Sam Williamson

Breaststroker Sam Williamson announced his arrival on the world stage when he won a full set of medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Sam, who reckons he has been swimming since his mum and dad signed him up for lessons before he could walk, won gold in the inaugural mixed 4x100m medley at Birmingham. He claimed silver in both the men’s 4x100m medley relay and as an individual in the 50m breaststroke. And he completed the set with a bronze in the 100m breaststroke.

The Victorian had previously enjoyed success in short-course meets, including a sweep of the breaststroke events at the Australian championships in 2022.

He carried his good form from Birmingham into the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, winning silver in the 4x100m mixed medley and bronze in the men’s 4x100m medley relay.

At the 2024 world championships in Doha, Sam claimed Australia’s first gold medal of the meet in the 50m breaststroke.

He was the fastest qualifier heading into the final and lowered his personal best and the Australian record when he touched the wall in 26.32 seconds. Sam finished ahead of Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi (26.39) and the USA’s Nick Fink (26.49). British superstar Adam Peaty was fourth.

Not long after celebrating the win, Sam was back in the water for the mixed 4x100m medley relay, where he teamed up with Brad Woodward, Brianna Throssell and Shayna Jack to claim silver in 3:43.12. He also finished fourth in the 100m breaststroke.

Sam won the 50m breaststroke title at the 2024 Australian championships, despite swimming faster in the heats than in the final. He clocked 27.07 in his heat, but 27.16 was enough to win the final.

In his Olympic debut at the Paris Games, Sam competed in the men's 100m breaststroke, finishing 24th with a time of 1:00.50.

Away from the pool, Sam is studying for a science degree at the University of Melbourne.