GALVEZ AND RICKARD LINE UP FOR FOURTH WORLD SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
July 19: Australian Swim Team stalwarts Felicity Galvez and Brenton Rickard will all line up in their fourth FINA World Short Course Championships in Dubai in December. By Ian Hanson
Galvez, 25, started her Short Course career in Moscow in 2002 and has added Indianapolis in 2004 and Manchester in 2008.
She will launch her defence of her 50 and 100m butterfly crowns as well as the 200m butterfly, after a dominating performance at the five-day Australian Championships in Brisbane.
Rickard, 26, contested his first World Short Course Championship in Moscow in ‘02 and has since raced in Indianapolis in ‘04 and Shanghai in ‘06 - winning five individual silver medals in ‘04 and ‘06.
Galvez is among eight survivors from the last World Championships in Manchester in Leigh Nugent's new-look 30-strong Dolphins team which sees evergreen Geoff Huegill back in the SC team for the first time in eight years.
Huegill made his debut at the 1997 World Championships in Gothenburg where he won silver in the 100m butterfly and his last World Short Course team was in Moscow in 2002 where he won the 50 and 100m butterfly gold medals.
The other seven survivors from Manchester in 2008 are:
- Cairns-born Brisbane-based Christopher Wright, who won the 100 and 200m breaststroke double at the Australian Championships
- Olympic relay golden girls Bronte Barratt, who finished fourth in the 400m freestyle in Manchester and Kylie Palmer, who won the 400m a the 2010 Championships
- Melbourne backstroker Rachael Goh, who plied her trade at the University of Auburn in the US
- Beijing Olympian Sam Hamill who will contest the 200m butterfly and 400IM
- Sarah Katsoulis, who won bronze in 200m breaststroke in 2004 in Indianapolis, is backing up after 2008 in Manchester for her third team and;
- Kelly Stubbins, who made her World SC debut in Manchester in 2008.
Meanwhile 10-year veteran and Olympic and World Champion Leisel Jones will contest her first World Short Course Championships and NSW trio Mitchell Dixon, Emma McKeon and Kenneth To, Queensland's Jade Neilsen and Victoria's Kotuku Ngawati will all swim for Australia for the first time after breakthrough swims in Brisbane.
McKeon, is the 16-year-old daughter of two-time Olympian Ron McKeon and Commonwealth Games representative Suzie Woodhouse.
Queensland dominate selection again with 12, followed by NSW (eight), Victoria (seven), WA (2) and ACT (1).
Australian Team for 2010 FINA World Short Course in Dubai (15-19 December):
Men - Matt Abood (NSW), Daniel Arnamnart (NSW), Mitchell Dixon (NSW), Tommaso D'Orsogna (WA), Jayden Hadler (QLD), Geoff Huegill (NSW), James Magnussen (NSW), Patrick Murphy (VIC), Kyle Richardson (QLD), Brenton Rickard (QLD), Christian Sprenger (QLD Kenneth To (NSW), Benjamin Treffers (ACT), Chris Wright (QLD).
Women - Blair Evans (WA), Felicity Galvez (NSW), Rachel Goh (VIC), Katie Goldman (QLD), Marieke Guehrer (VIC), ), Samantha Hamill (QLD), Leisel Jones (VIC), Sarah Katsoulis (VIC), ), Emma McKeon (NSW), Jade Neilsen (QLD), Kotuku Ngawati (VIC), Kylie Palmer (QLD), Leiston Pickett (QLD), Emily Seebohm (QLD), ), Kelly Stubbins (VIC), Tessa Wallace (QLD).