A gold medal for distance specialist Lani Pallister and a bronze for butterflyer Alex Perkins have catapulted Australia to fourth on the medal table at the world short course championships in Budapest.
Pallister led from start to finish to clock 8.01:95 - a championship and Oceania record - in the 800m freestyle at the Duna Arena with Germany’s Isabel Gose second (8.05:42) and USA’s Katie Grimes (8.05:90) third.
After withdrawing from the 100m heats earlier in the day, the 22-year-old was fresh and fast as she defended the 800m title she won in Melbourne 2022 just 24 hours after claiming silver in the 400m free and women’s 4 x 100m free relay.
Sunshine Coast’s Perkins also won silver in that relay and in a breakout meet, snatched bronze in the 50m butterfly with her second PB of this campaign. Her 24.68 was also an Oceania record. American Gretchen Walsh won gold (24.01) and France’s Beryl Gastaldello silver (24.43).
And while Dolphin teammate Josh Yong will miss the men’s 100m breaststroke final, his semi-final time of 56.62 was also an Oceania record.
Milla Jansen has made her first senior individual final at her first attempt - and it was by the tip of her painted pastel yellow fingertips.
After four laps, Jansen, who turned 18 during staging camp in Slovakia, touched in 52.31 to claim the last available finals spot in the women’s 100m freestyle by just 0.03 of a second.
Walsh claimed lane four with 51.64 but for Jansen, a silver medallist in the 4 x 100m free relay on the first night, the result is sneak peek into Australia’s sprint talent pool post retirements of Cate Campbell and Emma McKeon.
Backstroker Iona Anderson finished a creditable fourth (56.08) in the women’s 100m back; Isaac Cooper (49.60) seventh in his 100m back; and the mixed 4 x 50m medley relay team of Isaac Cooper, Josh Yong, Perkins and Meg Harris touched in fourth (1.36:78).
