By Bonnie Hancock
After the women’s 200m freestyle final at the recent Australian Swimming Trials, microphones and cameras were pointed squarely at the first two placegetters.
Winner Mollie O’Callaghan had nearly broken Ariane Titmus’ world record with an extraordinary swim, and runner-up Lani Pallister had proven she is something more than a formidable distance athlete.
But away from all the excitable commentary, an inspirational story had unfolded.
It involved 20-year-old Bond University student Hannah Casey.
As she quietly wedged her things in her backpack on the pool deck, Casey was in a state of stunned disbelief, processing the fact she'd almost certainly swum her way into a coveted Commonwealth Games 4 x 200m relay spot.
For over a decade, the Brisbane-raised sprinter had spent almost every day training for a moment like this one.
To have it play out was surreal.
“It was honestly such a shock to put myself in the position to make the team,” Casey said.
“I was just so over the moon.”
Her coach at Bond, Chris Mooney, describes Casey as a workhorse – a tough taskmaster who never takes a shortcut.
When she turned in third place into the final lap with lactic acid burning and some of the best sprinters on her tail, she drew on the fierce sessions Mooney had prescribed in the months prior.
“The training block leading in was so, so brutal,” Casey said.
“But I honestly loved it as the more a session hurts, the more confidence you get from it.
“You don’t enjoy it at the time as it’s so painful, but once you’re done, you’re that much closer to being race ready.”
Casey hung tough to touch in 1:56:85, placing fourth behind O’Callaghan, Pallister and rising Perth-based star Inez Miller.
Although only the first two placegetters received an individual 200m berth, Casey knew relay spots are almost always given to the next best swimmers.
So it proved.
Casey swam a clinically executed race, but she now concedes anxiety nearly got the better of her.
“Even though I didn’t race until mid-week, I got down to Sydney on the Sunday because I wanted to watch my teammates,” Casey said.
“The night before the 200m freestyle, I was so nervous.
“I was literally just thinking, ‘all I need to do is get through the heats’.
“I wasn’t even sure I’d make the final.”
Australian swimming legend Cate Campbell once famously described selection trials as the most terrifying and intimidating event in sport.
It’s perhaps why few world records are ever broken at the Olympics or Commonwealth Games trials.
To secure a place, Casey knew she didn’t need to set a new record.
She just needed to hold her nerve and place in the top four.
The 200m freestyle is gruelling mentally and physically.
O’Callaghan, the 200m Olympic champion over the distance, told commentators post-race that she was still getting her head around her race strategy for the event.
Casey can relate to O’Callaghan’s dilemma.
“The 200m is a really hard one for me because you have to think about pacing a lot more than in the 50m and 100m,” she said.
“The shorter races are just a sprint - you can just go for it.
“It’s such a good feeling when you get the 200m right, but a lot of the time I struggle to put the race together.
“Because I'm a front-end swimmer, I’m pretty well known for falling behind in the back end of the race.”
Australia’s women have been Commonwealth champions in the last three editions of the 4 x 200m relay, and victorious in seven of the nine times it has been swum since being introduced in 1994.
When Casey lines up on the blocks in Glasgow, she will stand on the shoulders of titans including Susie O’Neill, Petria Thomas, Giaan Rooney, and more recently, Emma McKeon and Titmus.
The magnitude of the moment isn’t lost on her.
“It’s such an honour to race for Australia and continue the country’s legacy alongside such incredible women,” Casey said.
“They’re not just amazing, inspirational athletes - they’re my best friends as well.
“I am learning so much from them.”
Casey also swam the 50m and 100m freestyle at the trials, and though her fifth and seventh placings respectively didn’t earn her selection in the events, a relaxed mindset led to personal bests in both.
“It was such a good feeling to know I had my spot and to just race for fun for the next two races.”
Casey’s Commonwealth Games debut in just over a month may be a prelude to many more opportunities to race on sport’s biggest stages.
She says the lure of a home Olympics in 2032 is strong.
“The thought of an Olympics here is so exciting not only for us swimmers, but for the country as well,” she said.
“All of my family and a lot of my friends still live in Brisbane and would come to watch.
“It would be so amazing to race at home in front of them.”