Emma McKeon’s decision to drop the 100m freestyle could be a gift for Shayna Jack

EMMA McKeon’s tough call to ditch the 100m freestyle from her packed Commonwealth Games program may turn into a gift from the pool gods for Brisbane’s Shayna Jack.

EMMA tough call to ditch the 100m freestyle from her packed Commonwealth Games program may turn into a gift from the pool gods for Brisbane’s Shayna Jack.

The talented McKeon won medals in six different events at last year’s world championships in Budapest yet the jigsaw for her events on the Gold Coast has stumped her.

McKeon’s coach Michael Bohl revealed something had to give with the meagre 17-minute gap between the 200m butterfly and 100m freestyle finals on Monday week.

Emma McKeon is narrowing her focus. (AAP Image/Darren England)

“To be at her very best, Emma can’t do everything so this decision is not only for her but also for Australia,” Bohl said.

“It was my recommendation and Emma has gone with it even though she is disappointed there wasn’t a way to swim everything.

“Look at it ... there’s a 200m ‘fly final, a few minutes getting out of the water, extra minutes doing poolside media and a run to the marshalling area for the freestyle final.”

Dropping the three rounds of the 100m freestyle still leaves the ironwoman with a likely program of 10 races across three individual events and three gold medal-stalking relays.

The shoulder niggle that muted her performances at the recent trials may be some factor but Bohl said it was behind her.

Shayna Jack meets young fans. (Joseph Byford)

Giving up her individual swim in the 100m freestyle, after placing third at the trials, would nominally give fourth-placed Perth Olympian Brianna Throssell a start.

Like McKeon, Throssell has the 200m butterfly as her main target on April 9 so passing on the 100m would potentially put fifth-placed Jack in line for a prized swim.

Jack, 19, is on the Games team for the sprint relay and the 50m freestyle but would relish a chance in the blue-ribband event beside training partners Cate and Bronte Campbell.

“Bronte is very supportive and sat me down after my disappointing 100m at the trials to tell me I could still make the team,” Jack said.

“I didn’t let the setback affect me and I was really happy with a personal best in the 50m freestyle to get in on my second chance.”

Jack is a passionate ambassador for Kingswim, backing schools and parents to dive into pool safety and learn-to-swim lessons.

Her 53.81sec swim at the Queensland titles late last year was 0.39sec faster than her trials time so she has another gear to go to in the 100m.

Originally published as Emma McKeon’s decision to drop the 100m freestyle could be a gift for Shayna Jack