The 2024 Paris Games will be Greenbank swimming star Mollie O’Callaghan’s second Olympics, and possibly her third gold medal.
In her first crack, in Tokyo in 2021, O’Callaghan helped Australia secure two golds in the 100m and 200m women freestyle relay.
Ever since, she’s dominated every pool she has been in.
At the 2023 World Championships in Japan, the now 20-year-old won six medals – five gold – and helped break four world records.
Australia won 13 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals in total, and set five world records.
O’Callaghan won gold in the 100m freestyle with a victory over Australia’s most successful Olympian, Emma McKeon, who she said was her idol.
Only two nights earlier she chased down leading competitor Ariarne Titmus in the final stages of the 200m freestyle, after turning in seventh place at the 50m mark.
This fight led to her breaking the 200m world record.
Ms O’Callaghan also helped break records in the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 4x200m freestyle relay.
She broke a record in the mixed 4x100m relay, where she swam with Shayna Jack, Kyle Chalmers and Jack Cartwright.
The year prior, O’Callaghan was named Swimming World’s Female Performer of the Year.
That same year, 2022, she became the fifth Australian to win the world and Commonwealth 100m freestyle double – joining swimming legends Jodie Henry, Libby Trickett and sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell.
At her most recent competition, in April at the national swimming championships on the Gold Coast, Ms O’Callaghan won gold in the 100m and 200m freestyle, and the 100m backstroke.
At the Olympic trials in Brisbane last month, O’Callaghan broke her own world record in the 200m freestyle by .37 seconds, despite only finishing second.
She also placed second in the 100m backstroke and won the 100m freestyle after pulling off one of her “renowned final 25m surge” to move from fifth at the turn.
The Australian Olympics Committee has predicted O’Callaghan’s world number one ranking time of 52.49sec would boost the country’s chances at claiming a fourth straight 4x100m freestyle relay title in Paris.
She will be joined by fellow Logan swimmer Shayna Jack.
