He’s a potential successor to Grant Hackett. So why has his Olympic campaign gone wrong?

Sam Short is a fighter, according to his teammates on the Australian swim team, but it will take something special to rescue the young Queenslander’s Paris Olympic campaign from here.

As Short leant on the lane rope after his men’s 800m freestyle heat on Monday morning, wondering if his time would be enough to sneak into the top eight and a berth in the final (it wasn’t), a question went around among observers of Australian swimming: what’s wrong with Sam Short?

The 20-year-old entered these Games with a 400m freestyle world title against a full-strength field, along with silver and bronze, respectively, in the 800m and 1500m from last year’s championships in Fukuoka. He was, and remains, a potential successor to the former king of Australian distance swimming, Grant Hackett.

His selection trials were derailed by a bout of gastro but he had every chance of a medal in all three events here and his coach, Damien Jones, had high hopes for the Olympics.

“Get him healthy and the sky is the limit. I back him,” Jones said after last month’s trials.

There was talk on Monday that Short was again battling illness in Paris, but an Australian team spokeswoman said this was not the case. “He is well,” she said.

Short finished adrift of the medals in the 400m on opening night at the pool, which was considered his strongest chance of gold, and ranked 9th in the heats of the 800m – he will be first reserve for the final. He has been outshone by his teammate, Elijah Winnington, who swam brilliantly for silver in the 400m and will start from lane six in the 800m final early Wednesday morning AEST.

Elijah Winnington (left) won silver in the 400m, behind German Lukas Meartens and in front of South Korean Kim Woo-min.Credit: AP

Short’s time of 7:46.83 was nine seconds outside his personal best. To make matters worse, the field had opened up for the Australian when Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui, who pipped him for gold at the world titles, withdrew from the Olympics on the eve of the Games.

He still has the 1500m to come and although a PB would put him right in the mix for medals, Irishman Daniel Wiffen is the fastest in the world this year over that distance, by some margin.

Short’s struggles are also a blow to Australia’s hopes of beating Team USA in the pool, although Winnington’s performances could help make up for it. American Bobby Finke is ranked ahead of Short in the 1500m, and could get amongst the medals in the 800m.

The Australian did not stop to talk to reporters after the 800m heats but Winnington backed him to fight back.

“If there’s anything I know about Sam, it’s [that] he’s a tough athlete,” he said. “He’s still got the 1500m [to come in Paris] and he’s a fighter and there’s no better fight than the 1500m, so I back him all the way.”

It’s difficult to quantify whether Short’s preparation was affected by the revelation by this masthead, two days before the Games, that one of the Australian team coaches had mentored and publicly backed one of his main overseas rivals, South Korean Kim Woo-min, to win the 400m.

Winnington said he was unfazed by the drama. “I couldn’t care less,” he said before the swim program started. “At the end of the day, it’s just a comment, and I’m here to race the best I can. There’s no animosity among the team. It’s all good.”

Winnington qualified fourth-fastest for the 800m final despite having little experience over that distance. “I don’t really even know how to swim it,” Winnington said. “I just kind of go for it and whoever wants to come with me will come with me.”

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