Aussie Swimmers Stun at 2025 World Aquatics Championships Opener

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore got off to a thrilling start for Australia, as the country's men's and women's 100m relay teams both claimed gold medals in quick succession on the opening night.

In the men's race, veteran Kyle Chalmers anchored the Aussie team to a blistering victory, overcoming a half-body-length deficit in the final leg to touch the wall in a new world championships record time of 3:08.97. Chalmers' split of 46.53 seconds was a second quicker than his silver medal swim at last year's Olympics, capping off a dominant performance by the experienced crew of Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor, and Maximillian Giuliani.

The women's team also delivered a strong performance, with 5-time Olympic champion Mollie O'Callaghan giving Australia an early lead that they managed to hold onto despite a late surge from the United States. Meg Harris and Milla Jansen contributed solid swims, while 19-year-old Olivia Wunsch found an extra gear in the final 50m to secure the victory in 3:30.60.

The Aussie relay triumphs set up an intriguing showdown between Chalmers and China's Pan Zhanle, who famously beat the South Australian to gold in the 100m freestyle at the Olympics last year. Pan's world record-breaking performance in that event raised eyebrows, and the two sprinters will now go head-to-head later in the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.