Mack Horton opens up on his recent tough moments in the pool including the ‘dumbest’ thing he’s ever done
Despite being ranked third in the world, a disheartened Mack Horton missed out on swimming the 400m at the Tokyo Olympics. But he didn’t miss the race.
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Mack Horton isn’t finished with swimming yet, but even he knows he can’t go on forever.
A legend of the sport after his unforgettable win in the 400m freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Horton plans to keep going until at least the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Anyone who remembers the way Horton mowed down Sun Yang in Rio, then took a powerful stand against the scourge of doping when he refused to join his now banned Chinese rival on the medal podium at the 2019 world championships, knows that he is a man of his word, so don’t count him out.
But in a sport where even the best competitors age quickly because there’s always another wave of talented youngsters nipping at their heels, nothing can be taken for granted.
Now 26 and getting married to his high school sweetheart Ella Walter next year, Horton hasn’t won a medal in an individual event at an international competition for three years but with an ounce of luck he should end that drought in Birmingham.
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But how many more medals he will win after that is unknown.
That’s reason enough that every Australian who loves swimming should lap up every stroke he swims at his third Commonwealth Games because even Horton himself isn’t sure how many more opportunities he’ll get.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’m enjoying it a lot at the moment.
“I know I can make a big improvement at the major meets but the trick is getting there because it‘s a hard team to make.”
That’s an understatement because the depth in Australia’s middle distance ranks is astonishing.
Horton won the gold medal in the 400m at the last Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018 then won a silver at the 2019 world championships but hasn’t been on the podium since.
Despite being ranked third in the world, Horton missed out on swimming the 400m at the Tokyo Olympics after finishing third at the Australian trials behind Elijah Winnington and Jack McLoughlin then watched as Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui won the Olympic gold in the slowest winning time in a quarter of a century.
Disheartened, Horton briefly thought about hanging up his goggles but decided to go on, leaving his home in Victoria and relocating to Queensland.
“It probably could have gone one or two ways,” he said.
“You could just pack it in or just get back down to work and that‘s what I did because it made me very hungry.
“It was hard to sit there and watch. I watched all of it. I wanted to torture myself.”
With McLoughlin taking a sabbatical, Horton safely qualified for this year’s world championships in Budapest but failed to make the 400m final after conserving his energy in the heats and misjudging his time to miss out by 0.10 seconds.
“It was probably the dumbest thing I‘ve ever done,” Horton said.
“I was very frustrated after. I felt good. Normally third in the last heat would do it but not that week.”
Again, he was forced to watch the final from the stands as Winnington posted the fastest time anyone in the world has swum for a decade, going even quicker than Horton’s lifetime best from Rio.
Seeded second behind his younger teammate in Birmingham, Horton should have no problems making the final this time but says he won’t be taking any chances.
“Let’s not jinx it,” he said. “But there‘s probably no point practising that anymore because I don’t want to make that mistake again.”
With rising teenage star Sam Short seeded third, Australia could sweep the medals in the 400m, while the three will team up with Zac Incerti in the 4x200m relay which Horton has won golds in at the last two Commonwealth Games so has the honour of swimming the closing leg.
“It‘s good fun. Just being with the boys. I quite enjoy anchoring that,” he said.
“You don‘t get an adrenaline hit like that anywhere else. You’re standing there for six minutes or so getting absolutely pumped, it’s unreal.”
MIKED UP: CATE LISTS HER ‘MUST DO’ POOLSIDE INTERVIEWS
The aftermath of a race is a blur. A haze of emotions, a whirl of colour, a cacophony of noise.
Each race is marked with its unique scent, its own, distinct flavour. The sweet, intoxicating taste of victory. The bitter, biting tang of disappointment.
As the results on the scoreboard become official, and the whistle blows, heralding the athletes to exit the pool, lungs still screaming, legs still shaking, you make your way over the media mixed zone, either desolate and dejected or ecstatic and beaming.
Before you’ve had a chance to catch your breath, gather your thoughts or regain composure, there is a reporter waiting for you, a microphone is shoved in your face, and a camera hungrily broadcasting your every move, your every word to millions of people.
I have lived through every variation of this scenario since I was 16. It is strange, in the aftermath of life-defining moments, often the first person you talk to about the experience is a reporter.
Some of the best and worst moments of my life have been shared with a kind-eyed journalist smiling at me while extending a microphone, and therefore by extension, with the millions of people watching from lounge rooms all around Australia.
The best reporters make the good moments better and the bad moments bearable. The bad reporters can sour even the sweet taste of victory and transform feelings of disappointment into self-recrimination and shame. Again, I have experienced both in my time.
As a sports fan, the post-race, post-match, post-game interview is my favourite thing to watch. I respect and admire the athletes who allow us to share in moments of unbridled joy and are brave enough to show us the heartbreaking pain of disappointment.
Emotions are ultimately what draw us to sport, and the post-race interview is when we get to share those emotions with the athlete.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the person who will be extending the microphone, who will be asking the athlete to give Australia one more thing — because their performance in the pool isn’t quite enough, we want to share in their victory or defeat, we want to know ‘how do you feel?’ — will be me.
Being on the other side of the microphone excites and terrifies me. I know what’s at stake. I know how fragile these moments are, how one question can make or break an athlete.
I know that in moments of heartbreak, there is no ‘right’ thing to say, but there definitely is a ‘wrong’ thing to say. And I know in moments of joy, the best interviews are when athletes feel comfortable enough to be themselves (think of Kaylee McKeown’s ‘F--- yeah!’ moment after her win in the 100m backstroke at the 2021 Olympic Games). Those are the moments which will go down in Australian sporting folklore.
With all that in mind, these are my top 5 moments I am looking forward to with nervous anticipation:
1. ELLIE COLE IN THE S9 100M FREESTYLE
Our most decorated Paralympian of all-time is finally hanging up her swimmers, but before she does, she will grace our screens one last time in the S9 100m freestyle. One of the brightest, vivacious and irresistible people on the planet, I can’t wait to see her light up the lounge rooms of Australia one last time.
2. THE WOMEN’S 4X100M FREESTYLE RELAY
One of the greatest teams Australia has ever produced, this relay team has dominated the world stage for the past decade. They have broken the world record at the previous two Commonwealth Games, can they do it again this year? It’s been my joy and privilege to have been a member of this team for so long, so I am in equal part sad not to be part of this team again, and excited to see what the girls can do.
3. CODY SIMPSON IN THE MEN’S 100M BUTTERFLY
A bona fide rock star-turned swimmer, I have been fascinated with Cody’s journey from the bright lights of Hollywood to the decidedly unglamorous life of an elite swimmer. His decision to turn his back on fame and fortune shows just how deeply ingrained the Dolphins swim team is in Australia’s DNA.
4. ARIARNE TITMUS IN THE 400M FREESTYLE
Whenever this young lady dives into a pool, she sets it on fire. While she won’t be racing arch rival American, Katie Ledecky, ‘Arnie’ broke the world record a few months ago and is clearly in peak condition. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us.
5. SHAYNA JACK IN THE WOMEN’S 50M AND 100M FREESTYLE
Shayna’s story is nothing short of extraordinary. After serving a two-year ban for testing positive to a banned substance, Shayna made her way back onto the Dolphins team at the world championships in Budapest in June. She won a gold medal as a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay team yet on the morning she was due to start her individual program, disaster struck again. In a freak accident in the warm-up pool before her race, Shayna broke her hand and had to fly back to Australia for surgery. Less than six weeks later, she will take to the pool once again, having overcome yet another obstacle.
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