Emily Seebohm skips start of training camp after split

EMILY Seebohm has failed to join the Australian swim team for their training camp following her shock split from boyfriend and fellow backstroker Mitch Larkin.

EMILY Seebohm failed to join the Australian swim team for their training camp in Cairns yesterday following her shock split from long-term partner and fellow backstroker Mitch Larkin.

While Larkin refused to front media awaiting the team’s arrival at the airport and was quickly ushered away, Seebohm - who announced the pair had separated after more than two years of dating with a social media post just days ago - was a no show.

Swimmer Mitch Larkin arrives in Cairns for an Australian swim team training camp. Picture: Brian Cassey

A spokesman for the swim team confirmed to The Courier-Mail the 26-year-old did not travel from Brisbane with her peers and said she would make a decision “in the next couple of days” about whether she would join them for the camp, which marks the start of a month-long trip for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo from August 9 to 13.

“As always, it’s about the welfare of the athlete no matter what the situation,” the spokesman said.

“It depends on how she is feeling.”

Rising swim star Elijah Winnington said he did not believe the split would affect the team’s focus during their time in Cairns.

“They’re both professionals and they’re both world class athletes – they have produced results day in and day out and I really don’t think a relationship status is going to affect any sort of team camaraderie or anything,” Winnington said.

“We’re here to swim, we’re the Australian swim team and we’re first off going to represent our country as best we can and that sort of stuff is at the bottom of our list… we’re here to do a job and, it’s like anything, we’re going to act professional.”

Emily Seebohm will decide in the coming days whether she will join the training camp or not. Picture: Adam Head

Teammate Shayna Jack echoed Winnington’s sentiments, saying the team remained “a big family”.

“There’s nothing that will divide us,” she said.

Fellow swimmer Grant Irvine said the group was currently focused on respecting the privacy of the pair - previously considered Australian swimming’s golden couple.

“Obviously, it’s their business,” he said.

Larkin and Seebohm, who bought a house in Brisbane’s Hendra late last year, are two of seven swimmers set to take part in a Great Barrier Reef expedition to raise awareness for the health of the reef on Saturday.