Golden girls Arianne Titmuss and Emma McKeon absent from Australian team for Doha event
Injuries and the poor timing of the upcoming world championships have impacted the decision of a host of Australia’s best swimmers to not go.
Olympics
Don't miss out on the headlines from Olympics. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A swathe of Australian swim stars have opted to skip the ill-timed World Aquatic Championships in Doha in February, with Shayna Jack instead spearheading a rookie-filled team for the event.
Jack, who won both the 50m and 100m freestyle at this week’s Queensland championships, 50m freestyle world champion Cameron McEvoy and 2022 400m champ Elija Winnington are the headliners in the 24-strong squad.
With the event controversially scheduled just six months out from the Paris Olympics, Australian stars including defending 100m world champ Kyle Chalmers, Tokyo Olympic star Emma McKeon and backstroke star Kaylee Mckeown aren’t travelling.
They will instead concentrate on their preparations for Olympic trials in July, with a medal haul in Paris their aim.
McKeon is also battling an arm issue that kept her out of the Queensland championships last week, with her partner Cody Simpson also an absentee from the Australian team announced on Friday.
Titmus is also focused on training more than competition given the time she missed following recent surgery.
Instead, backstrokers Iona Anderson and Jaclyn Barclay will make their international debuts, as will open water swimmer Robert Thorpe.
McEvoy also confirmed earlier this week that he would defend his title, having become, at 29, the oldest Australian to win an individual world championship gold medal in Japan earlier this year.
“It’s going to be pretty rough, Ben’s (British flyer Benjamin Proud) going to be on, but it’ll be a really good pre-Paris experience,” McEvoy said.
“Fukuoka was my first international 50m final, so to have another one of them and have been in top form is a good experience.”
The World Aquatics Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar from February 2-18.
Dolphins team for World Aquatics Championships
Iona Anderson, Jaclyn Anderson, Jack Cartwright, Abbey Connor, Isaac Cooper, Jenna Forrester, Madeleine Gough , Abbey Harkin, Shayna Jack, Moesha Johnson, Cameron McEvoy, Kiah Melverton, Alexandria Perkins, Kai Taylor, Brianna Throssell, Samuel Williamson, Elijah Winnington, Bradley Woodward, Bianca Crisp, Chelsea Gubecka, Bailey Armstrong, Kyle Lee, Nicholas Sloman, Robert Thorpe
Originally published as Golden girls Arianne Titmuss and Emma McKeon absent from Australian team for Doha event
‘Never had’: Bruce loses it over Gout Gout
Legendary broadcaster Bruce McAvaney has seen it all in Australian sports but our latest rising athletics star is a different beast.
‘World at his feet’: Australia’s never seen anything like Gout Gout
Bruce McAvaney has seen so much in Australian track and field throughout his broadcasting career, but nothing compares to what teen sprinting sensation Gout Gout is doing at his age.