See all of our 2023 Swammy Awards right here.
2023 OCEANIAN MALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: SAM SHORT, AUSTRALIA
The 2023 Oceanian Male Swimmer of the 12 months Swammy award goes to Sam In need of Australia. Brief, 20, had a giant worldwide breakthrough in 2023 by garnering medals in every of the three distance freestyle pool occasions in Fukuoka. Brief, who trains beneath the tutelage of Damien Jones at Rackley, broke out on the worldwide scene final 12 months with a medal from Worlds (4×200 free relay) and a number of medals on the Commonwealth Video games (together with 1500 free gold) – however made a considerably larger leap in 2023. Brief was additionally the winner of our 2023 award for Breakout Swimmer of the 12 months, and you’ll examine that right here.
Since 2017, the Australian distance freestyle realm has lacked a budding celebrity like they’ve had prior to now (Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, Kieren Perkins, Mack Horton, and many others;), however they clearly discovered a star within the making this 12 months. Given the wealthy historical past of Australian males’s distance freestyle, Brief is chasing within the shadows of legends. He did so this 12 months in type, culminating in a 400 free world title and a legendary Australian file within the 800 free.
An early signal of Brief’s unbelievable 12 months to come back was his 400 freestyle on the 2023 Australian Swimming Championships in April. It was his first occasion of the meet, and he stopped the clock in 3:42.46 to defeat defending World Champion Elijah Winnington by just below 4 seconds. It was a large greatest time for Brief, who entered the competitors with a greatest of three:44.34. He additionally posted a large greatest time of seven:42.96 within the 800 free, a close to greatest time of 1:47.84 within the 200, and a sub-15 effort of 14:58.90 within the 1500.
Heading into the Australian World Championship Trials, some of the anticipated races of night time one was the battle between Brief and the defending World Champ Winnington. The 2 delivered, touching only a tenth aside on the end of the race. Brief took the race out aggressively, turning by way of the 100 in 53.66 earlier than hitting the 200 in 1:50.11. Winnington stayed inside three tenths on the 200, however Brief constructed up a couple of half second lead by the 350. Winnington out-split him by 4 tenths on the ultimate size, with Brief (3:43.38) getting the contact over Winnington (3:43.48). Whereas his time was shy of the three:42.48 from just a few months prior, it showcased that he’s in a position to carry out beneath stress in a decent race (being the one with the world main time).
Brief went on to win two extra races on the Australian Trials, each in private greatest occasions. He took the 800 in 7:40.39 and the 1500 in 14:46.67. His time within the 800 made him the third quickest Aussie ever within the occasion, solely sitting behind legends Hackett and Thorpe. He entered the World Championships as a definitive medal favourite within the 400, with a powerful medal chance within the 800 as effectively.
He finally delivered in Fukuoka, ripping the quickest time on the earth within the heats of the 400 on day one (3:42.44) earlier than taking the world title in a large greatest time of three:40.68. He had an in depth battle with Tunisia’s defending Olympic Champion Ahmed Hafnaoui down the backstretch of the race, however Brief finally clipped him on the end by simply 0.02. The swim from Brief was additionally the quickest time within the occasion because the London 2012 Olympic Video games. The performances by each Brief and Hafnaoui rocketed them up into high 5 performers of all-time, with Brief simply 0.60 shy of Thorpe’s legendary Australian file:
Prime 5 Males’s LCM 400 Freestyle Performers of All-Time:
Paul Beidermann (GER) – 3:40.07 (2009)
Ian Thorpe (AUS) – 3:40.08 (2002)
Solar Yang (CHN) – 3:40.14 (2012)
Sam Brief (AUS) – 3:40.68 (2023)
Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) – 3:40.70 (2023)
Brief and Hafnaoui renewed their new rivalry just a few days later within the 800 free, the place Hafnaoui received the higher of Brief. They each obliterated their earlier greatest occasions, as Hafnaoui took the win in 7:37.00 whereas Brief grabbed silver in 7:37.76. The time was a greatest time by over 2.5 seconds, and broke Grant Hackett’s 18-year-old Aussie file of seven:38.65 within the course of. Hafnaoui and Brief turned the third and fourth quickest performers in historical past with their performances, respectively:
Prime 5 Males’s LCM 800 Freestyle Performers of All-Time:
Zhang Lin (CHN) – 7:32.12 (2009)
Oussama Mellouli (TUN) – 7:35.27 (2009)
Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) – 7:37.00 (2023)
Sam Brief (AUS) – 7:37.76 (2023)
Solar Yang (CHN) – 7:38.57 (2011)
Brief ended his Fukuoka marketing campaign with a 3rd medal within the 1500 free, dropping a time of 14:37.28 for a close to ten second greatest time. The race was dominated by Hafnaoui and American Bobby Finke for the ultimate 500 meters of the race (each clocking 14:31s on the end), however Brief stayed shut by way of the primary 1,000 meters of the race. With this medal, he earned one in every of every shade in Fukuoka – gold within the 400, silver within the 800, and this bronze within the 1500. It additionally means he left Fukuoka with a medal in every of his particular person occasions, after ending ninth within the 800 and 14th within the 1500 on the Budapest World Championships a 12 months prior.
Brief in 2023, in comparison with the opposite Aussie distance freestyle legends:
Prime 5 Australian Males’s 400 LCM Freestyle Performers of All-Time:
Ian Thorpe – 3:40.08 (2002)
Sam Brief – 3:40.68 (2023)
Elijah Winnington – 3:41.22 (2022)
Mack Horton – 3:41.55 (2016)
Grant Hackett – 3:42.51 (2001)
Prime 5 Australian Males’s 800 LCM Freestyle Performers of All-Time:
Sam Brief – 7:37.76 (2023)
Grant Hackett – 7:38.65 (2005)
Ian Thorpe – 7:39.16 (2001)
Jack McLoughlin – 7:42.51 (2021)
Mack Horton – 7:44.02 (2015)
Prime 5 Australian Males’s 1500 LCM Freestyle Performers of All-Time:
Grant Hackett – 14:34.56 (2001)
Sam Brief – 14:37.28 (2023)
Mack Horton – 14:39.54 (2016)
Kieren Perkins – 14:41.66 (1994)
Jack McLoughlin – 14:47.09 (2018)
Honorable Mentions:
Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – Chalmers, the person of consistency within the 100 freestyle, took his first world title within the LCM model of the occasion in Fukuoka. He stopped the clock in 47.15, simply off his greatest time within the occasion. He left the meet with 5 complete medals (3 gold & 2 bronze), together with serving to Staff Australia to a world file within the blended 4×100 freestyle relay. Chalmers additionally anchored the Aussie males to a win within the 4×100 free relay on the primary night time, their first title within the occasion in over a decade.
Cameron McEvoy (AUS) – McEvoy dominated the boys’s 50 freestyle remaining in Fukuoka, hitting the wall in a time of 21.06. His efficiency slots him in because the fourth quickest of all-time, and received him the occasion by 0.51. McEvoy entered the 12 months with a greatest time of 21.44, from 2016, so he undercut that mark by 0.38 in 2023 alone. The 50 free was his solely remaining of the meet, as he didn’t advance out of the heats within the 50 fly (23.40 – 18th place). McEvoy was awarded the 2023 Swammy for Comeback Swimmer of the 12 months, and you’ll learn extra about it right here.
Previous Winners:
2022 Swammy – Zac Stubblety-Prepare dinner, Australia
2021 Swammy – Zac Stubblety-Prepare dinner, Australia
2020 Swammy – Matt Wilson, Australia
2019 Swammy – Matt Wilson, Australia
2018 Swammy – Kyle Chalmers, Australia
2017 Swammy – Mack Horton, Australia
2016 Swammy – Kyle Chalmers, Australia
2015 Swammy – Mitch Larkin, Australia
2014 Swammy – Thomas Fraser-Holmes, Australia
2013 Swammy – Christian Sprenger, Australia
