Emerging Queensland Teen Lincoln Wearing Breaks Grant Hackett’s Long Standing 1500m Freestyle Age Record
A star was born at the 2024 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships this week, with the arrival of a 15-year-old Brisbane schoolboy Lincoln Wearing who smashed a 28-year-old record held by two-time Olympic champion Grant Hackett since 1996.
Wearing, from the host Chandler Club at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, clocked a time of 15:28.90 – taking 1.73secs off Hackett’s Queensland 15 years Age record of 15:30.63 – swum at the 1996 Olympic Trials in Sydney when Hackett finished fifth to Kieren Perkins in one of the most memorable 1500m in Australian Championship history.
Hackett would go on to become one of Australia’s greatest distance champions – winning Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004 and silver in 2008 – holding the world record for 10 years
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Lincoln Wearing (right) and twin brother Isaac with Chandler Head Coach Tsuyoshi Kimura.Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Swimming Queensland).
And in a night to remember for the Wearing family, Lincoln’s twin brother Isaac, finished second, winning the silver medal in 16:06.61, with Riley Meares (St Peters Western) 16:11.45 taking the bronze.
For Lincoln (Coached by long standing Head Coach Tsuyoshi Kimura at Chandler) his winning time of 15.28.90 (2:00.73;4:05.65; 8:15.84) saw him drop a remarkable 52.71 seconds from the time he clocked in April this year when he won the 14 years Australian Age Championship.
Lincoln has had a breakthrough meet, winning the 200, 400 and 800m freestyles – the 15 years 800m freestyle in a time of 8:05.58 (4:04.86/4:00.72) – an amazing negative split to set a new QLD and QLD All-Comers Record, breaking Olympian and world champion Sam Short’s record of 8:10.55, set in 2017 (Short became world champion over 400m in 2023) and remarkably just 0.84 outside Olympic gold medallist Mack Horton’s Australian record of 8:04.74 set back n 2012 – four years before he won Olympic gold in Rio in 2016.
Winning the 200m in 1:51.62 and the 400m in 3:54.47 – a time only bettered by two outstanding 15 year-olds – two-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe (2000 and 2004) and Olympic silver medallist (2024) Elijah Winnington – Thorpe the World and Commonwealth champion at 15 in 1998.
With Isaac finishing third in the 400m in 4:01.24 and third in the 800m in 8:28.67.
On the eve of the meet, Swimming Queensland Coach Director Drew McGregor tipped that Wearing was set for some fast times.
“If there is one swimmer to keep an eye on this week, it’s Lincoln Wearing, who has come along way this year under coach Tsuyoshi Kimura,” said McGregor.
“He was one of our standouts in New Zealand at their Short Course Nationals and has continued to show big improvements and big drops – certainly a boy to watch over the next four years and beyond.”
Lincoln Wearing (L) with twin brother Isaac Chandler Head Coach Tsuyoshi Kimura and Swimming QLD coach Brant Best 2024 QLD Champs. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan
Wearing brought home nine medals from New Zealand – seven gold, one silver and one bronze medal from the NZ Short Course Championships.
His 800m freestyle performance was outstanding, with an impressive second place in open company, setting a new Australian 14 years record of 8:04.72 – 2.71secs faster than Olympian Sam Short’s Australian 14 years age record of 8:07.4, set in 2018.
Wearing also added bronze in the open 400m freestyle in 3:53.14 and his haul of seven 14 years gold medals in the 50m freestyle (23.27), 100m freestyle (51.87, 200m freestyle (1:51.72) 400m freestyle (3:56.63) and 800m (8:04.72) as well as the 200m butterfly (2:08.58) and 200IM (2:07.04).
Australian 15 years 1500m freestyle Top 10
15:14.73 Mack Horton
15:28.90 Lincoln Wearing
15:30.63 Grant Hackett
15:31.85 Steve Holland
15:33.70 Sam Short
15:35.31 Thomas Neill
15:36.04 Nic Donald
15:37.50 Wayne Shillington
15:37.50 Kurt Eldridge
15:38.77 Christopher Ashwood
