The 21-year-old won the national 200m breaststroke title and in the process dipped under the Qualification Time Standards (QTS) of 2:11.66 for the global spectacle to be held in Kazan later this year.
Sweeney’s time of 2:11.64 was two hundredths of a second inside the required mark, which competitors have to meet in order to make the team for Russia.
“It was just complete euphoria when I looked up at the clock,” Sweeney said. “I’ve never been so excited to see a time in my life.
“I feel this is a real gateway for me now and it’s the biggest moment of my career.”
Sweeney joined four other swimmers to have done QTS this week. Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh posted times in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke, while South Africa’s golden boy Chad le Clos (52.03) added a fourth time on the final night when he raced to 100m butterfly gold — dipping narrowly under the qualifying time of 52.36.
