What you need to know ahead of the Australian women’s Olympic swim trials

With the Olympic trials set to be swum at Brisbane from June 10-15, CODE Sports has cast their eyes over every swimmer to deliver a comprehensive form guide detailing all 28 individual events in the pool.

Here we go through all 14 women’s races as icons like Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown fight emerging talents and rising teenagers for tickets on the plane to Paris.

The selection criteria for most events is simple: finish in the top two and faster than Australia’s own qualifying time (QT) and you are off to the Olympic Games.

Emma McKeon won the gold medal in the one-lap sprint at the Tokyo Olympics but is no guarantee of even getting the chance to defend her title because of the incredible depth of opposition she faces. McKeon won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the last shortcourse world titles but finished third at this year’s national titles behind Shayna Jack and Meg Harris, who have both won medals at the world titles. Cate and Bronte Campbell are also in the mix along with up-and-comer Olivia Wunsch.

PREDICTION: 1. Meg Harris 2. Emma McKeon

This is shaping as one of the most competitive races of the trials with Australia boasting some of the best female sprinters on the planet. McKeon is the reigning Olympic champion but Mollie O’Callaghan won back-to-back world titles in 2022 and is closing in on McKeon’s Australian record so will be the bookies’ favourite. Meg Harris finished runner-up to O’Callaghan at the recent national championships but Shayna Jack was also close so could easily get one of the two individual spots. With the race doubling as a qualifier for the 4x100m relay, the race to finish in the top six will be just as intense with Cate Campbell attempting to qualify for an unprecedented fifth Olympics and her sister Bronte gunning for a fourth.

PREDICTION: 1. Mollie O’Callaghan 2. Emma McKeon 3. Shayna Jack 4. Meg Harris 5. Bronte Campbell 6. Cate Campbell

Another great race that offers the bonus of relay spots as well. O’Callaghan will be the odds-on favourite after breaking the world record last year with her St Peters Western club teammate Ariarne Titmus expected to fill the other individual spot. Lani Pallister and Shayna Jack are both hungry after missing the last Olympics while Jack Brianna Throssell also looks well placed. Kaylee McKeown is the wildcard. She certainly has the speed to get on the relay - which is a red-hot favourite for Olympic gold - and would fully deserve it but already has so many events so may have to bypass the relay because her schedule is so crammed.

PREDICTION: 1. Mollie O’Callaghan 2. Ariarne Titmus 3. Lani Pallister 4. Kaylee McKeown 5. Shayna Jack 6. Brianna Throssell

All eyes will be on The Terminator as Arnie looks to defend the title she famously won in Tokyo when she mowed down American swimming legend Katie Ledecky. The world record holder and one of the fiercest competitors in chlorine, Titmus should have no problems qualifying but can expect to be pushed by Pallister, who is looking to become just the sixth woman to break the four-minute barrier.

PREDICTION: 1. Ariarne Titmus 2. Lani Pallister

This is looming as a banana-skin race for Titmus, who will be the favourite after winning silver in the event at the Tokyo Olympics. Her best event is 400m, but she’s so versatile she can cover everything from 200m to 800m but will face a strong challenge from Pallister, who gets stronger as the distance increases. They have been neck and neck all season so don’t expect anything different this time.

PREDICTION: 1. Ariarne Titmus 2. Lani Pallister

Pallister missed selection for the Tokyo Olympics after falling ill but has emerged as one of Australia’s premier distance swimmers in the years since, winning medals at all the major meets. The world shortcourse champion for 1500m, this is her favourite event but she won’t have it all her own way. Moesha Johnson has already qualified for Paris in open water swimming while Maddy Gough is the Australian record holder.

PREDICTION: 1. Lani Pallister 2. Moesha Johnson

There’s no such thing as a certainty in swimming but if ever there was, Kaylee McKeown in backstroke would be the closest thing to it. Only a crazy mishap would see her not qualify. The race for second is wide open. Mollie O’Callaghan looks well placed but is unlikely to swim the event at Paris. Western Australia teenager Iona Anderson is rapidly improving and will be pushing for the runner-up spot, which will get her on the medley relay, at least as a heat swimmer so McKeown will be fresh for the final.

PREDICTION: 1. Kaylee McKeown 2. Mollie O’Callaghan

With McKeown regarded as a virtual lock, this is shaping as another intriguing battle for second. A multiple world champion Emily Seebohm won bronze in Tokyo and is aiming to make her fifth Olympics after taking a break last year to have her first baby. She should dip under the difficult qualifying time but the trick will be finishing top two especially with Jaclyn Barclay, the world junior champion, starting to make her presence felt in the senior ranks.

PREDICTION: 1. Kaylee McKeown 2.Jaclyn Barclay

This has suddenly become a lot more open after the recent retirement of Chelsea Hodges, who swam the breaststroke leg in the Australian team that won the gold medal in the medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics. Abbey Harkin was part of the Aussie team that won the relay at this year’s title but Ella Ramsay has emerged as a genuine contender while Jenna Strauch, better known as a 200m performer, has improved her front end speed.

PREDICTION: 1. Ella Ramsay, 2. Jenna Strauch

Jenna Strauch and Abbey Harkin both went to Tokyo, but finished out of the medals. Since then, Strauch has proven herself to be among the very best, winning silver medals at the world championships and Commonwealth Games. Harkin, Ramsay and Matilda Smith look to be the main contenders to her push for Paris.

PREDICTION: 1. Jenna Strauch 2.Abbey Harkin

Emma McKeon won the bronze medal in Tokyo as part of her unprecedented seven-medal haul and showed that she’s still the one to beat by winning the national title in Queensland last month. Brianna Throssell wasn’t far away and is lurking as the biggest danger with Alexandria Perkins an emerging talent.

PREDICTION: 1. Emma McKeon 2. Brianna Throssell

Lizzy Dekkers has been setting the pace in this gut-busting event in Australia for years. Was desperately unlucky not to qualify for Tokyo after winning the final at the trials but just outside Swimming Australia’s cut throat qualifying time, which she had gone under in the same season. The gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games and a silver medallist at the 2023 world titles, Dekkers is in great form heading into the trials. Abbey Connor and Brianna Throssell look to be her biggest dangers.

PREDICTION: 1. Lizzy Dekkers 2. Brianna Throssell

Kaylee McKeown broke Stephanie Rice’s longstanding Australian record during the national titles to jump to the top of the world rankings this season. Her main goal is of course Paris where she will lock horns with Canadian teenage star Summer McIntosh and highly-rated American all-rounder Kate Douglass. McKeown should have few problems booking her berth in the Aussie team. Jenna Forrester has proven herself to be a world class performer but didn’t reveal her hand at last month’s nationals because she had an insanely heavy program. Ella Ramsay impressed and looks to be in good touch for what is shaping up as a tense battle.

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PREDICTION: 1. Kaylee McKeown 2. Jenna Forrester

Kaylee McKeown also broke Stephanie Rice’s Australian record in the 400m individual medley last month but won’t be swimming the race at the trials or the Paris Olympics because she already has a full dance card. At her best, Forrester looks the likely winner after collecting bronze at last year’s world championships. Ella Ramsay, who could have a buddy program in Paris depending on how many events she gets selected for, looks to be in with another good showing with Kiah Melverton also in the mix.

PREDICTION: 1. Jenna Forrester 2. Ella Ramsay