Sydney’s Pool Of Dreams To Host 2027 World Championship Trials
The cream of Australia’s swimmers will again converge onto the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC) next year for the 2027 World Aquatic Championship Trials.
The stars of this year’s Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs – led by world class freestylers Lani Pallister, Sam Short, Cam McEvoy, Kyle Chalmers, Flynn Southam, Mollie O’Callaghan and Meg Harris – will headline a who’s who for the second straight year.
Cementing itself once again as the official home of Australia’s premier Olympic sport.
The Olympic city from 26 years ago hosted this year’s Trials and will continue to usher in a new golden era of a Dolphins team that unleashed its superpowers in Glasgow and Irvine.
Sydney, often referred to as Australia’s “Pool of Dreams” has been synonymous with so many special meets – headlined by the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Trials Meets and the 1999 Pan Pacs.
Regarded as one of the fastest pools in the world – with over 40 world records set in the SOPAC pool since it opened in 1994. The six-day Trials event will not only bring together Australia’s leading Olympic swimmers but also its star-studded Paralympic swimmers led by Sydney’s own Tim Hodge, Ben Hance, Tom Gallagher, Col Pearce, Lakeisha Patterson and Brenden Hall – along with two of its greatest characters in Grant “Scooter” Patterson and Ahmed Kelly.
The Trials to run from Monday, May 31 to Saturday, June 5 and will be supported by the NSW Government through the NSW Office of Sport.
The 23rd World Aquatics Championships will take place in Budapest, Hungary, from 26 June to 18 July 2027.
For the first time, the elite competition will run concurrently alongside the World Aquatics Masters Championships. The venue and dates for the World Para Championships are yet to be officially announced.
The Dolphins team selected from this year’s event went on to post a dominant performance at the Commonwealth Games, securing 44 percent of Australia’s medal tally.
LANES OF GOLD: Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. Photo Courtesy SOPAC.
The able-bodied Dolphins swim team went on to deliver their most successful Pan Pacific Championships campaign ever, while the Para Pan Pacific Championships team will take to the pool this weekend in California.
Swimming Australia CEO Rob Woodhouse said SOPAC remained one of the most iconic venues in Australian swimming and an ideal stage for the nation’s best athletes to chase World Championship selection.
Woodhouse, himself a two-time Olympian said the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre holds a unique place in the story of Australian swimming.
“The 2026 Trials showed what is possible when world-class athletes, passionate clubs, fans, broadcast and government partners come together around a major national event,” said Woodhouse.
“We are excited to build on that momentum in 2027 as our swimmers race for the opportunity to represent Australia on the world stage.”
NSW Minister for Sport, the Hon Stephen Kamper MP, said bringing the Trials back to Sydney Olympic Park in 2026 was a full-circle moment for Australian swimming, and one his Government was incredibly proud to support.
“Sydney sports fans can look forward to seeing Australia’s best swimmers back in the pool in 2027, reinforcing our position as the nation’s major sporting events capital,” said Mr. Kamper.
The 2027 Australian Swimming Trials will again be broadcast live and free on the Nine Network, showcasing the strength and depth of Australia’s high-performance swimming pathway.
2026 Australian Short Course Championships
The Australian Short Course Championships will also be hosted in Sydney next month from September 29 to October 2.
The meet will serve as the official selection trials for the Australian Dolphins team heading to the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) from December 1–6, 2026, at Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre – the famed Water Cube – venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
