Australia Names 16 Swimmer Roster for 2024 Oceania Swimming Championships

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Swimming Australia has named a team of 16 swimmers to compete at next week’s Oceania Swimming Championships at the Gold Coast Aquatics Centre from April 21-24.

The team will feature mostly age groupers who excelled at the recent Australian Age Group Championships held at the same pool with a smattering of veterans mixed in.

Among the roster is 15-year-old Olympia Pope, whose selection is “just reward for her consistency,” Swimming Australia says. She finished 2nd in the 100 breast at last week’s Australian Age Group Championships in the 15-year-olds group in 1:09.07, behind only fellow phenom Sienna Toohey (who is not on this roster).

Pope then won the 200 breaststroke later in the meet in 2:29.12 ahead of Toohey’s 2:29.52.

Both times for Pope are lifetime bests.

Other young swimmers on the roster include Manly’s Lillie McPherson, who won four gold medals at the Australian Age Championships in the 15 years age bracket. She won the 50 free in 25.73, the 100 in 55.84, the 200 free in 2:00.45, and the 100 fly in 1:00.08.

That 200 free was the biggest lurch forward: her previous best coming into the meet was 2:03.20 from a month earlier at the New South Wales State Open Championships.

The team will be led by Team Head Coach Tracey Menzies-Stegbauer with Gary Barclay as the Team Lead. Nick Veliades (Nunawading, Vic) and Jayden Brian (MLC Aquatic, Vic) have been selected as Team Coaches.

The Oceania Championships have traditionally been held every two years, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been hosted since the 2018 edition in Papua New Guinea. There, among the stars who went on to bigger success were Josh Edwards-Smith from Australia, who won two golds and one silver individually; Carter Swift from New Zealand, who won two golds and one silver individually, and Grace Monahan from Hawaii, who won four gold, one silver, and three bronze individually.

Monahan was 9th in 2024 as a freshman at NC State at the ACC Championships in the 500 free.

Besides Australia, Fiji and New Zealand are expected to send the next-biggest teams to the 2024 meet.

SwimSwam: Australia Names 16 Swimmer Roster for 2024 Oceania Swimming Championships