Overview

After a stunning performance in Tokyo, the Dolphins team of 44 is aiming to keep Australia at the top level of world swimming, with many of its swimmers seeking historic back-to-back Olympic crowns.

Tokyo was the team’s most successful Games in history, with nine gold, three silver and eight bronze medals on the back of virtuoso performances from Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown (two individual golds each) and medals in six of seven relays.

The 2020 Games heralded a new era of excellence for the Australians, blending the experience of mainstays like Emma and Kyle Chalmers with a generation of audacious talent headlined by Kaylee, Ariarne and 200m breaststroke champion Zac Stubblety-Cook.

At the 2023 FWorld Championships, the Dolphins won 13 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals to finish on top of the medal tally for only the second time in history.
Ones to watch

Ariarne Titmus, who stared down the might of US star Katie Ledecky to claim the 200m-400m freestyle double in Tokyo, and Kaylee, who completed the 100m-200m backstroke quinella, headline a squad bristling with medal potential.

Ariarne reclaimed her 400m world record in 2023 and will be favourite to once again best Ledecky and Canadian teen sensation Summer McIntosh, while she defeated her St Peters squadmate and reigning world champion Mollie O’Callaghan to win the 200m at the Olympic trials and demolish the world record in the process.

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Kaylee McKeown adds the 200m IM to her program after focusing on backstroke alone in Tokyo. Should she manage to complete a Paris hat-trick, she would be the first Australian swimmer since Shane Gould in 1972 to claim three individual golds at a single Games.

Mollie O’Callaghan heads into Paris as the 100m and 200m freestyle world champion and will be up for the fight against Ariarne in the 200m. At her best, she will be the one to beat in the blue-riband 100m sprint, won by Emma McKeon in Tokyo, and becomes the key member of the famous women’s 4x100m relay now Cate Campbell, one of the greatest relay finishers, has retired.

The Australian men head into Paris with gold in their minds as well, headlined by Sam Short and Elijah Winnington in the 400m freestyle and the renaissance man Cam McEvoy in the 50m freestyle.

Elijah bested Sam at the Olympic trials in a thriller in Brisbane, although Sam was struggling with a stomach bug for much of the week. Throw in German ace Lukas Martens, who will likely start a slim favourite, and this could be the pick of middle-distance throwdowns.

Sam has a genuine gold medal chance in the 800m freestyle, where he tops the seeds ahead of the Games thanks to the withdrawal of Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui, the Tokyo 400m champion and reigning world champion in this event.

Cam leads the Cinderella stories and is one of the favourites for the 50m freestyle. After heading into Rio in 2016 as the 100m freestyle favourite, the Queenslander finished seventh, then struggled to retain his best form.

He fell out of love with the sport, flirted with retirement, then refashioned his entire program to become the leading 50m sprinter in the world.

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Kyle Chalmers is heading into Olympic Games number three looking to Olympic gold to his 2023 World Championship 100m freestyle crown.

Throw in Shayna Jack, in her Olympic debut, rising distance star Lani Pallister and 200m flyer Lizzie Dekkers and there are storylines galore for the 2024 Dolphins.

Tokyo golden girl Emma McKeon, at 30 gets one individual swim in the 100m butterfly, and Zac Stubblety-Cook, will need to reach a new peak to defend his 200m breaststroke gold against Chinese world record holder Qin Haiyang.

World Championship silver medal winner Chelsea Gubecka, Moesha Johnson, Kyle Lee and Nick Sloman form the marathon swimming team that will try to conquer the 10km journey up the famous Seine River through the heart of Paris.

Relays are crucial

The Australians will be chasing a fourth-consecutive 4x100m freestyle Olympic title after the quartet of Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris and Emma McKeon stopped the clock in a new world record of 3:29.69s to defeat Canada and the USA in Tokyo.

At the World Championships in 2023, a new-look crew of Mollie, Shayna, Meg and Emma reduced the world mark to 3:27.96s. Competition for the four spots will be tough, with veteran Bronte Campbell also qualifying for Paris.

On paper, the women’s 4x200m has a wide gap on the rest of the world, with Ariarne and Mollie leading the charge, but anything can happen at the Olympics and did in Tokyo, where Australia was favourite but finished with bronze. Lani Pallister should join the top pair, with the final prized spot to be claimed by the likes of Brianna Throssell, Shayna or Jamie Perkins.

Australia’s men are world champions in the 4x100m freestyle relay but this is a notoriously tough event and the USA look imposing. The women’s 4x100m medley relay and the mixed medley relay could both be good medal chances for the Dolphins.

Sport format

Swimmers progress through preliminary rounds to try and book a lane in the eight-person final. Faster swimmers earn middle lanes, with the slowest qualifiers in lanes one and eight. Sprint events have heats and semifinals, while middle distance and longer events have timed heats to decide the finalists.

Competition schedule

The Olympic swimming program will begin at the Olympic Aquatics Centre on 27 July and runs until 4 August. Marathon swimming will be held in the Seine on 8-9 August.

Full team for Paris

Women

50m freestyle: Shayna Jack, Meg Harris

100m freestyle: Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack

200m freestyle: Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O’Callaghan

400m freestyle: Ariarne Titmus, Jamie Perkins

800m freestyle: Ariarne Titmus, Lani Pallister

1500m freestyle: Lani Pallister, Moesha Johnson

100m backstroke: Kaylee McKeown, Iona Anderson

200m backstroke: Kaylee McKeown, Jaclyn Barclay

100m butterfly: Emma McKeon, Alexandria Perkins

200m butterfly: Lizzy Dekkers, Abbey Connor

100m breaststroke: Jenna Strauch

200m breaststroke: Ella Ramsay, Jenna Strauch

200m individual medley: Kaylee McKeown, Ella Ramsay

400m individual medley: Ella Ramsay, Jenna Forrester

Relay: Bronte Campbell, Olivia Wunsch, Brianna Throssell.

Men

50m freestyle: Cameron McEvoy, Ben Armbruster

100m freestyle: Kyle Chalmers, William Yang

200m freestyle: Max Giuliani, Tommy Neill

400m freestyle: Elijah Winnington, Sam Short

800m freestyle: Elijah Winnington, Sam Short

1500m freestyle: Sam Short

100m backstroke: Isaac Cooper, Brad Woodward

200m backstroke: Brad Woodward, Se-Bom Lee

100m butterfly: Matt Temple, Ben Armbruster

200m butterfly: Matt Temple

100m breaststroke: Sam Williamson, Josh Yong

200m breaststroke: Zac Stubblety-Cook, Josh Yong

200m individual medley: William Petric, Tommy Neill

400m individual medley: Brendon Smith, William Petric

Relay: Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor, Zac Incerti, Jack Cartwright.

Paris 2024 Preview: Swimming