Nation’s best swimmers to make a splash in Adelaide
A host of Paris Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists will be in Adelaide this week as the Australian Swimming Trials return to South Australia for the first time since 2022.
A total of 622 of the nation’s best swimmers and 19 internationals will hit the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre’s world class competition pool at Marion for six days of racing from 9-14 June.
There will be plenty on the line with the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials serving as a selection meet for the Australian Dolphins Team to compete at the World Aquatic Championships (11 July – 3 August) and World Para Swimming Championships (21-27 September) in Singapore.
The start list for this week’s trials includes hometown hero Kyle Chalmers who is a nine-time Olympic medallist across three games in Rio, Tokyo and Paris, and a five-time world champion.
The field also includes Kaylee McKeown who is fresh from her history-making Olympics in Paris last year where she became the first Australian Olympian across any sport to win four individual gold medals.
McKeown also became the first swimmer in Olympic history to successfully defend their 100m and 200m backstroke titles, after her earlier triumphs in Tokyo.
Sprinter Cameron McEvoy, who provided one of the moments of the Paris Olympics with 50m freestyle gold at his fourth Games, and Mollie O’Callaghan who went head-to-head with compatriot Ariarne Titmus to win the 200m freestyle final, will also be racing in Adelaide.
There is also a strong international flavour to the event with 19 athletes from 11 countries including New Zealand, USA, Fiji and Croatia competing.
The SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre has cemented itself as a world-class venue with McKeown, Paralympic medallist Ahmed Kelly and Para-swimmer Declan Budd producing world record times at the 2024 National Short Course Championships held at the venue last year, and all three are racing in Adelaide next week.
Racing starts on Monday with heats from 11am and finals from 7.30pm. The 2025 Australian Swimming Trials will be broadcast live and free on Channel 9.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison
It’s great to have the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide once again and we welcome over 620 swimmers, their family and friends to South Australia this week.
The SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre has a reputation for producing some fast times, so we look forward to very competitive racing.
To have swimmers like our very own Kyle Chalmers racing in front of a home crowd and Kaylee McKeown, who made history at last year’s Paris Olympics, is a huge coup and speaks to the quality of the field.
We also know our elite athletes are helping to inspire the next generation of swimmers who will be excited to watch them in action this week.
Quotes attributable to Rob Woodhouse, CEO Swimming Australia
Trials are a highlight of the domestic swimming calendar. We are sure to see high quality racing and an electric atmosphere as heroes from the 2024 Paris Games go head-to-head with an emerging generation of stars on the path to Singapore and beyond to the 2028 LA Games.
“The SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre has been a fantastic stage for past Trials and I know that will be the case again in 2025. This is a new four-year Olympic and Paralympic cycle and we are sure to see new names emerge.
My thanks to the South Australian Government for their support and we look forward to welcoming athletes and fans from around Australia and overseas to Adelaide. The journey to the LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Games has begun and what you see in the next six days will be inspirational.