Meg Harris Sparks a New Lifetime Best in 200 Free at 2025 Queensland Championships
2025 Queensland Championships
- Saturday, December 13 – Friday, December 19
- Brisbane Aquatic Centre
- Long Course Meters (50m)
- Meet Central: https://qld.swimming.org.au/events/2025-hancock-prospecting-queensland-championships
- Day 1 Recap: https://swimswam.com/shayna-jamie-jack-rule-relays-on-day-one-of-2025-qld-championships/
- Live Results: https://liveresults.swimming.org.au/QLD/SQ2025-26/2025CHAMPS/index.htm
Following yesterday’s Australia vs. The World showcase, the 2025 Queensland Championships opened today at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre. The meet brings a wave of international talent to the pool, with entries featuring Great Britain’s Duncan Scott and Angharad Evans, Korea’s Kim Woomin, Hwang Sunwoo and Lee Juho, New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt, the Netherlands’ Milou van Wijk and Nyls Korstanje, among others.
Meg Harris, the Olympic champion and Rackley swimmer, announced her presence immediately. The 23-year-old delivered a scorching 1:55.97 to win the women’s 200m freestyle, setting a new lifetime best in the process. Her splits were 26.45 / 29.23 (55.68) / 29.90 / 30.39, marking the fastest time of her career to date.
Prior to these championships, Harris’ personal best stood at 1:56.29, achieved at the 2021 Olympic Trials. By dipping under the 1:56 barrier for the first time, she solidified herself as Australia’s 12th-fastest performer in history.
Lani Pallister of St. Peters Western touched the wall in 1:56.87, roughly two seconds shy of her 1:54.77 PB from this year’s World Championships.19-year-old Hannah Allen completed the podium in 1:57.99, a personal best by nearly two seconds.
Harris’ performance places her at No. 3 in the current season’s world rankings for the event.
Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan swam in the morning heats to claim the top seed in 1:57.77, but she did not race in the final.
World rankings – 2025-2026 LCM Women’s 200 Free (Top 5 snapshot)
- Li Bingjie (CHN) 1:55.67
- Liu Yaxin (CHN) 1:56.01
- Li Jiaping (CHN) 1:55.81
- Simone Manuel (USA) 1:56.66
- [Top 26] https://swimswam.com/ranking/2025-2026-lcm-women-200-free/
National record holder Pallister also swam the final of the women’s 800m freestyle, clinching gold in 8:18.31 and defeating the field by more than 10 seconds. Open water Olympic medalist Moesha Johnson was second in 8:29.16, with Brazil’s Maria Fernanda Costa earning bronze in 8:31.82. Pallister now sits at No. 1 in the world rankings, overtaking Li Bingjie of China for the top spot.
2025-2026 LCM Women’s 800 Free – Top 5 (quick snapshot)
- Mao Yihan (CHN) 8:27.34
- Ichika Kajimoto (JPN) 8:29.85
- Gao Weizhong (CHN) 8:29.94
- Airi Ebina (JPN) 8:31.54
- [Top 26] https://swimswam.com/ranking/2025-2026-lcm-women-800-free/
The men’s 200m freestyle featured 20-year-old Edward Sommerville from Brisbane Grammar overpowering 2020 Olympic silver medalist Duncan Scott of Great Britain. Sommerville clocked 1:45.38 to edge Scott (1:46.26) for the gold, with Sam Short posting 1:46.46 for bronze. Sommerville’s time was just shy of the 1:45.34 he swam for gold at the previous month’s Japan Open, and he owns a lifetime best of 1:44.93 from the World Championship Trials, where he ranked Australia’s 4th-best performer overall. In Singapore, he placed 17th in the individual event but earned bronze as part of the men’s 4x200m free relay.
Maximilian Giuliani won the B-final in 1:47.28, while 2020 Olympic champion Tom Dean of Great Britain finished in 1:47.98.
In the men’s 100m backstroke, 30-year-old Lee Juho began to shine for Korea, winning in 53.71 and holding off 17-year-old Henry Allan of Bendigo East, who finished second in 53.72. Enoch Robb earned bronze with 55.07. Lee’s fastest time this season sits at 53.32 (set in March 2022), and he has posted as quick as 53.67 at the Korean National Team Trials, ranking 4th in the world at present.
For rising star Henry Allan, finishing with 53.72 represents a new personal best, shaving 0.01 off his previous 53.73 from the Australian Age Championships and cementing his status as Australia’s 9th-fastest man in the 100m backstroke historically.
Korea added two medals in the men’s 1500m freestyle final, with Kim Junwoo and Olympic medalist Kim Woomin delivering strong performances. Kim Junwoo, at just 18, was the sole swimmer to break the 15-minute barrier, finishing in 14:58.68, a new personal best and a significant improvement on his former best of 15:01.94. He remains Korea’s No. 3 all-time in this event and sits No. 3 in the season’s world rankings. Woomin touched 15:19.04 for silver, with Benjamin Goedemans (15:19.58) taking bronze and Elijah Winnington (15:20.14) finishing fourth.
Additional Notes
- Women’s 200m breaststroke: a relatively quiet race highlighted by 21-year-old Ella Ramsay of Griffith University, who won in 2:24.63, ahead of Matilda Smith (Miami) in 2:25.64. Great Britain’s Angharad Evans earned bronze in 2:26.19.
- Men’s 200m breaststroke: Zac Stubblety-Cook claimed gold with 2:09.37, the only sub-2:12 performance in the final. Bailey Lello was silver in 2:12.32, and Finlay Schuster took bronze with 2:12.41.
- Women’s 100m backstroke final: Lauren Cox (GBR), European Short Course champion, won in 1:00.25, narrowly ahead of Iona Anderson (World Championships medalist) at 1:00.50. Jaclyn Barclay swam 1:00.72 for bronze.
In This Story
- Duncan Scott
- Lani Pallister
- Li Bingjie
- Mollie O’Callaghan
- Sam Short
- Tom Dean
- Zac Stubblety-Cook
About Retta Race
Retta Race, a former Masters swimmer and coach, is known for a busy, productive schedule that now includes earning an MBA while working full-time in IT, running French 75 Boutique, and providing swimming insight for BBC. Read More: https://swimswam.com/bio/retta-race/
