Mollie O’Callaghan followed world titles in the 100m freestyle in 2022 and 2023 by winning the Australian Olympic Trials 100m free in arguably the deepest race of the meet.
O’Callaghan clocked 52.33 seconds in a final where three women broke 53 seconds.
“It was all right,” O’Callaghan, who won the 2023 Worlds in 52.08, said on Australia’s Nine network. “I’m not too happy with the time to be honest.”
Shayna Jack placed second in 52.72 to grab the other individual Olympic spot in the 100m free.
She was followed by Meg Harris (52.97), Bronte Campbell (53.10), Olivia Wunsch (53.17) and Emma McKeon (53.33), who are likely to round out the relay pool in the event.
McKeon won the Tokyo Olympic 100m free as part of a seven-medal haul at those Games. The 30-year-old has said Paris will be her final Games.
“It’s been a very different journey for me,” she said Friday. “I had 18 months off and then wasn’t sure if I was going to come back.”
McKeon previously made the Paris team individually in the 100m butterfly. She was the bronze medalist in that event in Tokyo.
Four women broke 53 seconds in the morning preliminary heats of the 100m free, making it clear that the Aussies are favored to win a fourth consecutive Olympic title in the women’s 4x100m free relay.
For perspective, two Americans have broken 53 since the start of 2023 (Kate Douglass, Abbey Weitzeil).
Cate Campbell, an eight-time Olympic medalist, missed the 100m free final by one hundredth of a second from the morning preliminary heats.
Campbell, 32, has been unwell, according to Swimming Australia. She can still bid to make the team in the 50m free on the last day of the meet Saturday.
Campbell anchored the Australian women’s 4x100m free relay to gold medals at the last two Games and swam the individual 50m and 100m frees at the last four Games. She made her Olympic debut in 2008 at age 16.
“She was the No. 1 freestyler for what, 10, 11, 12 years in a row — that is a feat that’s pretty much unmatched in Australian sporting history,” sister Bronte said, according to Swimming Australia.
