{"id":615157,"date":"2025-06-18T04:23:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T11:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=615157"},"modified":"2025-07-14T12:20:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T19:20:16","slug":"world-championships-relay-analysis-without-ariarne-titmus-can-australian-women-maintain-800-free-relay-supremacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-relay-analysis-without-ariarne-titmus-can-australian-women-maintain-800-free-relay-supremacy\/","title":{"rendered":"World Championships Relay Analysis: Without Ariarne Titmus, Can Australian Women Maintain 800 Free Relay Supremacy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Championships Relay Analysis: Without Ariarne Titmus, Can Australian Women Maintain 800 Free Relay Supremacy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Favorite status did not always suit Australia in the women\u2019s 800 free relay. Considered the clear top team entering the Tokyo Olympics, poor splits from Ariarne Titmus<\/strong> and Emma McKeon<\/strong> were impossible to overcome as China won gold and the United States silver. A year later at the World Championships, the Aussies again faced a setback as inspired closing splits from Katie Ledecky<\/strong> and Bella Sims<\/strong> helped the United States to an upset.<\/p>\n

But since then, the country\u2019s 200-meter supremacy has shown through. Titmus and Mollie O\u2019Callaghan<\/strong> have become entrenched as the top-two swimmers in the world at this distance, and they have led their teams to world-record-setting swims at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 World Championships. A win by more than two-and-a-half seconds<\/a> at the Paris Olympics was only the country\u2019s second gold medal ever in the event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year, adding another world title becomes tricky thanks to the absence of Titmus, with the 24-year-old taking the year off from competition. When she anchored in the Olympic final, Titmus dove in with a narrow lead before blasting a 1:52.95 homecoming split. Reliable veteran Brianna Throssell<\/strong> will also be absent. Now, the country will rely on O\u2019Callaghan and its impressive depth to secure another gold.<\/p>\n

At last week\u2019s Australian Trials, O\u2019Callaghan swam the fastest time in the world this year in the 200 free in 1:54.43<\/a>, while Lani Pallister <\/strong>was not far away. Pallister put together a stunning week in the distance races, moving to No. 3 all-time in the 800 and 1500 free and getting under 4:00 for the first time in the 400 free. Her 200-meter performance of 1:54.89 crushed her existing lifetime best and ranks No. 2 in the world behind O\u2019Callaghan.<\/p>\n

That will be a tough deficit for any other country to overcome, even an American group departing U.S. Nationals with five swimmers having broken 1:56 this year. Below are the added-up times for the top countries in this event. Only 2025 season-best times are used here, but limitations of this analysis will be considered.<\/p>\n