World Juniors Day 5: Trotter strikes gold

TAKE a bow Ainsley Trotter.

The 17-year-old broke through for Australia’s first gold medal of the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships in Romania to continue the Dolphins rich history in women’s backstroke on the world stage.

And the Bond University swimmer did it in style – clocking 27.88 in the 50m back, the same time she ripped to claim an All-Comers’ age group record at the Australian Age Championships previously held by multiple Olympic gold medallist Mollie O’Callaghan.

For Trotter, it was a long-awaited breakthrough after narrowly missing national team selection in recent years and she was the only athlete to go under 28 seconds, touching the wall ahead of Korea’s Kim Seungwon (28.00) and Great Britain’s Blythe Kinsman (28.04).

Australia has a storied history in women’s backstroke, highlighted by Kaylee McKeown’s recent achievements including an historic “double-double” at the Paris Olympics and her multiple world records.

Prior to McKeown, Nicole Livingstone had set the scene for decades of backstroke excellence, winning Australia’s first women’s backstroke Olympic medal in 44 years with a bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Trotter, also a talented freestyler, had withdrawn from her individual swim in the women’s 50m free semi to concentrate on the backstroke and then 11 minutes after winning gold, hit the water to swim the second leg of the women’s 4x100m free relay.

The Junior Dolphins team of Trotter, Asha Ring, Zoe Ammundsen and Heli Childs finished sixth (3:43.33) with the United States setting a world junior record of 3:35.53. NAB claimed silver (3:37.87) and China (3:40.38) bronze.

In the penultimate night of finals in Otopeni, Sydney-based Ben Cotroneo continued his fine form clocking a PB (49.33) in the men’s 100m free to qualify for the final.

Earlier in the meet, Cotroneo, 18, had led off the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay in both the heats and the final, putting together two of his three fastest 100s of all time, until this morning’s (AEST) individual swim.

Can’t wait to see what he can do on the final day of racing in Otopeni, Romania with just two sessions remaining.

Full results here.

Pic: World Aquatics