The Week That Was: An Explosive Australian Championships Across the Board

The Week That Was, sponsored by Suitmate

The Week That Was featured Kyle Chalmers opening up, an explosive Australian Championships, and popstar Cody Simpson returns to the pool.

The Week That Was #1: Olympic Champ Kyle Chalmers Says ‘I Feel Like I’m Almost 40’

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr/Swimming Australia

by John Lohn

Like many athletes, Australian Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers has endured his share of injuries, and he discussed those medical issues in an excellent article by Phil Lutton in the Sydney Morning Herald. Just ahead of the start of the Australian Championships, Chalmers talked about the wear and tear on his body, especially on his shoulders. He noted he feels much older than his 23 years.

“If it was just the two or four hours a day I was in the pool, it would be fine,” Chalmers told Lutton. “But you just can’t get away from (the injuries). I’m turning 24 next month, but I feel like I’m almost 40 most days.”

The Week That Was #2: Mollie O’Callaghan Sets The World On Fire With Her Sizzling 100m freestyle of 52.83

MOLLIE OCALLAGHAN diove

by Ian Hanson

Australia’s Tokyo discovery Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western, QLD) has produced the fastest time in the world this year in this morning’s 100m freestyle heats in a sizzling start to the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships and Selection Trials in Adelaide.

The 18-year-old from St Peters Western, QLD clocked 52.83 (26.10) – producing a powerhouse second 50m of 26.73 – clocking her personal best – faster than her lead off swim in the preliminary heats in Tokyo of 53.08 – making her the sixth Australian to crack 53 seconds.

The Week That Was #3: Lani Pallister Follows Mum Into The Record Books; Kaylee McKeown Chases Slice of Swimming History and William Yang Makes A Splash

Lani smile

by Ian Hanson

Anything mum can do then Lani Pallister can do too with the three-time World Junior champion following in her mum’s footsteps for the second time at this week’s Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide in what was a huge night for the Griffith University Club.

The 19-year-old Pallister (Griffith (University) produced one of the swims of her career – clocking a personal best time of 15 minutes 55.40 – the third fastest time by an Australian to add the 1500m freestyle to her earlier win in the 800m freestyle in 8:17.77

The Week That Was #4: Kathleen Dawson Ruled Out Of World Championships And Commonwealth Games

DAWSON Kathleen GBR Great Britain WOMEN - 100M BACKSTROKE Swimming Budapest - Hungary 21/5/2021 Duna Arena XXXV LEN European Aquatic Championships Photo Giorgio Perottino / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Perottino / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

by Liz Byrnes

Olympic mixed medley relay champion Kathleen Dawson has been ruled out of the World Championships and Commonwealth Games with a back injury.

Dawson sustained the injury following the European Championships in Budapest where she won three golds among an overall medal haul of four.

The University of Stirling swimmer produced one of the performances of the meet when she won the 100 backstroke in a re-swim after the first race – in which she took gold – was declared void after an appeal was upheld.

She then went on to set a European record of 58.08 on the leadoff as Britain won the women’s medley relay.

The Week That Was #5: From Pop Star to Elite Swimmer: Cody Simpson Stamps Pool Comeback With Huge Breakthrough

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

by David Rieder

It’s a familiar refrain you have surely encountered on the internet. Some famous figure was once a swimmer, only to give up the sport as they got older to focus on music or acting or their endeavors in another sport. Surely this person would have qualified for the Olympics, the story says, if they had continued on in the sport. Perhaps that makes you cringe: qualifying for the Olympics is really hard! It requires years upon years of focused training, careful attention to detail and mental toughness, and simply showing aptitude in swimming in one’s youth does not put that person “on track” to make an Olympic team.

Well, that trend does not apply to Cody Simpson. He is an Australian pop music star. He toured the world for performances and released acclaimed albums, and he even made some appearances on television and in film. But before all that, until he was 13, Simpson had been a competitive swimmer. His career in music and acting took priority for a decade, but in 2019, Simpson began training again.

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