Club and Community | 02 October 2026
Aus Short Course Champs Day 4 Preview
On the final day of the Australian Short Course Championships in Sydney, a red hot Sam Short takes on the 1500m freestyle, Aus Age Champ Ollie Moclair could do some damage in the men’s 50m freestyle field; and St Peters duo Lani Pallister and Jenna Forrester back up from last night’s 400m freestyle podium for the 800m.
So far, Pallister has contested the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500m, now all that’s left is 31 laps in tonight’s 800m freestyle timed final – standby for Pallister to sign off on 125 turns by completion of competition.
At the conclusion of tonight’s finals session, a team of 24 will be announced on pool deck for the World Short Course Championships in Beijing from December 1-6.
Heats start 10am AEST // Finals start 6pm AEST
DAY 4 SWIMMERS’ SIX PACK PREVIEW
AMELIE SMITH
ROCKY CITY, QLD – 200M BREASTSTROKE
Dubbed one of the swims of the week, 18-year-old Amelie Smith (pictured) clocked a qualifying time (4:30.87) in the women’s 400 IM to finish second behind Commonwealth Games champion Jenna Forrester who set a national record of 4:28.39. Smith also impressed and showcased her versatility in the women’s 200m IM winning bronze.
Hailing from Rockhampton, Smith has been busy making a name for herself in the pool and the open water over the past twelve months.
The Junior Dolphin picked up 200m breaststroke gold in Canada in August and set a Junior Pan Pacific Championships record in the process (2:24.71).
In January, she flew west to Bunbury to contest the Australian 2026 Open Water Championships where she picked up two medals – 5km silver and 10km bronze.
OLLIE MOCLAIR
CRANBROOK, NSW – 50M FREESTYLE
Ollie Moclair is part of a next wave of athletes inspired by Australia’s 50m freestyle world record holder Cam McEvoy and his game changing sprint-training.
At the Australian Age Championships in April, Moclair turned heads when he ripped a 21.73 and broke his own 18-year-old boys’ 50m freestyle national age record – a time that would have been a junior world record had the 18-year-old not be turning 19 in August, as per competition rules.
ROWAN CROTHERS
MARION, SA – 100M FLY MC
Para star Rowan Crothers dives in for his fifth and final event.
Over the past three days, Crothers has been untouchable. Coached by Kate Irvine at Marion, he won the 200m freestyle multi-class in an S10 men’s world record time (1:49.930) before backing up a couple of hours later to claim the 50m fly.
A sprint world champion, Crothers easily topped the 50m and 100m freestyle but started focusing on the 100m fly as a means to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, which he missed out on, but has kept it as part of his program given the gains it has help made in his freestyle.
LIV WUNSCH
CARLILE, NSW – 50M FREESTYLE
When Liv Wunsch was still in school she made her Dolphins debut at the Paris Olympic Games and was a critical heat swimmer for the women’s 4x100m freestyle team alongside Emma McKeon, Bronte Campbell and Meg Harris.
Fast forward two years, and the Carlile athlete is a key player in Australia’s sprint freestyle stocks. At this meet, Wunsch has already contested the 50m and 100m butterfly, and the 100m freestyle where she pencilled her name in for selection to compete at the Water Cube in Beijing after a qualifying swim in the 100m freestyle.
Wunsch will carry her speed into today’s 50m sprint event as will the versatile Alex Perkins, who is recovering from a digestive upset, and emerging talent and Wunsch’s Carlile clubmate Jaimie De Lutiis is also one to watch.
KAYLA HARDY
CRUIZ, ACT – 100M MEDLEY
Kayla Hardy is gunning for her third World Short Course Championships. She made her Australian debut at 19 in 2022 at the Melbourne World Short Course Championships and her next green and gold was in Budapest at the 2024 World Short Course Championships. In Budapest, Hardy impressed with her first international finals appearance and clocked a PB of 4:30.01 to place sixth overall in the 400m IM.
Hardy got a taste of LA 2028 as part of the Australia A team that competed in Irvine at the TYR Summer Championships in 2025. Under the Californian sun, she was a consistent performer, picking up two silvers in the individual medley events.
Backstroke specialist Iona Anderson (Highlanders) dives in as she looks to finish the meet with a “fun” event after completing the backstroke sweep last night.
SE-BOM LEE
SOPAC, NSW – 100M MEDLEY
A medley swimmer with an edge in backstroke, Se-Bom Lee is a dual Olympian comfortable racing in his home pool.
Cheered on by friends and family at this year’s Trials – also held at SOPAC – Lee posted a personal best of 1:56.75 to win the 200m backstroke and he claimed 400m IM bronze, along with a ticket to Glasgow and California.
Watch out for his underwaters and quick turns as Lee heads the men’s 100m medley field in his only event of the meet.
It is a last bid qualifying attempt for Bond Uni’s Josh Collett who broke the 100m breaststroke national record but missed QT by 0.01.
