Rowan Crothers sets S10 200m freestyle world record in Sydney
Australian Paralympic champion Rowan Crothers broke a 24-year-old world record in the men’s S10 200-metre freestyle at the Australian Short Course Championships. His teammate Alex Tuckfield also finished below the previous mark, while three other swimmers established Australian records at the meeting.
Rowan Crothers set a world record in the men’s S10 200-metre freestyle at the Australian Short Course Championships in Sydney, stopping the clock at 1 minute 49.93 seconds. The two-time Paralympic gold medallist surpassed the previous mark of 1:52.83, set by Canada’s Philippe Gagnon in 2002. Crothers was competing in the 200m freestyle multiclass event.
Australian teammate Alex Tuckfield also went under the old record, finishing second in 1:50.79. Crothers said he had not expected the performance and described the swim as encouraging for his future development. He noted that the 200m freestyle is not a Paralympic event for his S1 classification, but said training in the distance would help his 100m freestyle.
Tuckfield praised Crothers and said racing him had contributed to his own improvement. Maddie McTernan set an Australian record in the women’s S14 200m freestyle with a time of 2:07.68. Ed Sommerville and Ben Armbruster also established national records in the men’s 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly.
Sommerville recorded 1:40.16, while Armbruster’s 21.90 made him the first Australian to break 22 seconds in the event, according to the supplied report. Lani Pallister continued her 2026 season with an Australian all-comers record in the women’s 1,500m freestyle, swimming 15:18.68. She had earlier won the 200m freestyle final in 1:51.99.
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