Kyle Chalmers and Sophie Ryan's 50-metre backstroke turn heads in Sydney
kyle chalmers headlines a Sydney trials story built around 15-year-old Sophie Ryan, who raced the 50-metre backstroke at the Australian team trials for July's Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The Port Fairy swimmer finished second in her heat and posted a personal best, even though she said she was not in the water as fast as she wanted.
Sophie Ryan in Sydney
Ryan said, "It was really good," after the event, and added, "A little bit scary because there were so many good swimmers but it was a good experience." She said, "I wasn't in any heats with them (Olympians) but every corner you turn there was one standing right next to you and I warmed up in the same lane as Lani Pallister, Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O'Callaghan," which put her in the same arena as five-time Olympic gold medallists.
The 50-metre backstroke field included McKeown and O'Callaghan, and Ryan's lane work came during a meet that brought her into direct contact with some of Australia's biggest names. For a swimmer who started in 2021 after feeling left out when her primary school friends took up the sport, that was a sharp jump in company and standard.
Warrnambool back-to-back racing
The Sydney trip came two days after Ryan and Eli Kerr raced at Warrnambool Swimming Club's two-day June meet on June 6 and June 7. Ryan had been working alongside coach Jayson Lamb, with Warrnambool's Mark Jansz assisting her gym program and Karston Fosterling guiding rowing-machine sessions that supported her aerobic training.
Fosterling, an Olympic rowing medallist, has a child involved with Warrnambool Swimming Club. Ryan said the "community feeling" among good friends and good coaches played a big role in her continuing to swim, and she has ambitions to make a state team or even a national team eventually.
Eli Kerr at trials
Kerr was also in action at the Australian trials after the Warrnambool meet. The rising star in the multi-class section had already completed a number of races and was set to take on the final in the 400-metre freestyle at night on Thursday, June 11, before the Australian swimming trials finished on June 13.
Ryan's swim in Sydney did not deliver the pace she wanted, but the personal best and the second-place finish in her heat showed she left the trials with another benchmark. For a 15-year-old from Port Fairy moving from a home meet straight into national selection racing, that is the kind of result that keeps the path open toward state-level and national ambitions.
