Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
Cody Simpson’s transformation from pop star to swimming sensation is complete after he clinched a spot on the Australian team for the world championships and Commonwealth Games.
From making records to breaking records, Cody Simpson’s transformation from pop star to swimming sensation is complete.
The rhythm and blues singer can now call himself an elite high-performance athlete after qualifying for the Australian national team more than a decade after he quit the sport for a music career.
It all sounds like a Hollywood script but what the sceptics once dismissed as a publicity stunt has become reality after the 25-year-old clinched a spot on the Australian team for this year’s world championships and Commonwealth Games.
Simpson earned himself a place in the team the hard way by finishing third at the national championships in 100 metres butterfly on Wednesday.
“It means everything. My mum swam for Australia and I was told when I was a little boy that I‘d want to swim for Australia as well. And then obviously I was sidetracked for the better part of 10 years,” he said.
“When I decided to come back she was actually one of the only people that said ‘are you sure you want to do that? Do you understand what it entails and the work it entails and stuff? ‘And I said ’yeah, I want to do it’.”
Earlire, in the heats, Simpson stormed to victory in a super-fast time of 51.79 seconds – well under the FINA A qualifying time for all the biggest international events.
Now dating Emma McKeon, Simpson’s time was the second fastest overall from the morning heats in Adelaide with Tokyo Olympian Matt Temple setting the pace at 51.74.
Rio Olympic 100m freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers was third in 52.10 after announcing he was adding butterfly to his schedule.
Simpson’s stunning heat swim was almost a second under his previous lifetime best and saw him leapfrog former world record holder Michael Klim on Australia’s all-time list.
Meanwhile, Shayna Jack is also off to the world championships and Commonwealth Games aftre finishing second in in the women’s 100m freestyle in a career best time of 52.60 seconds.
Jack won her heat in 53.27 to qualify equal second fastest for the final behind her teenage teammate Mollie O’Callaghan, who posted the fastest time in the world this year when she stopped the clock at 52.83.
Mack Horton eased his way through the 400m freestyle heats in a time of 3:48.92, looking relaxed and saving his energy for the final.
Horton missed the chance to defend the 400m gold medal he won in Rio when he qualified third at last year’s trials but has a spring in his step after switching coaches to Michael Bohl.
His chances of making the team in his pet event have been boosted by the withdrawal of Jack McLoughlin and Tommy Neill.
Although there will be some familiar names missing, there will be plenty of stars in action at this week’s Australian swimming championships, which double as the trials for next month’s world championships then the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham July and August.
To make the team, swimmers need to finish top two for the world titles and top three for the Commonwealth Games and make the qualifying times. But the selectors have made some exceptions.
