Cody Simpson in sight of Olympic selection

Cody Simpson's Olympic dream is still alive, after the former pop star qualified for the final of the 100 metres butterfly at the Australian selection trials in Adelaide.

Simpson was third in his heat in 52.84 seconds, setting the sixth fastest time overall.

Matthew Temple was fastest in 51.79 seconds.

Simpson will line up in tonight's final, where the top two swimmers will earn a spot in the team for Tokyo, if they're under the qualifying time of 51.70.

Cody Simpson competes in his Men's 100 metre Butterfly heat during the Australian National Olympic Swimming Trials in Adelaide.

Earlier this week Simpson finished 23rd in the 100 metres freestyle, improving his personal best by more than a second, a result that left him "pretty stoked".

Speaking to Wide World of Sports last month, Olympic champion Grant Hackett said Simpson was totally committed to making the transition from pop star to elite swimmer.

Hackett described Simpson as a "child prodigy" in the pool, but noted the fact he's been seriously training for less than a year would make it difficult for him to qualify for Tokyo.

https://twitter.com/phillutton78/status/1405330920127623170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"If he's making finals this time around in Adelaide, then that's freakish, because he's done this for months, not years," Hackett said.

"He knows he has to do years of work to produce a performance that puts him in contention to make an Olympic team.

"He's absolutely committed to that, he knows how to train hard, absorb pain and be consistent."

Cody Simpson after the heats of the 100 metres freestyle at the Australian Olympic Swimming Trials in Adelaide.

Simpson, who enjoyed a highly successful swimming career as a junior, gave the sport away as a 13-year-old to pursue his music career.

And regardless of his results this time around, Hackett believes Paris in 2024 is an achievable goal.

"He's one of those people who understands the level of commitment, dedication and training it takes to get to an Olympic Games, and he's willing to put that in," he explained.

"Full credit to him, I love the fact he's willing to face it head-on, I love these sorts of stories.

"What he's done so far is quite remarkable, he's just got to keep that consistency up and keep improving."

Another Olympic gold medallist, Giaan Rooney, told Wide World of Sports that Simpson has impressed over the last year.

"He's attempting to do the hardest thing you possibly can, which is trying to make an Australian Olympic team as a mature age athlete, and doing it knowing what life is like on the outside," she said.

"You look at all of our athletes who've tried to make a comeback, it is so much harder when you've stopped living the life of an athlete.

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply