Neither of Australia’s 4x100m freestyle relay teams were expected to win gold at the world championships on Sunday night.
A fresh-faced Australian women’s team did exactly that, trumping the United States, and Australia’s men followed suit, edging out Italy.
A women’s team featuring Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris, Milla Jansen and Olivia Wunsch, who swam in that order, captured gold with a time of three minutes, 30.60 seconds (3:30.60).
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Consider the plethora of champion talent the women’s team didn’t have in Singapore: Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell retired after their Paris 2024 campaigns, Madi Wilson retired this year, shortly after becoming a mum, Bronte Campbell is having a break from the pool after the Olympics, and Shayna Jack failed to qualify for the world titles after appearing on the TV show I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
In the absence of those stars, O’Callaghan, Harris, Jansen and Wunsch ensured the team’s remarkable reign continued.
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From left to right: Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris and Milla Jansen celebrate Australia’s win as Olivia Wunsch closes out the relay. Getty
Jansen is only 18 and is competing at her first senior long-course world championships, while Wunsch is only 19 and is also making her senior long-course world championship debut. Wunsch swam at last year’s Paris Olympics, but only as a heat swimmer in the 4x100m relay.
Australia (3:30.60) defeated a US team consisting of Simone Manuel, Kate Douglass, Erin Gemmell and Torri Huske, who touched in 3:31.04. Gemmell is only 20 and has had limited experience at the top level, but Manuel, Douglass and Huske are all well established on the world stage and were expected to pilot the US team to victory.
From left to right: Kai Taylor, Flynn Southam, Kyle Chalmers and Max Giuliani after winning relay gold. Getty
An Australian men’s team consisting of Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor, Max Giuliani and Kyle Chalmers won gold in 3:08.97 — a new world championship record.
Italy took silver in 3:09.58 as the US rounded out the podium in 3:09.64.
Many swimmers on the US team were floored by food poisoning at a pre-world championships training camp in Thailand. Whether those illnesses affected the relay results is hard to tell.
“What a night for Australia in the relays,” Australian swimming great Giaan Rooney said on the Nine broadcast.
MORE TO COME
Australia’s triumphant men’s and women’s relay teams. Getty