SWIMMING: The final laps have been swum and the tapers are in full swing as Australia’s elite swimmers prepare to dive into the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in readiness for the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships and the Race To Rio.

Set to star in the 50, 100m and 200m freestyle, Cameron McEvoy has come a long way since his first Olympic trials in 2012 and is excited for the challenges ahead of him at this meet.

“Four years ago coming into the London trials, I was coming into my very first national open championships. I was a young 17-year-old who was scared and nervous. I have come a long way since then. They are two completely different people,” McEvoy said.

“The only thing you can really ask for individually from each athlete is for them to do their best and if you can get up on the block, know you have done the work, dive in and do everything right and give it 100%. Regardless of where you come, that should be all you are focusing on because that is all you can control.”

Male swimmer of the year Mitch Larkin echoed McEvoy’s sentiments.

“This week is obviously very important. All our focus is on this week and making sure you progress from heats to semis to finals. I am not really looking at times. I am just sort of looking at planning my races well and getting good execution in my swims. If I swim fast times that is an added bonus but the main goal is to qualify and book my ticket to Rio,” Larkin said.

Whilst Larkin and McEvoy have a couple more days to refine their race plans, the opening heats session of the eight-day program will get underway tomorrow morning from 11am with the first major finals set for tomorrow night from 7:45pm.

Three major Olympic program events – the men’s and women’s 400m individual medley and the men’s 400m freestyle will provide the first opportunities for swimmers to seek nomination onto the 2016 Australian Olympic Team.

The Olympic swim team will be announced on April 14.

Here is a look at the major events on Day One.

Men’s 400m individual medley
Defending Champion: Thomas Fraser-Holmes (Miami, QLD)
Olympic Qualifying time: 4:15.47

London Olympian, Commonwealth Games silver medallist and six-time Australian Champion Thomas Fraser-Holmes (Miami, QLD) will be the man in the middle and the man to beat here and he will be looking to swim sub 4:10.14, his Australian record. Fraser-Holmes has had a low-key build up, withdrawing from the Perth Aquatic Super Series, preferring to stay in his home program at Miami with coach Denis Cotterell to train and stay healthy in the countdown to the Trials. But he remains focused on getting the job done – for him dual Olympian will have a nice ring to it. Other contenders include Daniel Tranter (Trinity Grammar, NSW) who returns from his US base with his sights on joining Fraser-Holmes on his second Olympic team, Commonwealth Games representative from Glasgow Travis Mahoney (Nunawading, VIC) and rookie Jared Gilliland (Chandler, QLD).

Women’s 400m individual medley
Defending Champion: Keryn McMaster (Chandler, QLD)
Olympic Qualifying time: 4:38.20

A wide open race for Olympic qualification with triple Australian champion Keryn McMaster (Chandler, QLD), London Olympian and WA State Champion Blair Evans and never-say-die Tessa Wallace (Pelican Waters, QLD) having all swum under the qualifying time of 4:38.20. McMaster, under Olympic team coach Vince Raleigh has been the most consistent. Don’t discount Ellen Fullerton (Chandler, QLD), either in what could see places on the 2016 Olympic team decided over the final 100 metres.

Men’s 400m freestyle
Defending Champion: Mack Horton (Melbourne Vicentre)
Olympic Qualifying time: 3:47.19

Miami’s Grant Hackett, Olympic silver medallist from 2004 and the man who sat in Ian Thorpe’s shadow over 400m in his previous life will open his 2016 Olympic Trials campaign in one of the toughest events in swimming. Realistically he knows this is going to be a tough ask, given the disruptive preparation, which saw him battling illness in January, for an event where you can’t afford to miss a lap. On paper and in a previous life, Hackett has clocked the second fastest time by an Australian in history – his 3:42.51 earned him World Championship silver to Thorpe in 2001 – 15 years ago. He knows if he can repeat that time 15 years later it will be a major milestone in sport and earn him a place on his fourth Olympic Team, although highly unlikely here. Two young guns stand in his way – No 1 gun, from coach Craig Jackson’s Melbourne Vicentre Mack Horton (3:42.84) a time that made him the number one ranked swimmer in the world last year before heading into the 2015 World Championships in Kazan and second gun, London Olympian from Vince Raleigh’s Chandler QLD squad, David McKeon (3:43.71). Sure to be an intriguing battle. Hackett has won this title five times – first in 1997 and the last time in 2008. Others to watch include Jack McLoughlin (Chandler), Jordan Harrison (Miami) and Jacob Hansford (SOPAC).

The finals will be broadcast LIVE on Network Seven, check your local guides for details.

Results and information at: http://www.swimming.org.au