Flynn Southam has played his part in Australian swimming’s most successful day at a world championship with a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
The Dolphins set the tone on the opening night in Fukuoka by winning four gold medals from five finals to deliver an incredible statement ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
Australia had never previously claimed four gold medals on the same day.
And Bond’s teenage sensation Southam suggested he will be a force in Paris with a blistering 47.85 seconds leg as Australia broke a 12-year drought to claim the coveted relay gold.
The Bachelor of Psychological Sciences student also performed well in the individual 100m at his first World Championships, advancing through to semi-finals where he narrowly missed out on a lane in the hotly contested final.
The relay team of Southam, Jack Cartwright, Kai Taylor and Chalmers followed in the footsteps of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay who became the first Australian team to break a world record in the event.
Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Meg Harris and Olympic golden girl Emma McKeon’s time of 3:27.96s obliterated the previous world record of 3:29.67s, as they finished almost four seconds clear of the second-placed American team.
The record breaking wasn’t confined to the relays either as Olympic champion Ariana Titmus claimed Gold in the 400m freestyle – the race billed as the highlight of the meet.
In lane three was Canadian Summer McIntosh who was favourite after claiming Titmus’ world record in March. Titmus, the Tokyo Olympic champion was in lane five and between them was US legend Katie Ledecky, the reigning world champion and seven-time Olympic gold medalist who is widely regarded as the greatest female swimmer ever.
The race may be remembered as one of the great swims by Titmus but as a contest it was a fizzer as the Aussie led throughout to shave seventh tenths of a second off the record.
The celebrations for Australia began in the first final of the night as 19-year-old Sam Short stormed home to win his first world title in the men’s 400m freestyle.