Mollie O'Callaghan, Meg Harris, Harry Turner and Sam Short: The faces of Aussie swimming's next generation

West Australian

18 hours ago

Australia is cooking up another golden generation in the pool.
And our new crop of swimming superstars have just had a coming-out party at the World Aquatics Championships, which has them primed to dominate next year's Commonwealth Games.
The Aussies finished second only to their powerhouse rivals the United States in the swimming leg of the championships and second only to China overall.
It lays down a marker for major international tournaments on the horizon, including next year's Games in Glasgow - broadcast live and fee on Channel Seven - and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
There are new faces leading the way for the Aussies too.
At just 21, Mollie O'Callaghan — who Australia was introduced to during last year's Olympics — has already equalled Ian Thorpe's record gold-medal haul at 11.
The Brisbane-born jet now has time on her side. While a life in swimming is short, O'Callaghan is already shaping as one of the faces of her home Olympics in 2032.
She is on track to become the greatest Australian swimmer of all time and is a strong chance to break Emma McKeon's all-time Aussie gold-medal collection at the next Olympics.
McKeon's six golds came largely as a mainstay of the country's relay teams. O'Callaghan anchors Australia's teams, but also has an individual presence.
O'Callaghan claimed the blue-riband 200m freestyle gold — the event she took Ariarne Titmus' mantle in at Paris last year — again in Singapore this week as well as steering home two relays.
'I look at her, and I see the gold medallist,' Thorpe said of O'Callaghan.
'She will go far beyond 11 (golds).
'And looking … beyond for Mollie O'Callaghan, is the opportunity not only at the world championships but multiple Olympics.'
Fellow Aussie freestyler Meg Harris also broke into the individual realm on the final night of the titles, powering to the 50m freestyle crown.
Harris — who is deaf in one ear — even won the race with her eyes closed, literally.
'It's normal for me,' Harris said of her shut-eye habit.
'I do it a lot in the 50m and in the 100m, I always do it on the second lap. So I'm not quite sure what it is, I do it in training as well, but I guess it's just like trying to focus on my stroke … not 100 per cent, that's just what happens.'
The Aussie that captured the nation's hearts during the championships was knockabout Queenslander Harrison Turner, who was just as stunned as everyone else when he claimed a bronze medal and shaved three seconds off his personal best in the 200m butterfly.
He described his medal as 'dirty gold' in a hilarious poolside interview.
After sneaking in to the final in lane eight, Turner said his mentality was: 'I've got a lane, I've got a chance.'
'If you told me I was gonna win a gold — I mean, sorry, a bronze medal — at the start of the year … I'd tell you you're dreaming,' he said.
If O'Callaghan looms as the Cathy Freeman-like face of the Brisbane Games, Turner has all the potential to be a hometown cult hero.
His mullet sits comfortably and he spends as much time fishing, surfing and on the water with mates as he does between lane ropes.
Queensland's swimming production line has also made Sam Short a star of the future. The 21-year-old battled serious illness — which threatened to spoil his week — to claim silver in the 400m freestyle.
Backstroke queen Kaylee McKeown still looms large. She has already competed at two Olympics and is poised to tear up the Commonwealth Games, clear of American rival Regan Smith.