- Cody Simpson failed to qualify for the 100 meter freestyle final
- National swimming trials in Brisbane ahead of Paris Games
- Former pop star Simpson, 27, also competes in the 100m butterfly.
Former global pop star turned swimmer Cody Simpson failed in his audacious bid to become an Olympic athlete.
Simpson, 27, who returned to the pool four years ago, missed out on a place in the men’s 100m freestyle final at the Australian national trials in Brisbane.
Kyle Chalmers, the 2016 Olympic champion in the event and silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Games, topped the qualifying times but later declared he partially failed in the race.
Simpson placed 10th in the heats with a time of 49.04 seconds. The eighth fastest, Max Giuliani, secured a spot in the final with a time of 48.90.
The 27-year-old, who took a break from his pop career to return to swimming, has one more chance to make Australia’s swimming team for the Paris Olympics next month.
Former global pop star Cody Simpson failed in his first attempt to become an Olympian.
Simpson, 27, who returned to the pool four years ago, missed out on a place in the men’s 100m freestyle final at the Australian national trials in Brisbane.
Simpson (pictured, with his girlfriend, Australian superstar swimmer Emma McKeon) placed 10th in the 100m freestyle heats with a time of 49.04 seconds.
Simpson’s favorite sprint race, the 100m butterfly, will be held in Brisbane on June 15.
Simpson will run his favorite 100-meter butterfly race on Saturday.
“There are a lot of competitors in the 100 freestyle, so I knew it was going to be a little iffy trying to make that final,” he said.
‘It’s a good warm-up for the 100 butterfly. ‘I’ve had a really good last six months of training, just completely whipping myself.
‘Swimming is complicated… you train for a long time for really marginal, sometimes microscopic gains.
‘I’ve just been hitting the brick wall trying to get to the next level. And the faster you get, the harder it is to keep doing it.”
Chalmers clocked 48.39 ahead of William Yang (48.50) and Flynn Southam (48.64).
“I probably didn’t execute as well as I could… there are definitely some areas I can improve,” he said, looking forward to the final.
“I’ll really push myself… it has to be self-driven and self-motivated.”
Elsewhere, Kaylee McKeown topped the times in the 200m backstroke heats.
The reigning Olympic champion and world record holder in the event finished in two minutes 08.83 seconds, followed by Hannah Fredericks (2:10.19).