Sunshine Coast swimmer Alexandria Perkins made her debut in the green and gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where she reached the finals of the 50m and 100m butterfly and took home a gold medal for a heat swim in the mixed 4x100m medley.

She won silver as part of the Australian team in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2024 World Championships in Doha.

At the Australian national championships on the Gold Coast in April, Alexandria picked up bronze in the 100m butterfly and the 50m butterfly.

She maintained her form going into the Australian Olympic trials, finishing second behind Emma McKeon in the 100m butterfly in a time of 57.33 – hot on the heels of a PB (57.10) in her heat swim.

Alexandria, who is completing a physiotherapy degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast, is the great niece of Carol Bernoth, who represented Australia in high jump at the Vancouver Commonwealth Games in 1954 and Melbourne’s Olympic Games in 1956.

POD POP UP STAT: Will be celebrating her 24^th birthday on the day of her 100m butterfly event in Paris and the question she is most frequently asked by those outside of swimming circle – is she related to Olympic distance star Kieren, and the answer is no.