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Cate Campbell Misses Cut For 100 Free Final By 0.01, Sam Short Also Unwell & Out Of 1500

Cate Campbell, unwell and out of the 100m free final by 0.01sec and Sam Short, unwell and out of the 1500m free: the fifth morning at Australian Trials included a painful glimpse of the agony side of a coin that flips to ecstasy with each passing stamp of a ticket to the Paris Olympics.

Campbell, 32 and a Queen Bee of Australian sprinting who insipired the greatest sprint force from one nation the world has ever seen, felt the weight of being under the weather on the way home, a last-length split of 28.9 adding up to 54.27 – 0.01 adrift eighth-ranked Milla Jansen.

Australian Trials – Day 5 Heats: Harris & O’Callaghan Lead The Battle For Tickets To Greatest 4×100 Free Show In Water

Campbell Sibling Tribute

Cate did not speak to media after the race at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre but her sister Bronte Campbell, the double sprint World Champion of 2015 who qualified in fourth place for the showdown inside 53sec, spoke to the heart and the facts when she noted her sibling’s soaring contribution to Australian and World sprinting:

“I’m really disappointed for Cate. She is one of the most incredible athletes that we’ve ever had in this event. She was the No.1 freestyler for what, 10, 11, 12 years in a row – that is a feat that’s pretty much unmatched in Australian sporting history.”

Bronte Campbell – photo: Tokyo 202One Aussie Gold in a 3:29 World record fit to make the rest green with envy: (L-R) Emma McKeon, Bronte Campbell, Cate Campbell and Meg Harris – by Patrick B. Kraemer

The nature of Cate’s illness was not revealed. She still has the 50m freestyle as a target on the last day of competition tomorrow as she strives to become the first Australian swimmer to race at five Olympics.

Brisbane Results in full / Event Page

Short’s Longer Road To The Paris 1500

Sam Short suffered a bout of gastroenteritis on the way to trials. He lost 4-5kg in weight but still managed to stand up in good enough shape to qualify for the Paris Games in the 400m and the 800m in close battles with Elijah Winnington.

Short then withdrew from the 200m and today the 1500m but can be added to that event in Paris at the discretion of the performance team assuming the two berths are not filled in the fastest heat this evening (unlikely).

Speaking through Swimming Australia, coach Damien Jones said the focus was now on Sam’s health and his recovery and build up to Paris. He said:

“It’s disappointing that we have worked so hard and at the final step you get an illness but it’s part of being an elite athlete.

We’ve got a plan; we executed the short-term plan at the start of the week which was tick the box and get on the team and we’re now executing the long-term plan which is going in with the mindset of leading into the Olympics. It’s now backing up and recovery.

The execution of his races has been really really good, it’s just that finishing speed which is his strength and it’s not quite there at the moment. The process of the Olympics selection means he once he secured his place in the team, he can swim the other events if he is able, so there is no point forcing a 1500m out of him here at the detriment of six weeks’ time.” 

Damien Jones – Photo: Sam Short, courtesy of Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA)