Trials Night 3 Preview: McEvoy and Jack in hot pursuit

THERE are two things Cam McEvoy is confident about.

One: that emerging sprinter Jamie Jack will be part of the Commonwealth Games team.

Two: that he can go faster.

Jack upstaged world record holder McEvoy (pictured) in the heats of the men’s 50m freestyle on Day 3 of the Australian Swimming Trials at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

Four-time Olympian McEvoy clocked 21.72 (well outside his WR of 20.88, set in China in March) while Jack – looking to make his first senior Dolphins team – hit the wall in 21.60.

Heading into tonight’s final, McEvoy sad: “This year, I’m confident I’ll see him on the Commonwealth Games team.”

“His evolution … he’s been pulled back in an elastic way … and he is about to be released.

“He’s gonna have a pretty explosive run-up to the LA Olympics.

“(Tonight) I’m expecting to be able to see him right there in my peripherals, which is exciting.

“It’d be very cool to have at an Australian domestic competition two people in the low 21 second range or under 21.5. Jamie’s been kind of leading the way for that second generation of people behind me.

“So it’s exciting to see not only where they’re going to go tonight but what they’re gonna be like in LA and Brisbane.”

And when asked about if he could go faster, McEvoy said: “I definitely think I can get faster.”

Five swimmers broke the 22-second barrier during heats including 18-year-old Ollie Moclair (21.83), who qualified third.

But the other feel good story of tonight’s 50m men’s splash and dash is that of the return of Jack Cartwright.

The 27-year-old Cartwright, who entered the meet as the 44th seed with a time of 23.23, cut nearly a full second to touch in 22.36 and will start in lane 8.

Cartwright, if he were to make the Pan Pac team, would be one of the few returning Dolphins from 2018 – where he earned a trio of silver medals.

A Glimpse of Glasgow:

Sydney Olympic Park served up a glimpse of Glasgow with heat one of the multi-class women’s 50m freestyle bringing together a trio of Dolphins bound for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

A resurgent Kirralee Hayes, dual Paralympian Jenna Jones and 14-year-old rising star Mia Hogan shared the pool in a preview of their upcoming S13 50m and 100m freestyle Commonwealth Games campaigns, as Hogan leads the next wave of Australia’s visually impaired athletes on the road to Brisbane 2032.

In a similar fashion to Albury’s other teen queen – Sienna Toohey – Hogan will make her Dolphins debut as the youngest member of the team.

A national age champion across the strokes, she looms as a strong chance for dual selection after just missing the qualifying time for Para Pan Pacific Championship in this morning’s 50m freestyle heats.

Hogan will return to the pool tonight for the 50m free and 200m individual medley final, before backing up later in the week in the 100m breaststroke and 100m backstroke multi-class events.

For Hayes, 22, Glasgow marks her first Dolphins team since 2022. Born visually impaired, Hayes claimed bronze at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the S13 50m freestyle before stepping away from competitive swimming in 2023.

Now back in the pool, Hayes has wasted no time, qualifying for the Para Pan Pacific Championships in the heat of her sole event this week: the women’s 50m freestyle multi-class.

Fellow Birmingham Dolphin Jones, 25, made her Dolphins debut a decade ago in Rio 2016. Diagnosed with a rare degenerative vision impairment at age six, the USC Spartan missed tonight’s 50m free final but will continue her pursuit of Para Pan Pacs selection in the 100m backstroke, 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke multi-class events still to come.