Commonwealth Games 2022: Stewart McSweyn ruled out of 1500m due to illness

Stewart McSweyn’s Commonwealth Games dreams are over before they even began with the 1500m star told by doctors he must not compete.

Cody Simpson and Emma McKeon arrive masked up

Stewart McSweyn’s horror season has continued with the middle-distance star ruled out of the 1500m because of illness.

The Australian record holder has been below his best all season after an adverse reaction to a Covid booster shot back in March.

McSweyn showed he was returning to form two weeks ago at the world championships in Eugene when he made the final.

He returned to home base in London immediately afterwards but fell ill over the last 24 hours with the Australian medical team ruling him out of the 1500m heats which start on Thursday morning.

It comes as Australia’s Commonwealth Games chef de mission Petria Thomas confirmed there have been “significant numbers’’ of Covid-19 cases in the Australian team, but so far no competitors have missed their competition.

Thomas said she wasn’t aware of any circumstances where an Australian Covid-positive athlete had competed and suffered any deleterious performance.

In a mid-Games review of the team’s performance, Thomas said she was pleased the team was leading the medal tally, ahead of Games hosts England.

She said the medical team had been working “really hard” to support the athletes, who had been performing at their best amid a fantastic spirit of competition.

“No athlete (with Covid) has missed their event and we don’t expect them to, under our protocols,’’ she said.

“We are not immune from Covid, there is a lot in the community and it is having a large impact on life and we were expecting it to be the case here.’’

Cody Simpson and Emma McKeon arrive masked up

She added: “There have been significant numbers, it would be high for the team.’’

Covid is rampant throughout Britain, where it is treated akin to a common cold, with no isolation requirements, no mask wearing and no legal restrictions.

Australia’s approach has been to test athletes before arrival to minimise the introduction of Covid, as well as wearing masks, but if an athlete has a low level of the virus or is asymptomatic, then they will be cleared to compete.

Thomas said the team’s policy was to ensure that no athlete was put at risk or was risking others.

“At the end of the day they have to be medically fit to compete,” she said.

Thomas rejected criticism from Kyle Chalmers’ father Brett, who suggested his son had not received appropriate support from the team.

Brett Chalmers told Adelaide radio station Mix 102.3: “They (Swimming Australia) failed hugely, and they’ve allowed the media to dictate the questions and kept going on about it – they’ve failed to look after their athletes.”

But Thomas, an Olympic and world champion swimmer, said: “I know the swim team has very good protocols in place to support team members and I have been in the stands and have observed the close-knit team. People (in the team) provide that specific (wellbeing) role. The health of the person is first and foremost.’’

When asked if Chalmers should compete if he was suffering mental health issues, Thomas said: “Kyle is a grown man, he can make the decision to compete. He did an outstanding job, he got up and smashed it.’’

Originally published as Commonwealth Games 2022: Stewart McSweyn ruled out of 1500m due to illness