- Cody Simpson says goodbye to swimming with all his heart
- Simpson said he gave everything he had to the task.
- Simpson missed selection for the Paris Games
Pop star-turned-swimmer Cody Simpson has bid a classy farewell to the Australian swimming team after failing to live out his Olympic dream.
Simpson, a global teen pop star who paused her music career to return to the pool, was not selected in Australia’s team for the impending Paris Olympics.
The 27-year-old finished fifth in the 100m butterfly final at the Australian selection trials in Brisbane, missing selection by less than half a second.
“It’s bittersweet,” Simpson said afterward.
Cody Simpson (pictured) posted a heartfelt farewell to swimming on social media
Simpson (pictured) put her singing career on hold to try to reach the Olympics, but her dream was crushed by less than half a second.
“But I did what I could do, and that’s all you can do.”
In a stylish Instagram post on Monday, Simpson said goodbye to swimming.
“All you can do is try your best to take what you’ve been given as far as you can,” he wrote.
‘You owe yourself the honor of cultivating your talents with as much fervor and intensity as you can.
‘The privilege of becoming what you are capable of becoming. I left nothing to chance these last 4 years and now I can rest knowing that I put the pedal to the metal every day and covered all the other little details to take this as far as possible and it sure was a great journey.
‘I made sure to be gangster in my training, meticulous in my preparation and fearless in my competition every step of the way. I am grateful for a great career in the short time I have been a professional athlete and I wouldn’t change a moment.
‘I promise that I will never stop trying to do special things with my life. Shoot for the moon…land among the stars. My shot has taken me to a constellation of stars otherwise known as that elusive club, the Australian Swimming Team, forever. Thanks swimming.’
Simpson signed the Instagram post as “Australian Dolphin #838.”
Simpson (pictured with partner Emma McKeon) was a promising junior swimmer and, aged 12, won two gold medals at the 2009 Queensland state championships.
Simpson said he did everything he could to make the Olympic team and left nothing to chance.
Simpson’s mother Angie and father Brad swam for Australia, at the 1987 Pan-Pacific Games and the 1994 Commonwealth Games, respectively.
Simpson was a promising junior swimmer and, at age 12, won two gold medals at the 2009 Queensland state championships.
That year, the singer and guitarist posted some songs on YouTube and was discovered by an American music manager: his family moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and fame followed.
But four years ago, Simpson couldn’t ignore the desire to return to competitive swimming.
“Just to do right by that kid in me…I wanted to come these last four years and have a really good opportunity,” he said.
“Having the opportunity to swim for my country and be part of Australian teams and medal internationally… is something not many swimmers achieve or experience.”
“And I’ve had the privilege of doing it and that’s something I’ll never forget and no one can ever take away from me.”
