Chalmers (Breaststroke), O'Callaghan & Jack Have Speedy Starts To 2024 QLD Championships
12/14/2024 08:43 AM
By Retta Race on SwimSwam
2024 QUEENSLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
- December 14th – December 20th
- Brisbane Aquatic Centre
- LCM (50m)
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The 2024 Queensland Championships kicked off today with a fast and furious session of club relay finals. Multiple Olympians were in the water and we saw two new state records get established to set the tone for this 7-day competition.
The men’s open 200m medley relay record went down at the hands of a foursome from St. Andrew’s, including Olympic multi-medalist Kyle Chalmers.
Chalmers, who swam a rare breaststroke leg, teamed up with Lewis Blackburn, Jack Carr and Jezze Gorman to stop the clock at a collective time of 1:39.05. That result shaved .17 off the former QLD mark of 1:39.22 Rackley produced in 2021.
Splits for St. Andrew’s squad included:
- Lewis Blackburn – 25.36
- Kyle Chalmers – 27.84
- Jack Carr – 24.09
- Jezze Gorman – 21.76
The next-closest squad was Sommerville House Aquatics which featured 17-year-old Joshua Conias on anchor. The team touched in 1:40.25 with Conias hitting 22.18 on his leg.
Bond’s ‘A’ team, which included Flynn Southam(22.51), bagged the bronze in 1:41.38.
The mixed open 200m free relay also saw its Queensland state record bite the dust, courtesy of the St. Peters Western ‘A’ team.
The combination of Jamie Jack, Kai Taylor, Mollie O’Callaghan, and Chloe Douglas-Byrne turned in a time of 1:33.97 to beat the field by well over 2 seconds. Their outing overtook the previous QLD standard of 1:34.30 a former SPW team put on the books last year.
Splits for the SPW mixed open 200m free relay included:
- Jamie Jack – 21.74
- Kai Taylor – 21.67
- Mollie O’Callaghan – 25.05
- Chloe Douglas-Byrne – 25.51.
Jack’s 21.74 leadoff represents a huge lifetime best and just the 2nd time the World Cup series medalist has dipped under the 22-second threshold. Entering these championships the 22-year-old’s personal best rested at the 21.95 logged just last month at the Nudgee College Preparation Meet.
In her post-Olympic debut, 20-year-old O’Callaghan was also a member of the gold medal-winning women’s open 200m free relay.
She led off the SPW squad in 25.26 followed by Douglas-Byrne’s 25.78, Jaclyn Barclay‘s 25.91 and Kaci Curtis‘ 25.86 to get the job done in a final time of 1:42.81.
O’Callaghan’s effort helped get the team to the wall narrowly ahead of Bond who settled for silver in 1:42.98, including a 25.97 lead-off by 18-year-old Hannah Casey. Griffith University’s ‘A’ team collected bronze in 1:43.85.
St. Peters Western also topped the men’s open 200m free relay podium, once again with Jack on the opening leg.
Jack punched a time of 21.94 to get things started, followed by a speedy split of 21.69 by 21-year-old Taylor. Hugh Dolle produced 22.46 on the 3rd leg followed by anchor Matthew Magnussen who logged 23.43.
The team hit 1:29.52 altogether as the sole squad in the field under the 1:30 threshold.
Behind them was St. Andrews who saw a rapid 21.69 last leg by 26-year-old Chalmers.
O’Callghan was also a member of St. Peters Western’s bronze medal-winning women’s open 200m medley relay. She turned in a 25.13 anchor to help SPW earn third place in a time of 1:55.87.
The top two teams were Bond ‘A’ and Bond ‘B’, respectively. The former grabbed gold in 1:53.39 while the latter was a hair behind in 1:53.43.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Chalmers (Breaststroke), O’Callaghan & Jack Have Speedy Starts To 2024 QLD Championships
