If you've never heard of Sienna Toohey, now is the time to take note
Toohey is faster at the same age. Yes, times have changed, but there is something special about this youngster.
Australian swimming was buzzing with excitement on night two of the national trials when Toohey won her race in a personal best time of 1:06.55, just clear of Ella Ramsay (1:06.86).
The time would have won a gold medal at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
By the time Toohey was being interviewed poolside, she was almost inconsolable.
'I'm just so excited because I worked so hard,' Toohey said as tears rolled down her cheeks. 'I was so nervous and so happy I have done it.
'It's been very hard living in Canberra for the last six weeks.'
Toohey waved to family in the stands before greeting reporters. She'd spoken to some a year earlier when, as a 15-year-old, she'd narrowly missed making a maiden Olympics team.
'It was definitely something that I really wanted to be a part of,' Toohey said. 'It was definitely [tears of] relief.'
How did she get into swimming? When did the dream really kick in?
'I started swimming because I wanted to play water polo, but my parents told me that I couldn't do water polo if I didn't swim,' Toohey said.
'I started swimming just to do it and then my brother started to get really good at it. I got to the point where I had to choose swimming or water polo. Obviously, I chose swimming. It was the right choice.'
Next month, the shy schoolgirl will travel to Singapore and represent her country at the world championships.
Not a bad story to take back to school.
'They're very curious about swimming but they don't really understand most parts of it. They know that I'm good though,' Toohey said.
'I've told them my goals and they're very supportive. I'm sure I'll go back and I'll have numerous messages from them all.'
Astute swimming judges have been whispering Toohey's name for some time.
Last year, she broke Jones' 15-year-old age record that had stood since 2000. Earlier this year, Toohey lowered Jones' national record among 16-year-old breaststrokers in the two-lap event.
Jones' best time as a 16-year-old was 1:07.31. Toohey is nearly a second quicker at the same age, but is now gunning for Jones' overall Australian record of 1:05.09.
Toohey, who is now the eighth-fastest Australian in the event, was lucky enough to meet her hero during last year's Olympic trials.
'After nationals [this year] she sent me a message the night after I broke her record,' Toohey said.
'It honestly made my week. Getting something personalised from her … and her telling me to keep going and that things can happen when you're young, was definitely inspiring.
'I watched some of her races when I was first chasing down her records.'
When the Brisbane Olympics arrive, Toohey is likely to be in the prime of her career, still at a tender age of 23.
Toohey admits she has thought about the prospect of competing at a home Olympics. She is living proof that the Olympic dream burns bright in the nation's young athletes.
'When the Brisbane Olympics first got announced, that was the Olympic team I was hoping to get on. Now I've made this [world championship] one, we'll have to push the timeline up a bit more,' Toohey said.
'It'd definitely mean a lot being in my home country, plus some family members could come.
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'I just want to reach the top and hopefully get a medal at the Olympics one day.'
Once Toohey had finished her interviews, she was greeted by some of her teenage friends.
'I now know someone who's going to be famous,' one was overheard saying.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Mollie O'Callaghan opens up on personal struggles during Australian Swimming Trials
Mollie O'Callaghan was the darling of Australia during last year's Olympic Games in Paris. She had beaten Australia's swimming queen Ariarne Titmus in her world record event, the 200m freestyle, one of three golds O'Callaghan won during the Games. However, things have not gone as planned since then. O'Callaghan freely admits she has struggled this year both in and out of the pool with injuries and other demons. She is still the fastest woman in Australia over 200m, proving that on night three of the Australian Swimming Trials with a strong win that included her customary kick over the final 50. But her time of 1 minute 54.43 seconds was more than 1.5 seconds slower than her personal best — the world record she held before Titmus took it. While it was her fastest time of the year, she was still disappointed. "I was a bit off today," she said on Wednesday night in Adelaide. "You know you get a bit anxious like everyone does, and I think I was just overthinking it. "I'm trying too hard not to think about the time, it's all about racing at the moment. "I think after the lead-up I've had over the past few months, to come back off a big break and injury and other little bits and bobs and personal stuff, I think I'm pretty proud of myself to show up behind the blocks and do that two-hundred." O'Callaghan said she was working on ways to find enjoyment in swimming after the high of the Paris Olympics, following the inevitable comedown after winning three gold medals. "After the Olympics I'd achieved everything I wanted to, and I needed that mental recovery after that," she said. "This year's about having fun, but there's been a lot of curveballs thrown at me, so it's making it very hard to have fun. "But I think making the team and having the pressure taken off, just to race and go meet new people, go have fun and train alongside my buddies overseas, which is the whole purpose of this." It has led O'Callaghan to ponder how she can balance having fun while being in a highly competitive environment, trying to qualify for the World Aquatics Championships. "That's something I'm still learning," said O'Callaghan, who earlier in the meet revealed she didn't have any friends outside of swimming. "At 21 years old, you're forever learning that. "You know we've been in this sport for a very long time when you get stuck down and you have to be so dedicated to each and every little thing where it's like you don't have a life outside of it. "This part is about discovering who I am outside of the pool. "But a part of me is trying to force myself to get back into the rhythm. But I think incredible people like Lani (Pallister) and Kaylee (McKeown) make it a lot more fun. "You know I put a lot of pressure on myself but externally a lot of people expect a lot out of me, but they don't really see the work that goes behind it or what I've been through." O'Callaghan's introspection and dissatisfaction mirror that of backstroke star Kaylee McKeown, who has won both the 50m and 100m backstroke events at these trials, but has been extremely disappointed with her times. "Mollie is so hard on herself," said Pallister, who finished second in the 200m freestyle final with a personal best time. "When she comes and stands here and talks about, I guess wanting the world record back, and wanting to be a 1:52, there's two people who have ever done that, and that's her and Ariarne. "So, as much as she says that it wasn't a good swim, she's just incredible with what she does and what she can do." Pallister, who won a gold medal in Paris as part of Australia's 4x200m freestyle relay team, said O'Callaghan's struggles are a reflection of the pressures Australian swimmers face. "This is going to sound really brutal, but I think sometimes people forget that these athletes are also people," Pallister said. "There's so much expectation put on Australian swimmers, and I think that shows. "Every four years we're expected to win multiple gold medals, and sometimes, if you don't race at your best, I guess it's almost [the] public and other people that bring you down. "But I think if you have a supportive group around you, it doesn't really matter what the rest of the world says," Pallister said. Cameron McEvoy said he also experienced the same comedown after winning gold in the men's 50m freestyle in Paris. "I definitely went through a pretty tough period," he said. "You go from your world being extremely tiny, where it's just swim, sleep, eat, and that's it. "And as soon as you touch the wall, it gets flipped upside down, and you've got the entire world trying to talk to you, and kind of the world opens up, and you're not swimming as much, and then you've got to come down emotionally." But the 31-year-old has 10 years more life experience than O'Callaghan, is now married and expecting his first baby. "Now digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that kind of put the whole swimming gig into comparison and it humbles the whole job here — makes me realise there's so much more to the world," he said. Unlike O'Callaghan, the physics and mathematics graduate was happy with his winning time in the men's 50m freestyle of 21.3 seconds — the fastest time in the world this year. McEvoy said he is swimming so well and consistently that even an average performance is enough to win at these trials, and there's more to come. "I definitely think I can go faster before the world champs," he said. "How much more, I'm not sure, but longer term — more LA (Olympics) levels to the future, I think yeah, there's a lot more I can improve upon." Teenage breaststroker Sienna Toohey followed up her 100m success by winning the 50m women's breaststroke final, but could not make the qualifying time for the World Championships. "I'm honestly very happy with it, the qualifying time is extremely tough," she said. "Last night was a good swim, got the qualifying time, hopefully they might put me in the 50 over in the worlds, maybe, who knows?" Toohey said she was prepared for the hype that followed her extraordinary swim on Tuesday night. "I knew that it was going to blow up like that. I saw a bit of popping up and then I was like, 'Well I can't get too full of myself,' so I put my phone on do not disturb and I haven't really been on it since then," she said. Sam Short continued his stunning form, taking out the men's 800m freestyle final in 7:40.95, to go with his win in the 400m and second place in the 200m. "It's going to be a battle in Singapore like it always is, we're like in a golden age of distance swimming at the moment," Short said. "I love racing, it's just so much fun, I love getting in there hurting, that's why I do it." In other results, Paralympic gold medallist Benjamin Hance set the fastest time in history in the S14 men's 50m backstroke event. His time of 26.09 seconds was recognised by VIRTUS Sport as a world record, but not an official world record as the event isn't raced at the Paralympics or Para World Championships.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
The Professor with golden touch plots more swim success
Fittingly for a maths and physics nerd nicknamed The Professor, Cam McEvoy uses a bell curve to describe his swimming success. The Olympic 50m freestyle champion's latest data point on his curve was entered at Australia's selection trials for the looming world titles. McEvoy clocked 21.30 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, to win in Adelaide on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old's feat extends his unheralded two-year span of swims in the low to mid-21 second range. "The best way I can put it is, because my training is so hyper-specific, when it comes time to racing, if I were to put everything out on a bell curve, all I have to do is my average to probably get something like that," McEvoy said. "I don't have to go into a race and hope I'm on that 99th percentile of my best ever. "And that's a huge amount of confidence that just allows you to relax before the race and trust the process." McEvoy has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in physics and mathematics. He aspired to be an astronaut and has worked as a fellow at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Queensland's Griffith University. And he relishes the technical intricacies of swimming and his event. "Usually I can finish a rep in training and call it down to the microsecond, within 0.02," McEvoy said. "I know where I'm at each point of the race as well. "You look at the Olympic gymnasts, they do the most crazy stuff and they can do it down to the millimetre - and they can do it day in, day out. "It's a level of skill we're hoping to develop here in the water. "And then what comes with that, there's so many angles you can approach and attack the problem and find 0.03 (reduction) here, 0.08 there. "Then you have just got to hope that on the day, all of it aligns." All has aligned for McEvoy since he almost quit swimming after the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. After an extended hiatus, he returned to the pool and vowed to do things his way. Instead of traditional training, he embarked on funky pursuits including rock climbing and calisthenics. And all his time in the water focused on the minutiae of his event in a revolutionary approach that delivered gold in the French capital at McEvoy's fourth Olympics. "It definitely took a chip off my shoulder that I had for a while," he said of his Olympic triumph. "But the manner in which I did it gives me a lot of pride; thinking about where I was, especially in 2022, but the years before that as well. "To go from there, create something and then execute it - that process is more special than the bit of metal at the end. "Getting that out of the way, to then move on to getting married, having my first born on the way - that's even more special. "Digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that puts the whole swimming gig into comparison; it humbles the whole job here and makes me realise there's so much more to the world." Fittingly for a maths and physics nerd nicknamed The Professor, Cam McEvoy uses a bell curve to describe his swimming success. The Olympic 50m freestyle champion's latest data point on his curve was entered at Australia's selection trials for the looming world titles. McEvoy clocked 21.30 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, to win in Adelaide on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old's feat extends his unheralded two-year span of swims in the low to mid-21 second range. "The best way I can put it is, because my training is so hyper-specific, when it comes time to racing, if I were to put everything out on a bell curve, all I have to do is my average to probably get something like that," McEvoy said. "I don't have to go into a race and hope I'm on that 99th percentile of my best ever. "And that's a huge amount of confidence that just allows you to relax before the race and trust the process." McEvoy has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in physics and mathematics. He aspired to be an astronaut and has worked as a fellow at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Queensland's Griffith University. And he relishes the technical intricacies of swimming and his event. "Usually I can finish a rep in training and call it down to the microsecond, within 0.02," McEvoy said. "I know where I'm at each point of the race as well. "You look at the Olympic gymnasts, they do the most crazy stuff and they can do it down to the millimetre - and they can do it day in, day out. "It's a level of skill we're hoping to develop here in the water. "And then what comes with that, there's so many angles you can approach and attack the problem and find 0.03 (reduction) here, 0.08 there. "Then you have just got to hope that on the day, all of it aligns." All has aligned for McEvoy since he almost quit swimming after the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. After an extended hiatus, he returned to the pool and vowed to do things his way. Instead of traditional training, he embarked on funky pursuits including rock climbing and calisthenics. And all his time in the water focused on the minutiae of his event in a revolutionary approach that delivered gold in the French capital at McEvoy's fourth Olympics. "It definitely took a chip off my shoulder that I had for a while," he said of his Olympic triumph. "But the manner in which I did it gives me a lot of pride; thinking about where I was, especially in 2022, but the years before that as well. "To go from there, create something and then execute it - that process is more special than the bit of metal at the end. "Getting that out of the way, to then move on to getting married, having my first born on the way - that's even more special. "Digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that puts the whole swimming gig into comparison; it humbles the whole job here and makes me realise there's so much more to the world." Fittingly for a maths and physics nerd nicknamed The Professor, Cam McEvoy uses a bell curve to describe his swimming success. The Olympic 50m freestyle champion's latest data point on his curve was entered at Australia's selection trials for the looming world titles. McEvoy clocked 21.30 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, to win in Adelaide on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old's feat extends his unheralded two-year span of swims in the low to mid-21 second range. "The best way I can put it is, because my training is so hyper-specific, when it comes time to racing, if I were to put everything out on a bell curve, all I have to do is my average to probably get something like that," McEvoy said. "I don't have to go into a race and hope I'm on that 99th percentile of my best ever. "And that's a huge amount of confidence that just allows you to relax before the race and trust the process." McEvoy has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in physics and mathematics. He aspired to be an astronaut and has worked as a fellow at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Queensland's Griffith University. And he relishes the technical intricacies of swimming and his event. "Usually I can finish a rep in training and call it down to the microsecond, within 0.02," McEvoy said. "I know where I'm at each point of the race as well. "You look at the Olympic gymnasts, they do the most crazy stuff and they can do it down to the millimetre - and they can do it day in, day out. "It's a level of skill we're hoping to develop here in the water. "And then what comes with that, there's so many angles you can approach and attack the problem and find 0.03 (reduction) here, 0.08 there. "Then you have just got to hope that on the day, all of it aligns." All has aligned for McEvoy since he almost quit swimming after the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. After an extended hiatus, he returned to the pool and vowed to do things his way. Instead of traditional training, he embarked on funky pursuits including rock climbing and calisthenics. And all his time in the water focused on the minutiae of his event in a revolutionary approach that delivered gold in the French capital at McEvoy's fourth Olympics. "It definitely took a chip off my shoulder that I had for a while," he said of his Olympic triumph. "But the manner in which I did it gives me a lot of pride; thinking about where I was, especially in 2022, but the years before that as well. "To go from there, create something and then execute it - that process is more special than the bit of metal at the end. "Getting that out of the way, to then move on to getting married, having my first born on the way - that's even more special. "Digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that puts the whole swimming gig into comparison; it humbles the whole job here and makes me realise there's so much more to the world."
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Unbelievable' Aussie pace pack lord it at Lord's again
At the party they always get to host but never get the chance to play in, English cricket has again been left to gaze on enviously on that old Australian cut-throat firm of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Smith, who have been lording it at Lord's for years. First up, in this third World Test final to be staged in England, it had been that old nuisance Steve Smith, in all his familiar idiosyncratic glory even while suffering with a dose of the flu, marking himself the all-time overseas top scorer in all Lord's Tests with a knock of 66 that took his total to 591 in 10 innings. Er, Bradman only got 551 in eight. And even if that other 'old firm' of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looked as if it could be on its last legs after perhaps one unconvincing struggle too many from the junior partner, the self-styled 'home of cricket' was then left to witness the familiar excellence of Australia's three-pronged mean, green, pace machine doing its stuff. Even the egg 'n bacon-tied MCC brigade in the Long Room, on their very best behaviour this time, couldn't help but applaud the 'big three'. After all, who knows how long Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc can keep up the sort of heroics after eight years working in perfect harmony at the Test coalface? "It's unbelievable. Me and (Cameron) Greeny were watching from the slips and gully and it looked like every ball they were going to make something happen," said an admiring Beau Webster as he got a close-up view of the trio who've never been on a losing final in an ICC event when they've all been on the same side. Their combined 4-34 off a combined 21 overs felt like a rinse-and-repeat show to infect every English fan's nightmares. Mean, tight and destructive, the three now have 959 Test wickets between them - and counting quickly. Could they actually be better than ever? Starc was just as menacing as usual while being even less expensive; Hazlewood, coming off a full IPL season, looked fresh and immensely sharp. Cummins was just Cummins, leading from the front, probing relentlessly. "They've done it for a long time, haven't they?" smiled Smith. "Today was no different. They all bowled really nicely." After Australia had struggled to 212, they knew they had to hit back sharpish. "When you know you've only got a couple of hours to bowl in the night, you can probably give a little bit more knowing you can have a break afterwards," said Smith, praising Starc's 2-10 contribution in particular. "I looked this up today and kind of forget every now and again, Starcy, he's played 97 Tests with this one, which is a hell of an effort for a fast bowler. He's just relentless with his body, a tough character. He bowls through a lot of pain and things like that. "The three have been great, and hopefully they can come again in the morning and make a few early inroads." Webster, the 'Slug from Snug', will take his place back in the catching cordon and just enjoy. "They're a luxury we've had for a lot of years and it's not going to last for ever, but we are still in a good place," mused the Tasmanian. "And the less overs I have to bowl the better!" At the party they always get to host but never get the chance to play in, English cricket has again been left to gaze on enviously on that old Australian cut-throat firm of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Smith, who have been lording it at Lord's for years. First up, in this third World Test final to be staged in England, it had been that old nuisance Steve Smith, in all his familiar idiosyncratic glory even while suffering with a dose of the flu, marking himself the all-time overseas top scorer in all Lord's Tests with a knock of 66 that took his total to 591 in 10 innings. Er, Bradman only got 551 in eight. And even if that other 'old firm' of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looked as if it could be on its last legs after perhaps one unconvincing struggle too many from the junior partner, the self-styled 'home of cricket' was then left to witness the familiar excellence of Australia's three-pronged mean, green, pace machine doing its stuff. Even the egg 'n bacon-tied MCC brigade in the Long Room, on their very best behaviour this time, couldn't help but applaud the 'big three'. After all, who knows how long Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc can keep up the sort of heroics after eight years working in perfect harmony at the Test coalface? "It's unbelievable. Me and (Cameron) Greeny were watching from the slips and gully and it looked like every ball they were going to make something happen," said an admiring Beau Webster as he got a close-up view of the trio who've never been on a losing final in an ICC event when they've all been on the same side. Their combined 4-34 off a combined 21 overs felt like a rinse-and-repeat show to infect every English fan's nightmares. Mean, tight and destructive, the three now have 959 Test wickets between them - and counting quickly. Could they actually be better than ever? Starc was just as menacing as usual while being even less expensive; Hazlewood, coming off a full IPL season, looked fresh and immensely sharp. Cummins was just Cummins, leading from the front, probing relentlessly. "They've done it for a long time, haven't they?" smiled Smith. "Today was no different. They all bowled really nicely." After Australia had struggled to 212, they knew they had to hit back sharpish. "When you know you've only got a couple of hours to bowl in the night, you can probably give a little bit more knowing you can have a break afterwards," said Smith, praising Starc's 2-10 contribution in particular. "I looked this up today and kind of forget every now and again, Starcy, he's played 97 Tests with this one, which is a hell of an effort for a fast bowler. He's just relentless with his body, a tough character. He bowls through a lot of pain and things like that. "The three have been great, and hopefully they can come again in the morning and make a few early inroads." Webster, the 'Slug from Snug', will take his place back in the catching cordon and just enjoy. "They're a luxury we've had for a lot of years and it's not going to last for ever, but we are still in a good place," mused the Tasmanian. "And the less overs I have to bowl the better!" At the party they always get to host but never get the chance to play in, English cricket has again been left to gaze on enviously on that old Australian cut-throat firm of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Smith, who have been lording it at Lord's for years. First up, in this third World Test final to be staged in England, it had been that old nuisance Steve Smith, in all his familiar idiosyncratic glory even while suffering with a dose of the flu, marking himself the all-time overseas top scorer in all Lord's Tests with a knock of 66 that took his total to 591 in 10 innings. Er, Bradman only got 551 in eight. And even if that other 'old firm' of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looked as if it could be on its last legs after perhaps one unconvincing struggle too many from the junior partner, the self-styled 'home of cricket' was then left to witness the familiar excellence of Australia's three-pronged mean, green, pace machine doing its stuff. Even the egg 'n bacon-tied MCC brigade in the Long Room, on their very best behaviour this time, couldn't help but applaud the 'big three'. After all, who knows how long Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc can keep up the sort of heroics after eight years working in perfect harmony at the Test coalface? "It's unbelievable. Me and (Cameron) Greeny were watching from the slips and gully and it looked like every ball they were going to make something happen," said an admiring Beau Webster as he got a close-up view of the trio who've never been on a losing final in an ICC event when they've all been on the same side. Their combined 4-34 off a combined 21 overs felt like a rinse-and-repeat show to infect every English fan's nightmares. Mean, tight and destructive, the three now have 959 Test wickets between them - and counting quickly. Could they actually be better than ever? Starc was just as menacing as usual while being even less expensive; Hazlewood, coming off a full IPL season, looked fresh and immensely sharp. Cummins was just Cummins, leading from the front, probing relentlessly. "They've done it for a long time, haven't they?" smiled Smith. "Today was no different. They all bowled really nicely." After Australia had struggled to 212, they knew they had to hit back sharpish. "When you know you've only got a couple of hours to bowl in the night, you can probably give a little bit more knowing you can have a break afterwards," said Smith, praising Starc's 2-10 contribution in particular. "I looked this up today and kind of forget every now and again, Starcy, he's played 97 Tests with this one, which is a hell of an effort for a fast bowler. He's just relentless with his body, a tough character. He bowls through a lot of pain and things like that. "The three have been great, and hopefully they can come again in the morning and make a few early inroads." Webster, the 'Slug from Snug', will take his place back in the catching cordon and just enjoy. "They're a luxury we've had for a lot of years and it's not going to last for ever, but we are still in a good place," mused the Tasmanian. "And the less overs I have to bowl the better!"
