The one thing that could stand in the way of another McEvoy world title

McEvoy’s absence would be a blow to Australia given he was the country’s only male individual swimming gold medallist in Paris.

“We’ve got our son being born soon, so I can get through this season and then basically spend the next year being a father, adjusting to the new routine, and ramp up going into LA,” McEvoy said.

“Of course I still want to go in competitions and win, but effectively winning in Paris allowed me to close that chapter in the short term. It basically gave me the green light to let loose in pivoting to chasing my absolute maximum potential.”

Australia’s best gold medal hope in Singapore will be Kaylee McKeown, who won three events (50m, 100m and 200m backstroke) at the 2023 world championships.

However, McKeown has dropped the 200m individual medley from her trials program, in a sign she won’t pursue the event at international level in the future.

Mollie O’Callaghan (100m and 200m freestyle) also looms as a decent gold medal chance after success in Japan two years ago.

McEvoy believes he can post a fast time in his 50m freestyle event at trials on Wednesday.

“The ingredients are there. I’ve just got to put it together on the day,” McEvoy said.

Australian head coach Rohan Taylor has acknowledged the Dolphins face a difficult task to keep up with the Americans at the world championships.

“We’ve got our work cut out,” Taylor said. “They’re always going to throw up new athletes as well. The reality is the Americans are a powerhouse. We’re doing everything we can to stay with them and push them along. This is year one on the way to LA. We’re hoping to be at our best in LA.”

The Australian swimming trials in Adelaide will be shown live and exclusively on Channel 9 and 9Now from June 9-14.