Swimmers' Six Pack: Day 1 Open Championships

Sam Williamson | Melbourne Vicentre: 100m Breaststroke

His Insta bio says it all – Olympian, hot cross bun connoisseur (and we can add they taste terrific), and world champion. The 27-year-old will line up in the 100m breaststroke today in a field that also includes the ever-improving, and Paris teammate, Josh Yong.

Kaylee McKeown | Griffth University: 200 IM

The two-time world record holder and 5x Olympic gold medallist has branched out into some cross training over the summer learning to surf. McKeown, the current titleholder in this event, snatched bronze in Paris thanks to a dramatic DQ after USA’s Alex Walsh, who finished third, was disqualified for an illegal turn going into the breaststroke leg. Specialist IM-ers and fellow Dolphins Jenna Forrester and Ella Ramsay also hit the water and keep an eye out for Nunnawading’s Isabella Boyd.

Thomas Ceccon | Italy: 50m Butterfly

Re-energised Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon has added some European flair to the four-day meet but today’s racing reads like an Olympic program – Ceccon, Cam McEvoy, Matt Temple and Isaac Cooper. Ceccon is an Olympic gold medallist and world record holder in backstroke but he is also Italy’s national record holder in this event. Can’t wait to see how a couple of months under Dean Boxall at St Peters Western has impacted.

Maddie McTernan | TSS Aquatic, QLD

A dual Paralympic medallist Maddie McTernan represented Australia at the Tokyo and Paris Paralympic Games winning relay silver at each. In February 2020, she won her first individual international gold medal in the 200 free at the World Para Swimming Series in Melbourne. Later that year, McTernan broke a world record in the women’s 400m freestyle S14 at the 2020 Australian Short Course Championships with a time of 4:35.56 seconds. The S14 swimmer from TSS Aquatic will contest the women’s multi-class 200m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

Col Pearse | Nunawading, VIC

You may recognise him from the Woolworth’s ad or his podium finish in Paris, Nunawading’s Col Pearse is back for more. Hailing from a dairy farm in country Victoria, Pearse had his right foot amputated after an accident when he was two years old. He made his Paralympic debut in Tokyo and won bronze in the 100m butterfly (S10). In Paris, Pearse moved his way up the dias by winning silver in the 200 IM (SM10). One of Australia’s fastest Paralympic butterfliers, Pearse will contest the 50 and 100 fly and the 200 IM.

Mollie O’Callaghan | St Peters Western, QLD

She is one of Australia’s greatest Olympic medallists with eight in total, five of which O’Callaghan won at Paris 2024. Fresh off the back of winning her first individual Olympic gold in an Olympic record time of 1:53.27 in the women’s 200m freestyle at Paris, Mollie O’Callaghan is a red hot favourite for the event. O’Callaghan still holds a couple of National Age records in the backstroke events and the gun backstroker will contest the 50m and 100m backstroke events along with her signature freestyle events (200, 100, 400 and 50 free).

> Heats start at 10am
> Finals start 6pm
> All the action live and free, exclusively on 9NOW.