Premier

Melbourne To Host Nation’s Best Swimmers For World Trials

23 February 2023

The Andrews Labor Government has secured another premier event for Australian swimming, the 2023 World Trials, which is coming to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) in June.

Minister Tourism, Sport, and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos joined Swimming Australia this morning to announce another win for Victoria’s packed calendar of major events.

Between June 13 and 18, the World Trials will see more than 600 athletes from around the country competing in 34 events across 12 sessions of racing as they vie for a position on the Australian national swimming team – the Dolphins.

Fans will have the chance to see some of their favourite swimmers including Ariarne Titmus, Kyle Chalmers, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O’Callaghan, Cody Simpson and Lani Pallister.

It’s also an opportunity for Victorians to cheer on some of their local heroes like Sam Williamson, winner of one gold, two silver and a bronze medal at last year’s Commonwealth Games.

The selected team will go on to compete at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in July – one of the final international racing opportunities for the Australian Dolphins ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The World Trials follows the highly successful 16th FINA World Swimming Championship (25m) at MSAC in December, which attracted more than 20,000 fans, saw 14 new world records, and put Melbourne on the global stage through international broadcasts.

Support for this event provides another opportunity to showcase MSAC as a premier sporting facility, share Melbourne’s story via a national broadcast, and bolsters the state’s preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The trials are the largest domestic swimming event in Australia with this year’s event joining a blockbuster calendar of sporting events in Melbourne including the FIFA Women’s World Cup, F1 Australian Grand Prix and Bledisloe Cup.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos

“Melbourne is set to host Australia’s best swimmers as they vie for a spot on the Australian Swimming Team in front of thousands of fans at MSAC.”

“We’re bringing more major events to Victoria because we know how important they are to supporting local jobs and boosting businesses.”

Quotes attributable to Swimming Australia CEO Eugénie Buckley

“The trials environment brings out the very best in our athletes and taking that platform to a state-of-the-art facility like MSAC will undoubtedly inspire some exceptional performances.”

“As we saw so clearly during World Short Course, the performance lift experienced by competing in front of a passionate home crowd is tangible and we expect another typically large Melbourne turn out to spur our athletes on once again.”

Reviewed 23 February 2023

Was this page helpful?