24 Dolphins named for World Short Course Champs in China

THE final night of Australian Short Course Trials was full of emotion as Australia confirmed a squad of 24 – including six rookies – alongside stars Sam Short, Lani Pallister, Alex Perkins and Flynn Southam for the World Short Course Championships in Beijing.

A new Dolphins’ generation is set to be launched when the Australian Swimming Team competes at iconic Olympic venue, the Water Cube from December 1-6.

The world’s quickest dad Cam McEvoy, who set a national record of 20.22 for the 50m free today on the opening night of the 2026 World Cup series in Baku, Azerbaijan, missed the Championships in Sydney.

But McEvoy may still be in contention for wildcard selection courtesy of World Aquatics who are offering direct qualification to any swimmer who finishes in the top three of an individual final at any of the three stops.

In all, one world record and 14 national records were broken over the four-day meet at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre to continue the Dolphins 2026 after party.

In a year that delivered a record haul at the Commonwealth Games and outstanding Pan and Para Pan Pacs campaigns, Australia’s best swimmers sizzled at this meet.

Olympians Ben Armbruster, Jenna Forrester and Isaac Cooper were outstanding while the versatile Pallister, Olympic medallist Perkins and Short were unmatched.

World Short Course has traditionally introduced sports fans to the next Dolphins that will light up the world stage – like Amelie Smith, Mark Nikolaev, Marcus Da Silva, Emily Jones, Cameron Bladen and perhaps the most excited debutant of them all Alex Quach.

At 25, Quach thought his green and gold dream may be over, so in a last ditch bid moved from Sydney up to Queensland to train with Nudgee’s Shaun Crow and tonight punched a 1:51.65 to qualify for his gold cap.

For Smith, her selection follows an outstanding 2026 campaign in which the Rocky City athlete won the 200m breaststroke gold at the Junior Pan Pacs in Vancouver and a silver in the 400IM at this meet.

Da Silva will be a key player in the Dolphins quest to ignite the men’s 4x200m relay stocks ahead of LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032, qualifying after his 1:41.91 silver medal effort in the men’s 200m free behind Ed Sommerville (1:40.16).

Sommerville ruled himself ineligible for selection, preferring to concentrate on his training base in Brisbane with Max Giuliani to fill the vacancy.

Rookies Jones and Bladen have been selected as relay swimmers along with Matt Temple and Josh Collett.

Head coach Rohan Taylor praised the clean-sweep performance of Pallister (200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m titles) and Short (400m, 800m, 1500m), the durability of Forrester (gold in 400IM, silver 200m free/200m back/200IM and 400m free).

“Those three without a doubt have been standouts here but also it’s been great to see the likes of Amelie Smith and Marcus Da Silva come through the ranks and shift the dial. Also credit to Mark Nikolaev, it’s a credit to his consistency and perseverance that he has earned his Dolphin number tonight,” Taylor said.

“The international exposure in Beijing is an opportunity to come together and build towards LA 2028 and the meet presents a great opportunity for our younger swimmers to learn from established Dolphins – this is a springboard meet ahead of long course World Championships next year.

“It’s a learning opportunity for younger athletes to learn how to travel, become more resilient and perform when it matters most in an unfamiliar environment including time zones, weather and diet.”

2026 World Short Course Championships Athletes: