New 4x100m Freestyle Relay Record and Joshua Yong's Impressive Performance at the 2026 WA Age & Open Short Course Championships

When people look at the results table, I look at the swims that created them. The 2026 WA Age & Open Short Course Championships (25m), held in Perth, is not an event that creates a major shift on the world swimming map, but it is an important piece in the development picture of Australian swimming talent. Over three days of competition, the meet witnessed a new state relay record, a notable personal best, and diverse performances from athletes across different age groups. What matters here is not just the numbers, but the story of progress, consistency, and signals that need to be tracked in the future.

The context of this meet lies within the development cycle of Australian swimming, in the period after the Paris 2026 Olympics and heading towards Los Angeles 2028. This is a state-level event, serving as a boost for athletes to test their form early in the season, especially in short course events. The presence of established names like Iona Anderson, an Olympic medalist, and Joshua Yong, a national team member, shows the relative importance of the meet in attracting top athletes seeking competition and self-challenge.

The biggest highlight of the meet was the new state record in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay with a time of 3:32.66, breaking the previous record by a margin of 1.53 seconds. This is a commendable milestone, showing the smooth coordination and even speed across the relay legs. A relay record is not just the sum of four individual performances, but also the perfect connection between swim phases and exchange techniques. Although there is no detailed split data, breaking the record by such a large margin indicates a team that was well-prepared and had a high competitive spirit.

In individual events, Joshua Yong continued to assert his position in breaststroke. He set a new state record in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 26.61, improving 0.21 seconds from his own previous record of 26.82. Additionally, he had an impressive performance in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 57.58, nearing his personal best. Yong's consistency across all three breaststroke distances (50m, 100m, 200m) demonstrates a solid foundation of fitness and technique, a good sign for the long season ahead. However, it must be noted that these performances are in short course, and the transition to long course (50m) will be the real measure of his progress on the international stage.

Sam Carmignani was another highlight of the meet as he achieved a personal best (PB) in the 100m individual medley with a time of 56.46, improving by more than 1.0 second from his previous best. This is a significant step forward, showing the potential for development of this young athlete. An improvement of over one second in the 100m individual medley is a very positive signal, but it needs to be confirmed in subsequent meets to avoid it being a one-off surge. Tracking Carmignani's form in upcoming competitions will give us a clearer picture of his development trajectory.

On the women's side, Brielle Dredge had a successful meet, winning multiple breaststroke and medley events. She finished first in the 100m breaststroke (1:07.91), 200m individual medley (2:18.78), 200m breaststroke (2:26.37), and 50m breaststroke (31.04). Although she did not break any records, Dredge's versatility and consistency in her performances show an athlete with good technical foundations and enduring competitive ability. Dredge's versatility across multiple events is an advantage, but to progress further, she needs to focus on improving her times in her main events to compete at the national level.

Iona Anderson, the Olympic champion, also competed at the meet and won the 100m individual medley with a time of 1:00.66. However, this is considered a secondary event for her, as she specializes in backstroke. This time does not reflect her peak form, suggesting she may be using this meet as a light training test. An Olympic athlete competing in non-specialty events is a common strategy to maintain competitiveness and test different skills, rather than putting pressure on their main event performance.

From a systemic perspective, this meet has no impact on national team selection, which is decided at official long course trials. However, it plays an important role in creating a competitive environment for state-level athletes. The results from this meet, especially the relay record and Joshua Yong's individual record, will generate some attention within the local swimming community, but will not cause significant impacts on the swimming industry as a whole.

An important point to note is that all performances at this meet were in a short course pool (25m). This means these results cannot be directly compared to long course (50m) performances, where world and Olympic records are set. Converting results between the two pool types is a complex task, and overvaluing short course results can lead to unrealistic expectations. Athletes and coaching staff need to have a clear perspective and focus on developing techniques and tactics suitable for each type of competition.

The 2026 data storm didn't just change how I read matches — it changed how I see people. In the context of this meet, data on personal bests and records is only part of the story. More important are the signals about the development, consistency, and potential of the athletes. Sam Carmignani with his record-breaking personal best performance is a positive signal, but needs monitoring. Joshua Yong with his consistency in breaststroke events is a solid foundation for the future. Brielle Dredge with her versatility in competition shows a potential athlete.

The 2026 World Cup was the first time I heard my own voice in the chorus. Similarly, in the context of Australian swimming, this meet did not create a new voice or a breakthrough trend. It was simply a state-level meet with notable performances at the local level. However, tracking the development of athletes like Carmignani and Dredge in subsequent meets will be key to assessing whether they can rise to a new level.

Football without spectators is a missing piece in humanity's data set. In swimming, the lack of detailed technical data (stroke rate, underwater depth, turn times) at this meet is a major limitation for in-depth analysis. However, even with limited data, we can still recognize important signals about athlete development. It is important to have a comprehensive view, combining performance data with the development context of each individual.

Silence in the stands is not losing data — it's a new type of data. At this meet, the absence of major media pressure allowed athletes to focus on their craft. This may explain the steady performances and records set. When there is not too much attention, athletes can freely showcase their abilities without being affected psychologically.

It took me three years to understand: the storm is not to be feared, but to be ridden. The 2026 WA Age & Open Short Course Championships is a small storm in the context of Australian swimming, but it brings important signals about the development of young talents. Tracking the progress of athletes like Carmignani, Dredge, and the consistency of Yong will be notable points in the upcoming season. And when the crowd asks who the winner is, I will look at the swims that created the victory.