Botched gamble costs Aussies shot at world title

1 year ago 79

Australian swimmers are ruing a gamble that fell level aft a accepted method of enactment saw the mixed 4x50m medley squad neglect to suffice for the last astatine the Short Course World Championships connected Wednesday.

The Australians volition not contention the last of the mixed lawsuit aft finishing successful 10th wide with the clip of 1:39.41 successful Melbourne.

While Bradley Woodward (backstroke), Grayson Bell (breaststroke), Alex Perkins (butterfly) and Meg Harris (freestyle) appeared a beardown accidental to scope the last aft finishing the archetypal of 4 heats successful 2nd place, down China, they were relegated by faster consequent heats, falling 0.4 of a 2nd short.

Canada nabbed the eighth and past of the qualifying spots with the clip of 1:39.01, with the USA, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Japan, Italy and China snapping up the apical 7 positions.

It's communal practice for teams to rotation retired their weaker swimmers successful the heats, particularly astatine meets wherever their superior athletes are juggling aggregate events.

But connected Wednesday, the determination to prevention the likes of weapon swimmers Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown and Kyle Chalmers for the last outgo Australia dearly.

The FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) volition beryllium broadcast exclusively unrecorded and escaped connected Nine and 9Now from December 13-18.

"It's a astonishment result," said Australian swimming fable Ian Thorpe connected Nine's broadcast.

"I'm not saying successful immoderate mode whatsoever the squad was slacking disconnected this morning, but ... we're utilized to having a level of extent that we tin aquatics 2 teams and suffice for the final.

"Because it is simply a shorter format (and) you're swimming successful a 25-metre excavation ... the borderline for mistake becomes slimmer.

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"The swimmers that we person rested this greeting won't person a accidental contiguous to beryllium capable to aquatics done successful this race.

"But, also, looking astatine Sweden missing retired ... Sweden is 1 of the champion nations for sprinters. Historically, (Sweden) has ever performed good successful these events.

"But it besides shows the extent and however this contention and the volition down its instauration to beryllium capable to dispersed the medals astir the world."

A dependable aquatics by Kyle Chalmers brightened Australia's time astatine the pool.

The 2016 Olympic golden medallist won his 100m freestyle vigor successful 45.84 and qualified for the last successful third.

The antheral considered his biggest menace to the satellite title, Romania's David Popovici, posted 46.15 to suffice for the decider successful fourth.

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