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Now the Aussies may not have thumped Team USA for the No.1 medal tally honours in this 16th Short Course World Championships here in Melbourne, but they’ve finished extremely well with 13 gold, 8 silver & 5 bronze in a total of 26.

We’ll start with Kaylee McKeown where she held her line really well from start to finish in the Women’s 200m backstroke Final. Then she immediately helped out by opening the 4 x 100m Medley Relay in backstroke; Although they may not have nailed down USA on time, but great effort by her team-mates – particularly to Meg Harris (Freestyle)!who wrapped up her shift in style with the team silver (2nd).

And how good was Kyle Chalmers when he anchored the 4 x 100 Men’s Medley Relay Final? He too made up some lost time as soon as Kyle dived into the pool before he was on par the front-runners going into the last 25m sprint; And not only he delivered them half of gold but also half of the new world record time alongside USA – in which was unreal to see him smash it towards the end of the wall in front of his mighty home crowd. 

Wow! Just wow! As we finish off this program, well done to our Aussie Dolphins Swim Team who swam so many golden moments that will forever be reflected over the last six days. Love seeing Lani Pallister rack up three individual freestyle long-distance gold (400, 800 & 1500m), as well as the one team relay in the 4 x 200 Women’s Free, with encouragement from the legendary Dawn Fraser. 

Plus, we’ve got Mollie O’Callaghan who is not only usually good at freestyle both by herself & as a team member but can do backstroke too. And we have two queens plus one king taking most of the golden prize in McKeown, McKeon & Chalmers. That’s a wrap for now as we can’t wait for the 20th long-course Worlds edition in Fukuoka, Japan, in mid-July next year – the place where Australia topped the medal charts back in 2001, and hopefully they go one better again over there this time against their arch-rival – Team USA.

It was such a very fiery opening day of the 1st Test between the Aussies v Proteas at The Gabba in Brisbane, having seen so much fight from both sides – mainly with the ball on hand but also sometimes with the bat when given the chance as well. 

Great seeing our frontline quicks get the ball rolling where the Aussies cleared SA’s opening & top-order men early. 

Although they struggled to stop Kyle Verreynne for some time when he smacked a couple of shots downtown that saw him secure his 50; However, spinner Nathan Lyon came in to turn around, having finally got Verreynne out for 64 by Steve Smith at slip before that breakthrough provided a clearer path for Australia to bowl SA all out for 152.

Then the home side were initially stuck in first gear also by SA’s similar fast bowling arsenal where not only they witnessed another horror Dave Warner show, but SA managed to dismiss Usman Khawaja early, as well as the dangerous & SA-born native turned Aussie in Marnus Labuschagne. But then Travis Head came in to save the day No.5 – who scored another brilliant knock so far on 78* not out that puts Australia just seven runs behind SA going into Day 2 at 145-5, while Steve Smith backed him up at the other end before Anrich Nortje blew him away through the stumps on 36.

Now let’s see how long Head can hang in there before another Test 100 is realised, with Scott Boland overseeing things as a night watchman right now on 1. So another 150-200 will do it for Australia since they got a couple more options down the order who can all bat a bit – with Cam Green, keeper Alex Carey & Captain Pat Cummins at 6, 7 & 8 respectively. 

And for SA, they still got a small lead as getting the Aussies all out ASAP would give them the chance to build a decent batting total in the 2nd innings – which could put them in the box seat towards victory & continue their strong winning record on Australian soil at 1-0 in this three-match Test series away from home.

The Dolphins took home two gold & the bronze on Day 5 last night of the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships 25m here in Melbourne, as they currently still sit in 2nd on the medal tally by only two gold & even three silver medals behind Team USA on 11 & 7 respectively. 

So there’s still some possibility that the Aussies will hopefully top their arch-rival going into the sixth and final day of this program, having tied at five bronze medals apiece alone.

We’re going to start with the golden girls in the 4 x 50 Medley relay featuring Mollie O’Callaghan (back), Chelsea Hodges (breaststroke), Emma McKeon (butterfly) & Madi Wilson (free). They held their line well through each shift in 1st place after a decent fired off in the pool, particularly Madi Wilson in the final leg where she really well until the very end that not only helped the Aussies take home gold, but she managed to smash the world record time as well of 1:42.35.

Speaking of another golden girl, let’s talk more about our pool Queen here in Emma McKeon – who came back later on to race in the Women’s 50m Free. Once again, she was just too good in 1st all along from start to finish on Lane 5. Now Emma may have only smashed the new championship record time (23.04), but it’s still a golden swim nonetheless that bagged her another gold in one night for the Aussies.

On the other hand, we couldn’t see our men replicate the golden girls efforts – having finished bronze in the 4 x 50 Medley relay after a great start in the first 25m but couldn’t stay ahead; So does Kyle Chalmers who fell short in 7th in the 50m Free, where he too also swam well on  the first 25m before he was knocked over by Jordan Crooks (Cayman Islands) & several others through to the finish line.

However, the boys have vowed to bounce back better, especially when Isaac Cooper had to go through during Night 5 after he thought he won gold in the 50m back Final, but then that race had to be restarted due to a technical malfunction before he was unfortunate to be outpaced in 2nd by Ryan Murphy (USA).

We may not have got away with much gold medals as we liked on Day 4 last night of the 2022 World Swimming Championships 25m, as the Dolphins only collected just the 1 gold, 2 silver & 3 bronze. 

It was great seeing Emma McKeon & Kyle Chalmers team up together in the Mixed 4 x 50 Free Relay alongside Matt Temple & Meg Harris. They swam really well in their respective shifts (Kyle 1st & Emma 4th in-line) that sent a huge threat to France, but just couldn’t get any closer past them. 

We also saw Kyle doing the exact same thing in the Men’s 4 x 200m Free relay, where he too closed the gap within reach of USA at one point after he took over Tommy Neill on his 2nd shift; It allowed him to build a good foundation for the Aussies to try & get past them going into the 2nd half-distance. Although Flynn Southam held his line well, but we couldn’t see Mack Horton stay ahead in 2nd where USA won gold there + the world record.

Then we all feel sorry for Isaac Alan Cooper in the Men’s 50m backstroke when we thought he won gold, but it turned out to be a false start due to a system error. He did his best to hold on 1st after a great fire off towards the opening turn, but sadly he was outrun by Ryan Murphy (USA) at just -0.9 secs. We all have to move on & get behind him, so he can go one better next time.

And there is one person who is outstanding when it comes to swimming long-distance freestyle races – Lani Pallister. She was absolutely too good in her latest 1500m meet, especially when Lani fired off well through the first 25m into 1st before she pulled off further ahead where no one couldn’t catch her down ever since. What a swim that is, having now collected three freestyle gold medals (400m, 800m & 1500m) + the 4 x 200 Relay in this edition. 

It’s also great to see Lani share the top podium spot with the legendary Dawn Fraser as well. 

Plus, shoutout to Mollie O’Callaghan in 3rd (Women’s 50m back), and So does Jenna  Strauch – who may have fired off slow – but did a great job gradually building her way home up to 4th in the Women’s 200m breaststroke. Australia not out of the race just yet in the medal tally as they’re currently just three gold medals behind Team USA in the hope of regaining the lead going into the second last day of this program later today.

Great to see another three gold medal moments last night from the Aussies on Day 3 of the 16th World Short Course Swimming Championships. Although Team USA just knicked them down to 2nd right now in the medal tally by only one gold medal difference of eight, but there’s still three days left to swipe back at their arch rival by hopefully regain the top spot.

Let’s start off with superstar Emma McKeon – who not only finished off well that not only helped Australia win gold in the Women’s 4 x 100m Free Relay Final on  Day 1 – but she too also kickstarted Day 3 with a gold of her own in the Women’s 100m Free. She too fired off well up to 2nd during the first 50m before McKeon got away with the lead, where she held off such firerce competition towards the end of the wall at 50.77 in front of her home crowd. She did try to repeat her brilliant finishing later in the Women’s 4 x 50m Free Relay Final; Although she couldn’t nail down on time, but still not a bad swim nonetheless with the team silver.

Speaking of superstars, how about Kyle Chalmers who also had an outstanding night of not one but two gold medals accrued for the Aussies. Love how he capitalised on Jordan Crooks’s strong start going into the last 25m dash, having ran 2nd for most of Men’s 100m free Final; That’s where the sweet spot is using his quick arms & kicks to help him supercharge his way home as he went one better at a time of 45.16. 

Then he returned to action again by helping out to anchor the 4 x 50m Men’s Free relay. Once again Kyle repeated the exact same thing as seen earlier in the evening that helped secure another Aussie gold for himself, Isaac Alan Cooper & Flynn Southam & Matt Temple. Kyle is such a good finisher – who poses a huge warning to his rivals going into the final flip turn – where this has changed everything on the run home on his terms.

And shoutout to two more swimmers who also swam well with a bright future in sight such as – Liz Dekkers (bronze in the Women’s 200m Butterfly) & Thomas Neill (silver in the Men’s 400m Free).

Day 2 got even better last night in the 2022 World Short Course Swimming Championships where the Dolphins Swim Team collected three more gold plus one silver & bronze apiece, as Australia stays on top spot with four days left of five gold, two silver & two bronze.

Let’s start off with another brilliant swim from Lani Pallister – this time in the Women’s 800m freestyle Final. She was just too good without any challenge from start to finish that secured her 2nd gold medal, after a blistering start last night where she became a world champion for the first time over in the 400m Free, having fended off rival Erika Fairweather (NZ) in that opening Finals meet.

Then we rope in both Kaylee McKeown (Lane 7) & Mollie O’Callaghan (Lane 4) over in the Women’s 100m backstroke Final where one of them took home gold for the Aussies. Now Mollie may have led for the majority having fired off well in front, but how good was Kaylee when came out of nowhere from 4th in the last 25 metre dash before she touched the wall in 1st ahead of Mollie – which is sensational stuff from someone who is extraordinary in this discipline. Again, some would love to see Mollie take home this gold but competition is the key.

And speaking of talent, how about we finish off Day 2 with the team relay in the Women’s 4 x 200 Free. Madi Wilson fired off well in 2nd in the first 200m. Mollie then capitalised on Canada’s fast start where she began to turn up the ante; that kind of patience helped the Aussies bridge that 2nd half run further in front with Leah Neale, before Lani once again wrapped up another golden night in the pool for the Dolphins with the team gold, as well as smashing another world record of 7:30.47.

Plus, shoutout to Isaac Alan Cooper who came home 3rd in the Men’s 100m back final. Although he couldn’t hold onto 2nd when Lorenzo Mora (Italy) got around him late before the end of the wall, but he swam well nonetheless with room for improvement to go one better towards silver or even gold next time.

We saw two stunning swims last night that captured Australia’s golden moments on Day 1 of the 2022 FINA World Short Course Championships, as the Dolphins are currently in 1st on the medal tally right now with two gold – plus one silver & bronze. 

Let’s start off with Lani Pallister in the Women’s 400m Freestyle Final, having held the whole way through on her own from Lane 5. She was side-by-side with New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather for the first half distance before Lani pulled that gap further in front & Erika couldn’t catch her on the way home. It’s good to see Lani collect her first World Championship gold with praise from the legendary Dawn Fraser in the stands alongside her Mum.

Then we turn our attention to the Women’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Final consisting of Mollie O’Callaghan, Madi Wilson, Meg Harris & Emma McKeon. It was a slow fire off from O’Callaghan but eventually made up some lost time up to 3rd by the time she handed over to Wilson – who did a great job keeping the Aussies not far within Team USA’s radar. 

Although McKeon dived in from 3rd after Harris to wrap it all up for the Dolphins, but she has changed everything going into the last 50-metre dash that blew USA’s Erika Brown away – not only with another Aussie gold but she also helped smash the new world record time of 3:25.43. Such a huge moment we witnessed from the golden girls who made the whole country proud, particularly McKeon as they’re now first time world champions in this short course meet. 

Plus, shoutout to Kaylee McKeown when she overcame her poor start up to P3 in the Women’s 200m IM final, but couldn’t nail down Team USA on time. And same goes to the Men’s relay team in the 4 x 100m Free; Although they couldn’t catch down the Italians in silver, but hats off to Matt Temple (2nd in-line) who pushed himself up into the Top 3, as well as Kyle Chalmers with a good finish to his swim.

One down, five days to go – with Australia looking to hunt down more gold medals on-offer later tonight on night No.2.

Australia are in the box seat front right now as they’re just six wickets away from winning this day/night Test match with one day to spare on 38-4, while West Indies would need a big miracle of 459 runs between now & end of tomorrow to meet that 497 run target.

They got the ball rolling after a few early wickets from Day 2 on 102-4 – including that run out – when Anderson Phillip sent Tagenarine Chanderpaul the other way round before Mitchell Starc directly threw onto the stumps m. Although nightwatchman Anderson Phillip & later Roston Chase frustrated them at times with really good scores from those who usually bat down the tail end of both 43 & 34 respectively, but it’s the Aussies took their time well thanks to their hefty lead & Starc’s stunning displays as of late, before they bowled WI all out for 214.

Then Australia bat again with a 330 run advantage where Usman Khawaja once again fired off well with another good score of 45. Meanwhile, Dave Warner scored poorly again on 21 when he reached out for the ball before it clipped onto leg stump; time will tell if this Test summer will be one his last outings before looking to solely focus on T20 cricket including the Big Bash. After R. Chase nailed both openers, Australia continued to pile more runs as they can before they declared on 199-6 that sets up a huge 497 run target for WI, while Alzarri Joseph claimed three more wickets with the ball off Steve Smith, Cam Green & Alex Carey.

And we round off Day 3 under lights when Australia got away with more early wickets thanks to Scott Boland. His bowling was really fiery in the middle that made the Windies batters hesitate when trying to hit the ball; that approach reflected his wicket-maiden spell of three wickets in one over – including a miracle caught behind review on the first scalp on Jermaine Blackwood where it tagged the edge of the bat before it travelled through straight to Carey’s gloves which is sensational.

Plus, Starc capped off his brilliant day yesterday on the field with another wicket in this 4th innings spell so far following another successful DRS review when T. Chanderpaul was caught behind by Carey on 17. Now Australia got this to finish off the weekend on a high with a 2-0 clean-sweep, having already retained the series last Sunday in Perth.

Day 4

And how good is it to wrap up a 2-0 whitewash from the Aussies, having got the job done just within a whole morning session on Day 4 with a 419 run victory, as the West Indies are all out for a mere 77 here at Adelaide Oval.

Good to see Mitchell Starc pick up two more wickets on Devon Thomas & Jason Holder that kickstarted the fourth day’s play after a string of outstanding displays throughout Day 3 yesterday, such as that direct hit on Tagenarine Chanderpaul followed by a late wicket in this final innings not long before stumps time.

Then Michael Neser roped in late to wrap all things up for the Aussies who came in for the injured skipper Pat Cummins. He too bowled really well with a particular focus on a straight line and length, where Neser married up his finishing before all three batters were caught behind off the edge/knick of the bat onto Alex Carey’s gloves.

And speaking of Carey, not only he was brilliant behind the stumps with his catching but can also bat a bit with runs as well. Plus, he wouldn’t mind keeping from close range when Neser bowled mediums to him a while ago, as Carey collected a whopping six catches being made in this final innings haul alone.

Gotta say that Australia has plenty of talent to unleash in their arsenal, even though they had to replace Cummins & Josh Hazlewood with Neser & Scott Boland in this Test due to injury. While Marnus Labuschagne & Alex Carey have proved themselves in respective spots at 3 & 7, we’ll wait & see if Travis Head can keep his form up after an unreal 1st innings display of 175 in front of his hometown crowd; And all eyes on Dave Warner if he can get back on track, especially when facing the third best side in the Proteas after a string of sub-par spells with the bat lately.

For now, bring on the Proteas with the next three-match Test series starting this Saturday at The Gabba in Brisbane.