From Country Pool to World Stage: The Rise of Sienna Toohey
In a tale that could only be Aussie, 16-year-old Sienna Toohey from Albury, NSW, has gone from a water polo hopeful to Australia’s newest swimming sensation. At the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide, Sienna clocked a personal best of 1:06.55 in the women’s 100m breaststroke, securing her spot at the World Championships in Singapore this July.
Her journey began when her parents insisted she take up swimming to play water polo. Little did they know, this decision would lead her to shatter age-group records and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her idols.
Performance Breakdown: Sienna’s 100m Breaststroke
| Split | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|
| 50m | 31.18 |
| 100m | 1:06.55 |
Sienna’s swim met the qualifying time of 1:06.87.
Top Finishers: Women’s 100m Breaststroke Final
| Position | Swimmer | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sienna Toohey | 1:06.55 |
| 2nd | Ella Ramsay | 1:06.86 |
| 3rd | Sienna Harben | 1:07.02 |
Harben’s 1:07.02 was a career best, making the race a showcase of Australia’s emerging talent.
Other Notable Performances at the Trials
- Alex Perkins nearly broke the national women’s 50m butterfly record with a time of 25.36 seconds, just 0.05 shy of the benchmark.
- Ed Sommerville, despite previous injuries, clinched his first senior long-course national team spot by winning the men’s 200m freestyle in 1:44.93.
- Joshua Edwards-Smith took the men’s 100m backstroke with a time of 54.28 seconds.
- Matt Temple secured victory in the men’s 100m butterfly, clocking in at 51.00 seconds.
Words from the Wise
Five-time Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown, who was 16 when she made her first team, expressed her excitement:
“I’m excited to see young swimmers coming through the ranks. The more experience that they can get leading into LA [the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics], we have a really good chance of doing Australia proud.”
She also offered advice to Sienna:
“Just to enjoy yourself. The more you be serious, the more you’re harsh on yourself, you keep just digging yourself in a bit of a hole and it’s quite hard to get out of.”
Aussie Humour: From Albury to Adelaide
Sienna’s story is a classic Aussie yarn. From being told she couldn’t play water polo without swimming, to now representing Australia on the world stage, it’s a testament to the unexpected paths life can take. She even travelled to Canberra for six weeks of training when the local pool closed for winter.
What’s Next?
With her eyes now set on the World Championships in Singapore from July 27 to August 3, Sienna’s journey is just beginning. Her rapid rise suggests that the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics might just be another stepping stone in her burgeoning career.
Sources:
- Swimming Australia, “Day 2 Finals: Star is born in Ladies Night Out”
- AAP via The Guardian, “Sienna Toohey, 16, surfaces as bright hope for Australian swimming”
- NSW Institute of Sport, “Toohey needed just over a minute to make her dream come true”
- SwimSwam, “Alexandria Perkins Posts 25.36 50 Fly For Official Allcomers Record”
Photo: Ianblair23, cropped, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, venue of the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials.
