The 2026 Australian Short Course Championships opened on September 29 at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center, featuring performances from Lani Pallister and Edward Sommerville during the morning preliminary sessions.
Lani Pallister Dominates Women’s 200 Freestyle Prelims
Racing in the opening heat of the meet, Lani Pallister of STPET established an early benchmark in the women’s 200-meter freestyle preliminaries. Pallister split 55.11 over the opening 100 meters before cruising through the back half to touch in 1:53.82.
In the second heat, Brittany Castelluzzo (TTG) pushed the pace early with a 56.30 split at the 100-meter turn, holding a narrow two-tenths advantage over Jenna Forrester (STPET) and Giselle Davey (GUSC). Forrester responded on the final lap, overtaking Castelluzzo to win the heat in 1:55.39. Castelluzzo settled for second in the heat with a 1:55.68, while Tara Kinder (MVC) controlled the third heat to qualify with a smooth 1:56.90.
The women’s 200-meter freestyle field heading into the ‘A’ final consists of:
- Lani Pallister (STPET) – 1:53.82
- Jenna Forrester (STPET) – 1:55.39
- Brittany Castelluzzo (TTG) – 1:55.68
- Jaimie de Lutiis (CARL) – 1:56.15
- Giselle Davey (GUSC) – 1:56.84
- Tara Kinder (MVC) – 1:56.90
- Sarah Locke (MNLY) – 1:57.35
- Jade Starr (GUSC) – 1:57.57
- Isabella Boys (NUN) – 1:57.95
- Mikayla Bird (BOND) – 1:59.74
Edward Sommerville Leads Men’s 200 Freestyle Field
Edward Sommerville of BGRAM set the standard in the men’s 200-meter freestyle prelims, powering to an early lead in the first heat and maintaining his advantage to touch in 1:41.45. That swim sits less than a second outside his own all-comers record of 1:40.59. Cameron Bladen (TGSH) followed in that heat with a 1:42.97.
Heat two delivered a tight duel between Marcus Da Silva (CRAN) and Maximillian Giuliani (MIAMI). Da Silva out-touched Giuliani down the stretch, winning the heat in 1:42.88 ahead of Giuliani’s 1:43.08. In the third heat, Matthew Sates used a strong back half to pull away from the field, clocking 1:43.86 to finish nearly two seconds ahead of Harvey Larke (GUSC) at 1:45.48 and Luca Fackerell (HALE) at 1:45.78.
The top qualifiers for the men’s ‘A’ final include:
- Edward Sommerville (BGRAM) – 1:41.45
- Marcus Da Silva (CRAN) – 1:42.88
- Cameron Bladen (TGSH) – 1:42.97
- Maximillian Giuliani (MIAMI) – 1:43.08
- Elijah Wigginton (SOMAQ) – 1:43.60
- Matthew Sates (RSA) – 1:43.86
- Tommy Lane (NUN) – 1:44.94
- Harvey Larke (GUSC) – 1:45.48
- David Schlicht (MLC) – 1:45.54
- Luca Fackerell (HALE) – 1:45.78
Multiclass 400 Freestyle Point Scorers
In the multiclass 400-meter freestyle events, Victoria Belando Nicholson led the women’s standings. Competing in the S9 category, Belando Nicholson posted a 4:58.41 to collect 808 para points. Fellow S9 competitor Emilee Pratt scored 693 points with a 5:14.15, while S10 swimmer Emilee Giraud recorded a 5:01.89 for 551 points.
On the men’s side, S14 athlete Joshua Alford led all competitors with a 4:22.11, earning 792 points. Daniel Rigby (S9) tallied 725 points with a 4:34.15, and Lockie Bellion (S14) rounded out the top multiclass scorers with a 4:39.82, good for 651 points.
Championship Meet Schedule and Format
The short-course competition runs through October 2, 2026, at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center, utilizing a 25-meter pool configuration. Preliminary sessions begin daily at 10:00 AM local time, with finals sessions starting at 6:00 PM local time. The opening night schedule features preliminary heats for the men’s and women’s 200 free, multiclass 400 free, 100 breast, multiclass 200 free, 100 back, multiclass 50 fly, 50 fly, and slower heats of the men’s 800 free. The women’s 1500 freestyle features a direct-to-final entry list of 10 competitors.
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