Kaylee McKeown, Lani Pallister and Kyle Chalmers claim wins at Australian Open swimming championships

Versatility was the name of the game on day two of the Australian Open swimming championships at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.

Lani Pallister excelling in the mid- and long-distance races by doubling up the 400-800 metre free. Mollie O’Callaghan swimming backstroke. Kyle Chalmers swimming butterfly. Kaylee McKeown and O’Callaghan combining to become bug catchers? 

But some things never change. 

McKeown winning a 100m backstroke race at a canter, for one.

Even in that race there was some confusion though, firstly when the electronic timing developed a bug, showing that O’Callaghan had won with a time of 58.98 seconds, despite McKeown clearly touching first in 58.06.

Then an actual bug caused much excitement between the pair while they waited in their lanes at the end of the race. 

Mollie O’Callaghan spotted a bug, while the timing pads registered another. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

“I couldn’t even pay attention,” she said on pool deck over the error in her time. 

“It was too small for me to see it.”

That wasn’t the only bug in the system, with Hayley Mackinder completely missing the starter’s gun in the women’s 200m breaststroke, a race won by Tara Kinder as the 18-year-old sat poolside talking to officials. 

McKeown, meanwhile, said that she was not pleased with her time in the 200m on Monday, but noted that she needed to learn to be a bit kinder to herself as well and not worry too much about times plateauing slightly between major meets.

“I think to be one of the best athletes in the world you’ve always got to have … not negative thoughts in the back of your head, but you’ve always got to be harsh and that just leads a way for there to always be improvement,” McKeown said.

“I think I’ve gone too far over the edge on that. 

“I’ve been way too harsh on myself and not necessarily seeing the good that I am doing. 

“Sometimes you can put in all the hard work and sometimes it just doesn’t come out in the racing and it’s really frustrating … But I’ve just got to be happy with the small things and remind myself that the end goal is LA.”

Kyle Chalmers went back to the future to win his 50m butterfly. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

Perhaps nostalgia was the theme of the evening.

Sprint king Chalmers said he wished that he had taken more time during his career to “slow down” to enjoy the experience of being an international swimmer. 

But despite the change in perspective that comes with increasing maturity, the 27-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down in the pool, coming within 0.04 seconds of setting a new Australian record in the 50m butterfly.

Chalmers set a blistering time of 22.77, almost seven-tenths of a second faster than his nearest rival, Ben Armbruster.

But incredibly, he thinks there’s plenty of room for improvement yet.

“Absolutely, I want to get faster every time I stand behind the blocks,” Chalmers said on poolside immediately after his swim.

Chalmers, who won the 100m freestyle on night one, noted that he had been putting “a lot more emphasis” on butterfly and he was more suited to the one-lap butterfly, the event he favoured as a junior. 

“For me, that was my very best event when I was growing up, the 50 fly,” Chalmers said.

“So to go back to the event I am most suited to is very exciting.”

Lani Pallister has had the golden touch so far this Australian Open championships. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

Pallister may be wondering what event she is most suited to, taking another big victory in the 400m freestyle by dipping under the four-minute barrier to swim 3 minutes 59.36 seconds, claiming victory by more than two seconds.

Given her sublime 800m swim on Monday night, it’s perhaps worth wondering whether the 23-year-old sees herself more as a middle distance specialist or long distance queen.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of day by day for me,” Pallister said.

“I’ve said for a long time that when I do the 200, I love doing it for the relay. 

“For me, I like following in my mum’s footsteps and her legacy swimming from the 400 to the 1,500, but she was also part of a gold medal 4x200m [relay] at a Commonwealth Games [1990 in Auckland]. 

“So I think a lot of my career and my attitudes, values, beliefs have come from what my mum instilled in me from quite young, which I guess is why I love the history and I love, I guess, how much distance swimming hurts because she put herself through that 36 years ago.”

Pallister, who has made the switch to St Peters Western to train under Dean Boxall this year, has credited her new coach with instilling a new degree of belief in her than before, which is driving her to test herself in completely different ways.

Lani Pallister has been hitting her targets. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

“It’s been really interesting moving to Saint Peters,” she said. 

“Dean’s made me believe in myself more than I ever have before — and I have so much to thank Michael Ball and my mum for because they’re two of the biggest influences in my career — but I felt like I’ve lived a lifetime at St Peters in the last year.

“It’s crazy all the things that I’ve accomplished with all the staff and athletes there as well. 

“I think a lot of my results come from, obviously Dean and Mick and the staff at St Peters, but also the people that I’m surrounding myself with. 

“I get pushed by Elijah Winnington and Ben Goedemans every session — and I’m sure they get sick of me chasing them up and down the pool and maybe going faster than I need to be. 

“But truly without them I wouldn’t be the athlete that I am today.”

Lani Pallister crushed the field to win her second Australian Open title in as many days. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

Following on from her nausea-inducing efforts in the 800m on Monday evening, Pallister set her second fastest time ever in the 400m, proving her versatility.

“I don’t think it’s a challenge [that Dean Boxall has set], I think it’s just him knowing what I’m capable of across everything,” Pallister said.

“I have a 4×100 relay tonight, so I’ll be swimming 100 freestyle there too. 

“But I think it’s important to have range. Katie Ledecky’s always had range from the 200 to the 1,500, I’m sure she’s swam 4x100m’s internationally as well.” N.B. she has, winning Olympic silver in Rio and world championship gold in 2017 Budapest in the event. 

“When you’re chasing someone like that and trying to beat them, then you kind of have to do similar things to what they’re doing, if not better.”

Gideon Burns claimed a surprise win in the 100m breaststroke. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

Gideon Burnes, 20, pulled off a surprise victory in the 100m breaststroke, storming from a long way back to edge Bailey Lello by just 0.01 seconds.

“I was like 50/50 on pulling out of the race,” Burnes said. 

“I had a lot of tension in my [right] adductor, so I was not expecting too much, I was a little bit fearful that it would go somewhere throughout the race. 

“But then, first 50, just set it up real nicely. Laid off the kick a little bit, hit that wall and because I was going out so controlled, so easy, I kind of just had a bit of confidence.

“I know what I’m capable of, so I could see on that last 50 I was with the other boys. 

“Just turned on the jets, last 25 and yeah, I think I did a pretty good job holding on.” 

Two-time 200m breaststroke Olympic medallist Zac Stubblety-Cook finished third, while Sam Williamson, on his return from a sickening leg injury, led through the first 50m before fading to fourth.

Sam Williamson will be thrilled to be back in the water after his injury. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

Sam Short continued his quest to sweep the distance events, crushing the field in the 800m with a dominant 7:41.

Olympic champion Meg Harris was a non-starter in the women’s 50m free due to illness, but in her absence Shayna Jack (24.60) claimed victory over 19-year-old Olivia Wunsch (24.84) and O’Callaghan (24.89).

In the men’s 200m freestyle, guest New Zealander Lewis Clarebutt showed up his Aussie hosts by claiming gold in 1:45.57 from Ed Somerville (1:46.08) and Kai Taylor (1:46.67) and then doubled up by winning the 200IM in 1:58.42 as well, ahead of Will Petric (1:59.22) and Se Bom Lee (2:00.82).

Alexandra Perkins has been dominating the butterfly events. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)

Alex Perkins claimed a comfortable victory in the 100m butterfly, blasting down the first 50m before coming home to win in 57.21.

“I wanted to go out hard and see what I had on the way back,” she said on pool deck.

“I think that’s the fastest I’ve gone in-season.”

Russia-born Mark Nikolaev repeated his 50m backstroke performance with a strong display to win gold in the 100m too.

Rowan Crothers won the men’s multi class 100m freestyle at a canter, swimming a superb 51.18 fresh off a stint at altitude in the USA. 

“Really happy with the swim, didn’t think I was going to be so fast,” Crothers, the two-time Paralympic silver medallist, said on poolside.

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