Meg Harris has won two Olympic gold medals, six world titles and a Commonwealth Games crown for her 100m freestyle prowess.
But this year marks a special moment for the veteran in the pool, who has qualified for an Australian team as an individual 100m swimmer for the first time.
The 24-year-old has been a key member of Australia’s mighty legacy in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, where they have won 18 of the past 20 major finals (across Olympics, long-course world championships, Pan Pacific Championships and Commonwealth Games).
The world record has also belonged to Australia since 2014.
Australia is dominant in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. (Getty Images: Jean Catuffe)
In another reminder of the Dolphins’ strength in the event, Harris was one of five swimmers to go under the qualifying time as she finished second behind Mollie O’Callaghan in the final at the Australian Swimming Trials on Friday night.
She said she was “pretty stoked” to get to compete in the 100m internationally after years stuck behind the the Campbell sisters, Emma McKeon, Shayna Jack, Madi Wilson and O’Callaghan in the pecking order.
And she can now tick a new milestone off her list.
“I’ve never been a part of the [women’s] 4x100m at the Commonwealth Games, so that’s the one thing I wanted to add,” she told Channel Nine.
Harris, the 50m freestyle world champion, was fastest in the first lap before O’Callaghan mowed her down in the back end.
“She manages to still get it every time, she’s got the dog in her,” Harris said of her teammate.
As a reminder of Harris’s awkward position between elite generations of swimmers, a 17-year-old O’Callaghan was a heat swimmer on her international debut when Harris was winning the relay final at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
O’Callaghan is only 22 years old but, as is so often the case in the sport, is already a veteran of the Australian swimming team after exploding into the global consciousness by winning the 100m world championship ahead of world record holder Sarah Sjöström as an 18-year-old in 2022.
Mollie O’Callaghan and Meg Harris have enjoyed plenty of success as teammates. (Getty Images: Matt King)
Now she and Harris are leading the next generation of sprint stars as they try to carry on that almighty legacy left by the likes of Libby Trickett, McKeon and the Campbells.
A two-time world champion and Commonwealth champion in the 100m freestyle, O’Callaghan said she is “still learning” and “trying to wrap [her] head around” the event.
“Pretty stoked to come here and race and have the opportunity to race against Meg and the other girls. They definitely get the best out of me,” she said.
“Over the years we’ve learned we have to uplift each other to get the best out of each other.
“Building that determination to beat each other, but outside the water being friends and encouraging and learning off each other, it’s definitely working.
“It’s hard restarting from the start again especially after Paris [Olympics], so many of the older girls left, so it’s nice to see the youngsters give it a crack and put heir heart on the line and they’ve done an amazing job.”
