SINGAPORE -- Fifteen magical minutes. That was all that was required for Australia to turn opening night of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships from nagging frustration into a reiteration it remains a powerhouse in the world of swimming.
The Dolphins enjoyed delightful déjà vu in Singapore, Australia's men's and women's 100m relay teams both jumping for joy on the pool deck within quick succession, sending a warning shot to the United States that it won't be having things so easily at this year's highly anticipated world championships.
The swim of the night belonged to Dolphins veteran Kyle Chalmers, who once again expertly anchored his country and staked his latest claim at being the greatest sprinter to ever emerge from Down Under.
The 100m gold medalist from Rio went from half-a-body-length behind in third place to a comfortable first in the space of 40m, before powering away in the final stages to touch the wall in a blistering split time of 46.53s -- a second quicker than his silver medal swim in Paris last year -- and finish the work of experienced crew Flynn Southam (47.77), Kai Taylor (47.04), and Maximillian Giuliani (47.63) in 3:08.97. The time was a new record at the world championships.
"It's something we've been building for a few years now. A few of us came together a few years ago in Fukuoka and we've been able to swim some good relays since then. It's just about believing in each other and all doing it when it counts in that championship final together, and having each other's back and doing it for each other and lifting for the occasion," said Chalmers, after his latest world championship triumph. "I trust these guys so much, and knew that they were going to do something special. To be able to be the fourth swimmer and stand there and watch those three legs unfold, I was very excited."
Chalmers' statement swim sets up a tantalising 100m freestyle clash later in the meet between he and China's Pan Zhanle, who famously beat the South Australian to gold in that Olympic final 12 months ago. Zhanle produced an otherworldly world record performance that raised eyebrows amongst his competitors, including Chalmers.
In the women's race, five-time Olympic champion Mollie O'Callaghan (52.79) gave Australia an early advantage with a field-best lead-off leg, but the Americans slowly reeled them in over the next 250m, despite strong swims from Meg Harris (51.87) and Milla Jansen (52.89). American anchor Torri Huske briefly put her fingertips in front with 75m to swim, forcing Olivia Wunsch (53.05) to dig deep and find an extra gear in the final 50m to win in a time of 3:30.60.
"I know there was a lot pressure on us this year, but we all put in a great swim," said Australia's Harris after the race.
Australia's victory in the women's relay only highlights the nation's depth at the distance. Neither Jansen (18), who is competing at her first long course world championships, nor Wunsch (19) featured in the team's gold medal swim at the Olympics last year, but a changing of the guard was called for with the retirements of stalwarts Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, and Madi Wilson, and both answered the bell. The win maintains Australia's dominance in the event, having claimed gold at every Olympic Games since 2012.
Earlier in the evening session, middle distance star Sam Short missed gold in the men's 400m freestyle final by just 0.02s to reigning Olympic champion Lukas Martens, while Lani Pallister faded in the women's 400m freestyle race to finish fourth behind Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh, China's Li Bingjie, and American icon Katie Ledecky.
Here's how night one in Singapore unfolded: