Swimming world championships 2024: Another Australian star pulls out while women’s water polo Stingers relish competition

Australia’s already depleted world championships swim team has taken another hit as Olympic prep bites while the Stingers are relishing the chance to play together as they gear up for Paris.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 14: Kaylee McKeown after winning the Women's 200 Metre Individual Medley and Jenna Forrester during the Australian National Olympic Swimming Trials at SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre on June 14, 2021 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

The already understrength Australian team competing at the world swimming championships in Qatar has lost another key member with Jenna Forrester pulling out to focus on her preparations for this year’s Paris Olympics.

Forrester was the likely favourite to win the gold medal in the women’s 400 metres individual medley after her biggest threats – Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh and rising American talent Katie Grimes – did not enter the championships in Doha.

Forrester, 20, finished third behind her two teenage rivals in a full-strength field that contested last year’s world titles in Fukuoka so was expected to challenge for her first world title in their absence. Her withdrawal could cost her up to $50,000 with World Aquatics offering $30,000 in prize money for gold medallists while Australia’s richest woman Gina Hancock also tips in $20,000 through her incentive sponsorship scheme.

Australia's Jenna Forrester has pulled out of the World Championships in Doha to concentrate on he Olympic preparation. Picture: Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP

A Swimming Australia spokesperson said Forrester had withdrawn to manage her heavy workload, believing she would get more from training at home.

One of the rising stars of Australian swimming, Forrester had been at a training camp with her St Peters Western club in Thailand last month in the lead up to the world titles.

Some of her high-profile teammates – including Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan – did not enter the world titles so returned home from Phuket while a handful of others, including Shayna Jack and Elijah Winnington accompanied their coach Dean Boxall to Doha.

Taking place in the Middle East around five months before this year’s Paris Olympics, the timing and location of the world titles has been heavily criticised by a number of leading swimming nations.

Australian swimmers Shayna Jack and Jenna Forrester

Timing terrible for swimmers but World Champs heaven sent for Stingers

Robbed of their chance to test themselves against the best before the last Olympics, Australia’s women’s water polo team are making up for lost time, thanks to a quirky scheduling shift that has divided the Aquatics world.

Years on after forcing the 12-month delay of the Tokyo Olympics, Covid is continuing to play havoc with major sports scheduling, with the World Aquatics championships currently taking place in Qatar, just five months before the Paris Olympics.

For some water sports, the timing and location in the Middle East is terrible, so a lot of top swimmers, including Australian superstars Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell and Kyle Chalmers, are skipping the championship to focus on Paris.

But for others, including the Stingers – the Australian women’s water polo side, – the addition of an extra world championship before the Olympics is heaven sent.

Amy Ridge playing for the Stingers at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 where Australia missed the semi-finals. Adam Head

“We haven’t played together since August last year, when we had our Olympic qualifiers,” head coach Bec Rippon said.

“So even though it’s unusual to have them in the same year, I think for us it’s a really good chance just to see where we’re at.”

Gold medallists at Sydney (2000) and bronze medallists at Beijing (2008) and London (2012), the Stingers have missed the semi-finals at the last two Olympics but are rising again.

They boast a strong mixture of experienced and up-and-coming young stars, who went into Tokyo undercooked because they were stranded at home, but not this time.

The Stingers’ first female head coach, Rippon won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics so knows exactly what is required to get the team back on the medal podium and with an extra world championship thrown into the mix, she is feeling good about Australia’s prospects.

“I’m excited. I’ve been there as a player. I’ve been there as an assistant coach. And to be there in this position obviously is different,” she said.

Blake Edwards, Abby Andrews, Gabi Palm and Nathan Power from the Australian Water Polo team, Aussie Stingers and Aussie Sharks, celebrate 200 days out from the Olympics in January. Picture: Image/Josh Woning

“I’ve got a great team around me, a great staff and great assistant coaches so I’m really looking forward to just seeing what we can do all together.

“We want a result but it’s also a chance for us to see where some players are at.

“We’ve got some real experience there and there’s also some going to their first worlds, so we’re interested to see how this team works together.”

The Stingers finished fourth at last year’s world titles in Japan and are drawn in the same pool as New Zealand, Singapore and Hungary.

The Australians should make it through the pool stage but things quickly get harder after that because of the rising depth in the women’s international game.

“I think the game is as open as it has ever been,” Rippon said.

“It’s as exciting as ever and also as open as ever. So we’ve just got to go in. And I think it’s something I’m looking forward to is how many good results or what results can we get against top teams.”

Originally published as Swimming world championships 2024: Another Australian star pulls out while women’s water polo Stingers relish competition