Simpson’s final chance for Olympic glory will happen when he takes to the pool for the 100m butterfly this Saturday, June 15, at the Australian Swimming Trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.

However in achieving his dream, the Gold Coast-born swimmer will need to deliver the fastest swim of his life to make it on the plane to France.

It comes after the 27-year-old fell short of securing a finals spot in the 100m freestyle heats on Thursday.

Simpson finished fourth in Heat 3 of the 100m freestyle with a 49.04s, just short of a 48s time that could have secured a spot in the final for that event.

Needing a top-eight finish to qualify for the final, Simpson missed out by two spots, with his time 10th overall and 0.14s behind the final qualifier.

Heading into the 100m butterfly heats, Simpson is ranked equal fifth and will need to beat a time of 51.17s to qualify.

It means that he will need to swim at a speed of at least 1.954 metres per second to qualify for the Olympics.

The qualifying time is three-tenths faster than the long course world-record time of 51.47s set by Michael Phelps, the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 medals, at the 2003 World Aquatic Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Phelps swam at a speed of 1.943 metres per second to achieve that world record.

Simpson will need to beat his personal best time of 51.67s, which sealed him a gold medal at the Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championship in 2023, by half a second to secure a berth in Paris.

In achieving his PB, Simpson swam at a speed of 1.934 metres per second.

His last outing in the 100m butterfly, saw him produce a time of 52.32s to secure a fourth-place finish at the Australian National Championships in April.

In that event, Simpson swam at a speed of 1.911 metres per second.

The world record for the 100m butterfly over a long course is held by American swimmer Caeleb Dressel, who set the benchmark of 49.45s at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which was held in 2021.

Dressel swam at approximately 2.02 metres per second to achieve the 100m butterfly world record.

The current Australian and Commonwealth long-course record for the 100m butterfly is a 50.25s set by Matthew Temple at the Japan Open in Tokyo in December, 2023.

Temple swam at a speed of 1.987 metres per second to achieve the Australian and Commonwealth record.

Who is Cody Simpson?

After bursting onto the pop charts as a tousle-haired teenager from the Gold Coast, Simpson moved to Los Angeles for his music career in 2010, aged just 13. He went on to record best-selling albums, collaborate with Justin Bieber and Ziggy Marley, and star in the Broadway production of Anastacia in 2018-19.

A regular on Hollywood A-lists, he dated supermodels and superstars, such as music royalty Miley Cyrus, amassed more than 10 million social media followers, and then, in 2020, he walked away. Or more correctly, swam away, swapping his rock star sunglasses for a pair of swimming goggles, returning to his Gold Coast home, and announcing his tilt for a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Who is Cody Simpson’s girlfriend?

Simpson has been dating 11-time Olympic champion, Emma McKeon for nearly two years and have reportedly bought a home together on the Gold Coast.

What are Cody Simpson’s plans after swimming?

Post Olympics, Simpson says he plans to return to the music industry.

“I always said I’d give swimming four years, and that’s the end of next year,” he said late last year.

“I am lucky I have the luxury of something I’m equally excited to do afterwards, not everyone has that. Swimming is something you can only do for a certain amount of time, some guys do swim into their mid 30s but most retire around 30, so there’s that. And all this time I have kept writing – not a crazy amount, but I am collecting songs and bits and pieces that I am excited to put together when swimming ends, whether that is next year or the one after.”

It is a mighty task for Simpson to qualify for the Olympics and join McKeon with only two positions able to be secured for Paris in the 100m butterfly.

After mic-dropping his musical career and picking up a pair of goggles and Speedos in 2020, the iYiYi singer has gone onto swim for the Australian swimming team, including at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

He impressed at that event, claiming a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle and silver in the 4x100m medley.

In 2023, he claimed three medals at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup held across Germany, Greece, and Hungary, sealing a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay, as well as two silver medals in the 100m Butterfly and 4x100m medley relay respectively.