‘S**t show’: Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan falls just short of passing Thorpedo
One of Ian Thorpe’s records in the pool will survive for another day after young gun Mollie O’Callaghan’s agonising miss on Friday night.
Thorpedo, your record has survived to see another day.
Mollie O’Callaghan had a chance to surpass the legendary Ian Thorpe and stand alone at the very top of the country’s World Championship swimming history on Friday night.
Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
But the 21-year-old fell agonisingly short, grabbing silver in the 100m freestyle final in a time of 52.67 seconds, just 0.12 seconds behind Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen.
After already winning three gold medals this week, including the 200m freestyle and then the 4x200m freestyle relay just 24 hours earlier, O’Callaghan admitted she was tired after the race and pointed to her schedule compared to her 100m competitors.
Watch the 100m freestyle final in the video player above
“I’m tired,” she said right after the swim. “I’m not going to lie, last night was a big night.
“None of those girls did what I did last night.
“I’m happy to walk away with a medal. Honestly I always want to win, but to get on the podium after such a s**t show of a year, I’m pretty happy.
“And it just shows the strength that I have in the book. I’ve barely done any training for this.”
O’Callaghan came into Friday night’s final level with Thorpe on 11 World Championship gold medals, one ahead of another great in Grant Hackett.
After finishing fourth in the two-lap sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 21-year-old O’Callaghan was keen for redemption in Singapore.
After making the turn in fourth, O’Callaghan lifted but couldn’t quite overhaul Steenbergen.
Prior to the race, Thorpe himself was hoping O’Callaghan would move one gold medal clear of his record.
“I’d be more than happy to see it go tonight,” he said on Channel 9.
“Mollie O’Callaghan is an incredible talent. It’s gone a little bit under the radar but I’m really happy for her.”
It wasn’t quite to be on Friday night, but the youngster still has plenty more opportunities to pass Thorpe’s mark and set a record way out all by herself.
It’s been an incredible week for the Queenslander, who backed up her 200m Olympic title by blowing her rivals away over the final 50m of the race on Wednesday night.
O’Callaghan powered away after the final turn and touched the wall in a time of 1:53.48 to edge out China’s Bingjie Li (1:54.52) and America’s Claire Weinstein (1:54.67).
Then in Thursday’s relay, Channel 9 commentators noticed O’Callaghan could barely keep her feet after exiting the pool and celebrating with teammates Lani Pallister, Jamie Perkins and Brittany Castelluzzo.
They finished in a time of 7:39.35, ahead of USA in 7:40.01 and China (7:42.99) in third.
O’Callaghan’s gutsy effort came just 90 minutes after she secured her spot in the 100m freestyle final in winning her semi-final.
“It was pretty rough backing it up after the 100 free … you can’t really take it easy in the 100 free,” O’Callaghan said.
“I do it for the team, for the country. I know these girls put their whole work into this.
“It’s a dream to be part of this team and I did it for these girls.”
She started favourite for the 100m freestyle final, but walked away with silver as Thorpe’s name remained in equal first for now.
More Coverage
Originally published as ‘S**t show’: Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan falls just short of passing Thorpedo
Join the conversation
Rumours run wild over McLaren ‘deception’
Read more
‘Absolutely stupid’: Poms’ ‘amateurish’ act
Read more