‘Too far’: Brutal reality for Cody Simpson emerges
It’s the biggest week of pop star Cody Simpson’s swimming career. It has not begun how he would have liked.
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It’s the biggest week of Cody Simpson’s swimming career and it has not begun how he would have liked.
The musical artist is facing a brutal truth as he heads into the Australian Swimming Olympic Trials in Brisbane with most experts tipping he will miss out on a spot on the plane to Paris for the 2024 Olympics.
Simpson will have a chance to prove his doubters wrong this week as he swims in the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle hoping to earn selection.
Qualifying for the Olympic Games was widely considered his ultimate goal after shocking the world and giving up his pop star career in 2019.
That dream has looked increasingly out of reach this year and his results at the Australian Open championships in April ranked him fourth fastest in the butterfly and ninth fastest in the freestyle.
Competing in the 100m butterfly, Simpson came fourth in a time of 52.32 seconds.
It is widely expected that Simpson will have to swim at least 0.5 seconds quicker than his current personal best to challenge for second position alongside Shaun Champion, Ben Armbruster and Aussie champ Kyle Chalmers.
National champion Matt Temple is expected to win the event.
That leaves the 100m freestyle as the only other chance Simpson has of fulfilling his dream.
He must finish in the top six in order to be selected as a heat swimmer in the team relays.
In a red hot field, Simpson again needs to improve on his personal best if he is going to sneak into the top six.
It’s why some commentators fear his incredible journey won’t get the fairy tale finish.
Former world champion James Magnussen wrote for News Corp newspapers on Sunday that the depth in Australian swimming is too deep for Simpson to overcome.
“Do I think he can make it? I think this Olympic team is probably just a step too far for Cody,” he wrote.
It would be an amazing news story for world swimming if he was to qualify, but I just think the depth we have right now in his two events will be too strong for him.
“Looking at the times, his best chance is the 100m freestyle.
“You’ve got six opportunities to qualify for that relay team so that race on Thursday night will be one of the most watched races of the entire Olympic trials.
“If he can swim a 48.30s final, he probably makes the team.
“If he bombs in the 100m freestyle it’s not the end of the world, he still has the 100m butterfly to come on Saturday, but Matt Temple and Shaun Champion will be tough to beat as young athletes on an upwards trajectory.
“So I would be placing a lot of importance on the 100m freestyle and trying to get that sixth spot in that relay.”
Magnussen also said Simpson’s possible selection would be “one of the biggest success stories we have seen in the sport”.
It comes as Aussie swimming icon Michael Klim also spoke about Simpson’s hopes.
“It’s already an incredible story, for me,” Klim told the SMH.
“He’s really put all eggs in one basket. It’d be a great story and probably something the sport needs at the moment. I’ll be rooting for him for sure.”
The triple-Olympian went on to say: “I made a comeback in 2012 and I struggled to make a final.
“It’s very hard for anyone who’s been away from the sport and then coming back. He looks in great shape.”
Simpson has suggested previously this will be his final crack at making the Olympics, but has not definitively ruled out extending his swimming career beyond 2024.
His partner Emma McKeon, however, has declared the Paris Games will be her last.
“I think swimming will always be a part of my life and has been for my whole life so far,” McKeon told the official Games website, Olympics.com.
“But this will definitely be my last Olympics, so I’m excited for that.
“Success for me in Paris would be to swim faster than I ever have before.”
She is already Australia’s most decorated Olympian, with a record 11 medals for Australia and sits level with Ian Thorpe for the most gold medals with five.
Originally published as ‘Too far’: Brutal reality for Cody Simpson emerges
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