full-time under Dean Boxall, known for his freestyle expertise. While Harris didn’t abandon the 50m entirely, the focus shifted to the 100m and 200m events. This strategy paid off at the 2021 Australian Olympic Trials, where she qualified for the relay pool in both events, eventually swimming on the finals 4x100m relay that won gold and the preliminary 4x200m relay that earned bronze.

Harris still improved her 50m free under Boxall, lowering her 24.89 World Juniors time to 24.64 during Trials prelims, before recording 24.51 for 4th in the final. However, the emphasis was clearly molded around targeting the best opportunities to make the Australian team. At the time, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell had virtually locked up the two 50m spots, while more opportunities existed through a top-six finish in the 100m and 200m.

Post-Paris, Harris left Boxall to train under Peter Bishop, and the 50m free became a renewed focus. She regressed slightly in the 200m, finishing about half a second off her personal best at Trials, but nearly equaled her best 100m time. She achieved a best in the 50m at that meet, touching at 24.50 for second behind Shayna Jack (24.14).

2022 Worlds, 50 Free Podium (Photo Credit: Fabio Cetti)

Come the 2022 World Championships, Harris seized the opportunity to swim the race individually for the first time since her junior years. She moved through the rounds like a veteran, recording 24.68 for third after the preliminary heats and hitting a lifetime best of 24.39 to maintain the same seed heading into finals.

When it mattered most, Harris delivered another career best of 24.38, chopping 0.01 off her semifinal time to tie American Erika Brown for bronze. Swedish world record holder Sjostrom (23.98) and Poland’s veteran Katarzyna Wasick (24.18) were the class of that field. Just weeks later, Harris capped off her season by capturing silver at the Commonwealth Games with yet another personal best of 24.32.

Harris continued to improve her 50m free through the 2023 season, producing a lifetime best of 24.30 at the Australian World Trials. However, she finished third and missed qualification for an individual berth at Worlds. She did qualify via the 4x100m free relay, where she remained a staple, but missed out on the 4x200m relay again.

After the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Harris once again reevaluated her training environment, moving to train under Damien Jones in preparation for the Paris Olympics. The coaching change paid dividends for her shorter distances, even though Jones’ more recent successes have come in events 200 meters and longer. She elevated her 100m free throughout the season, breaking 53 seconds for the first time in nearly three years, and doing so multiple times. Her 50m free continued its steady improvement as well. She finished second behind Shayna Jack at the Olympic Trials with a time of 24.26, while Jack broke 24 seconds for the first time and entered Paris as a heavy medal favorite.

Harris stepped up when it counted, opening the meet with a sub-52 anchor leg on Australia’s gold medal-winning 4x100m free relay. She then tackled the 50m free rounds with composure, producing 24.50 in the heats to easily advance to the semifinals ranked fifth. She dropped to 24.33 to sit sixth heading into the final, but hadn’t shown all her cards just yet. In the final, she delivered the swim of her life, breaking through the 24-second barrier to win silver in 23.97. While Swedish legend Sjostrom delivered the dominant performance many expected, few foresaw Harris claiming a medal, let alone breaking 24 seconds for silver.

The Olympic success brought its own challenges. Reflecting on her journey this season, Harris said, “It was a bit of a tough one. I felt such a high coming off that, and then starting out this year I had to find a new motivation, not just coming in and doing the exact same thing. I tried for the first couple months, but something just wasn’t working. I needed to find a new way to do it. So I stripped everything back and started with the basics—all the things like the reasons I started swimming. I love sprinting, I love racing. So we just took that all back, did everything that I love.”

That renewed approach clearly worked. Tonight’s victory, while not a personal best time, demonstrates that when medals are on the line—whether relay or individual—Harris rises to the occasion. Although Sjostrom is sitting out this season as she expects her first child, and several swimmers in the field have faster career bests, she still got the job done.

Meg Harris with coach Damien Jones post-gold medal swim. (Photo Credit: Nardia Mulkerrins)

Her pre-race nerves had been building throughout the week. Speaking about her mindset before the race, she stated, “For a while, I’ve been pretty nervous, especially specifically training for this, but decided to try and relax and talk to the girls in marshalling. And it seemed to work.” The relaxed approach paid off, even when her race plan didn’t unfold exactly as practiced.

“I’ve also been working on not taking a breath, but I took a breath,” Harris explained. “Pretty much my whole training has been to focus on not taking a breath. But it didn’t feel so great in the semis, so I just tried to do whatever came naturally, and the breath came naturally. It’s usually always about 35 meters in. I have my eyes on the lines around there.”

Harris also addressed her unique habit of swimming with her eyes closed, something that’s become part of her signature style. When asked about it, she said, “It’s normal for me. I do it a lot in the 50m and in the 100m—I always do it on the second lap. I do it in training as well, but I guess it’s just like trying to focus on my stroke. That’s just what happens.”

The victory represents the fulfillment of a long-held dream, though Harris struggled to find words immediately after the race. “I mean, I really actually have nothing to say. I’m sure I’ll process it later, but I’m so happy,” she said, still catching her breath. Later, she reflected more on what the achievement meant: “I mean, stoked. There’s not much more I could say—I achieved the dream that I’ve been dreaming of this whole time. This is why I swim, also for the enjoyment, but it is nice winning.”

The Green and Gold team dynamic seemed to lift everyone, including Harris.

“This team’s been amazing this week. It’s been one to remember,” she said. “We started so strong with the girls at the start of the week. This team has been incredible this week, and it’s just nice to finish it off.”

When asked about the moment, Harris kept it simple, saying, “I’m not quite sure. I still can’t even put it into words. It’ll take a while to process, but I’m just happy to finish off the week strong.”For a swimmer who’s been a key part of Australia’s relay success, this individual world title adds another layer to her rise as one of the sport’s top sprinters.

For anyone concerned that Harris might drop the 100 moving forward, there’s no need to worry. She confirmed after the race that she plans to keep swimming both the 50 and 100 through to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. At this year’s Australian Trials, she posted a time of 53.01 in the 100m heats before scratching from the final to focus on the 50.

Other Day 8 Oceania Finalists:

• After a tough 2024 campaign, Dean Boxall-trained Jenna Forrester returned to top form in the 400 IM. After winning World bronze in 2023 with her current best time of 4:32.76, she failed to make the final in Paris, touching 9th in 4:40.55. This year, she clocked her fastest time since 2023 with a 4:36.19 to finish second at Trials, recorded a season-best 4:36.17 in the semifinals, and then scorched a 4:33.26 to snag a share of the silver medal in the final. “I’m so stoked. I feel like it’s been a really tough two years. Obviously last year I didn’t perform the way that I wanted to. It was a massive fight to get on the Olympic team in Paris and then to just miss the final was a bit disappointing. So to make a comeback like that this year, I’m super proud of myself. I’m super grateful to have the support team around me, my coach, my family, my friends. It really means the world to me. And I feel like that swim was for everyone who helped me get here,” she said post-race.
• Defending world champion Isaac Cooper was unable to retain his 50 backstroke title. The 21-year-old Australian, who has shifted his focus to only swimming 50s, produced 24.61 to hit the wall 7th. He logged a season-best 24.53 in the semifinals, though it remained well off his 24.12 career best from his gold medal performance at the 2024 Worlds.
• Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Brendon Smith has been unable to replicate the form that garnered him Olympic bronze, and he settled for 8th tonight in the 400 IM. The 25-year-old stopped the clock in 4:13.28, two tenths slower than his 4:13.08 preliminary marker and off his season-best 4:12.81 posted en route to winning Trials in June. His best remains the 4:09.27 he swam four years ago. Smith moved to train at St. Peters Western under the guidance of Boxall this past season, so he is still adjusting to a new training environment. This offers a glimmer of hope as his best time would have placed him about a tenth away from bronze tonight.
• It was business as usual for the Green and Gold’s women’s 4×100 medley relay, as they defended their Olympic silver and backed up their 2nd place showings from the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Kaylee McKeown was a bit off her best leading off in 57.69. Ella Ramsay notched 1:06.49 on the breaststroke split which was faster than her flatstart PB of 1:06.86. Alex Perkins was solid on butterfly, a tenth over her flatstart best at 56.21. Freestyle ace Mollie O’Callaghan brought the team home with a solid 52.23, slower than her flatstart best but four tenths faster than she was in the individual final (52.67) earlier in the week. They finished in 3:52.67, just about a second off their Australian record (3:51.60) and 3.33 seconds behind the Americans.

Final Oceania Medal Table

Final Overall Medal Table

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 Worlds, Day 8 Oceania Recap: Harris’ Ability To Rise To The Occasion Leads Her to Gold