Bond University Swimming Club's (BUSC) Cameron McEvoy and Alexander Graham are off to the World Championships in Budapest in July after a stellar performance at the 2017 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Championships.
McEvoy and Graham were part of a 13-strong team of athletes from BUSC, who put on a stand-out performance at the national event, with the club placing eighth overall - its highest ever result.
The five-day championship, which ran from 9 to 13 April, saw swimmers from around the country compete at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre for the opportunity to represent Australia later this year.
McEvoy has secured a position in the 50 metre freestyle, 100 metre freestyle, 4x100 metre freestyle, 4x100 metre medley and 4x200 metre freestyle, while Graham will compete in the 4x100 metre and 4x200 metre freestyle events as part of a 35-member Australian squad to take on the 17th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Top BUSC performances at the national competition included:
- Dual Olympian McEvoy took out the 50 metre, 100 metre and 200 metre men's freestyle finals, finishing the 100 metre freestyle in a world record time of just 47.91 seconds
- Graham qualified for the world championships, after taking home the bronze medal in the men's 200 metre freestyle, with a time of 1:47.39
- Jenna Strauch won her first open national title, the 50 metre breaststroke with a time of 32.11 seconds
- Brayden McCarthy took home a gold medal in the men's 50 metre butterfly, with a time of 23.70 seconds and a bronze in the 100 metre butterfly final
- Amy Forrester made it to finals in the 100 metre backstroke swimming at a time of 1:01.34, she also made it to finals for the 200 metre backstroke
- Laura Taylor placed third in the 200 metre butterfly with a time of 2:09.09
Graham, Strauch, Forrester and Taylor are all studying at Bond University on the prestigious Georgina Hope Rinehart Swimming Excellence Scholarship.
BUSC Head Coach, Richard Scarce, said the entire team had put in a strong performance.
"To take home so many personal bests and have two swimmers qualify for the World Championships in July is a major accomplishment for our squad."
"Each and every athlete from BUSC put in the hard yards to prepare for the championships and they should all be proud of their individual and team results.
"I'm really happy that the team had the highest ever finish for Bond, now it's all about preparation for the World Championships."
Assistant Coach Kyle Samuelson said having McEvoy and Graham now training for the world championships would benefit the entire BUSC squad.
"The world titles are a few months away, so the hard work has only just begun for McEvoy and Graham," he said.
"Having the opportunity to train alongside athletes preparing to go up against the best in the world is a real coup for the whole team and, in particular, our younger up-and-coming swimmers.
"It is going to keep the whole team motivated to keep on track and continue achieving personal bests."
The 17th FINA World Championships is one of the biggest sporting events in the world in terms of participation and global exposure, involving nearly 3,000 athletes across six different disciplines over 17 days.