2026 WA Short Course Championships: Relay Record, Personal Bests, and the Bigger Picture

When the editor says no, I learn to listen to the data. And the data from the 2026 WA Age & Open Short Course Championships is telling an interesting story about the depth of Australian swimming talent – albeit on a much more modest scale than the international arena. The context of this meet is clear: it is a state-level championship, held over three days in a 25-meter pool. There is no national team selection pressure, no Olympic or World Championship qualifying standards. But this very 'no-pressure' environment creates an ideal setting for athletes to test their fitness and form after a training block. The presence of athletes like Iona Anderson – an Olympic medalist – and Joshua Yong – a national team member – shows that this meet still holds some appeal for established stars, possibly as a mid-cycle training check. The biggest highlight of the meet was the new record in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. The 3:32.66 mark is not just a new milestone for Western Australia but also broke the previous record by a significant 1.53 seconds – a substantial margin at this level. This suggests smooth exchanges and consistent speed maintenance across all four legs. Based on my experience following competitions, a 1.53-second improvement in a relay event usually reflects synchronized improvement across the whole team rather than any single individual. On the individual front, Joshua Yong continued to assert his dominance in men's breaststroke at the state level. He broke his own record in the 50m breaststroke with a 26.61, improving 0.21 seconds from his previous 26.82. This is a positive signal, but it needs to be viewed realistically: this time is still far from world-class standards. Meanwhile, Sam Carmignani provided an intriguing surprise by breaking his personal best in the 100m IM with an improvement of over 1.0 second, clocking 56.46. Such a large improvement is a sign of a young swimmer developing well, but caution is needed as it could be a one-off surge. Brielle Dredge is another notable name, winning across multiple women's breaststroke events, including the 100m breast (1:07.91), 200m IM (2:18.78), 200m breast (2:26.37), and 50m breast (31.04). This versatility suggests good endurance and a well-rounded breaststroke ability. However, these times are still far from competitive at major international meets – the short-course world record for the women's 100m breast is around 1:02.5, meaning Dredge has a very long way to go. A contrarian perspective I want to offer: the absence of detailed technical data – such as stroke rate, underwater kick counts, or turn times – is actually very informative. It suggests that athletes at this level are still in the process of refining these technical elements. In a 25-meter pool, turn technique and underwater dolphin kicking are the biggest differentiating factors, but we have no data to assess this. This reminds us that short-course results cannot be simply translated to long-course performance – where these skills have a different level of importance. The meet is over, but the data is still playing stoppage time. The real question is not who won at the WA meet, but whether these signals will be confirmed at bigger meets in the coming season. Can Sam Carmignani replicate this performance? Can Joshua Yong successfully transition from short course to long course? These are the questions worth tracking.