'Really promising' Aussie rookies wowing Bronte Campbell at world championship trials
ADELAIDE: The glimpse into the future Bronte Campbell is witnessing pool-side this week has the Australian swimming stalwart swelling with excitement.
Across the first two days of the Australian trials alone, three young guns put themselves on a senior Dolphins team for the first time, scoring a spot on the plane for the Singapore world championships.
On Tuesday night at SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre, breaststroke young gun Sienna Toohey qualified for her first senior Dolphins team at the age of just 16.
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She is the Albury prodigy who in the past year has broken two junior national records owned by legendary breaststroker Leisel Jones.
Twenty-year-old butterfly rising star Jesse Coleman has also nabbed a ticket to Singapore, as has 22-year-old freestyle talent Charlie Hawke.
Watch the 2025 Australian swimming trials live and free on Nine and 9Now, taking place from June 9-14.
From left: Sienna Toohey, Jesse Coleman and Charlie Hawke at the trials. Getty/Delly Carr, Swimming Australia
"It is so exciting to see new people making the team," Campbell, who's taking a year out of the pool, told Wide World of Sports.
"There is always so much joy. It's normally the biggest goal they've had, making a senior Dolphins team, so to see that joy from first-time members of the long-course team is really refreshing and really lovely.
"I've always loved when there's new faces on the team. They bring an extra energy and an extra excitement, and it's really promising for the future, particularly as some of these new rookies on the team are really young, so they've hopefully got a long future ahead of them in the sport."
As Toohey, Coleman and Hawke compete their hearts out at the Singapore world titles, their races will be beamed by Nine into Australian living rooms.
Nine announced on its coverage of Wednesday night's action that it had attained exclusive broadcast rights to the world championships.
Back row, from left: Nine expert commentators Cate Campbell, Giaan Rooney, Ian Thorpe and Ariarne Titmus. Front row: Dolphins Shayna Jack and Isaac Cooper. Supplied
Toohey has this week qualified for both the women's 100m and 50m breaststroke events, and could yet add the 200m breaststroke to her Singapore schedule.
Coleman qualified in the men's 100m butterfly, while Hawke will race in Singapore as a men's 200m freestyle relay swimmer.
Edward Sommerville, Max Giuliani, Olivia Wunsch, Milla Jansen and Lily Price, all of whom have swum in the senior international arena, are just some of the other young guns Australia boasts.
Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, Emily Seebohm and Brianna Throssell called time on their phenomenal careers after last year's Paris Olympics, but there's an impressive wave of talent following in their slip stream.
Bronte Campbell, a member of the Australian women's 4x100m freestyle relay teams that struck gold at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, came to learn as a younger Dolphin the importance of taking a long-term view.
"I don't love giving advice to people, but I do think that with age and a bit of perspective, it can feel like everything hinges on one meet, that your whole career is reliant on one meet. As you get older you sort of realise that that's not necessarily the case," she said.
"So taking everything as a learning and growth opportunity as opposed to thinking it's the be-all and end-all of your entire career is something that I probably could have done a little bit more early in my career.
"It's pretty overwhelming [getting started on the senior international stage], but I'm sure they [Toohey and the other rookies] will still have a lot of fun and learn a lot [in Singapore]. And that's really what you want to take; a little taste to keep you coming back for more."
From left: Emma McKeon, Bronte Campbell, Brittany Elmslie and Cate Campbell after winning gold in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Getty
Throughout the trials, Bronte Campbell is recording a daily show with her sister Cate, aptly named Campbells' Condensed, for Swimming Australia's social media channels.
"If the results happen on your first team, that's amazing," Bronte added.
"If they happen on your second or your third or fourth team, that's also amazing.
"So it doesn't have to all hinge on one competition, even though it feels like that when it's your first time there," she added with a laugh.
The Singapore world championships will be held between July 28 and August 3.