Cody Simpson has given the clearest indication yet that his swimming career is nearing its end, despite winning two golds and a silver at the Australian Short Course championships last week.
The popstar stunned the world in 2020 when he revealed he was putting his music career on hold to return to swimming, a sport he had excelled at as a child, including winning an Australian title as a 13-year-old.
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Within five months of returning to training, he qualified for the Olympic trials in 2021, but didn’t make the team although remarkably, he did make the 100m butterfly final.
However, the target was always on making the Paris Olympics.
With less than a year until the summer Games, Simpson will be targeting a spot on the Australian team, which will be difficult as only two Aussies can qualify in any event.
But Simpson took out two national championships over the weekend, winning the Australian 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle at the short course titles.
Simpson’s main events are the 50m and 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle events.
For the record, the men’s qualifying times for the Paris Games in the 100m free is 48.34 and 100m butterfly is 51.67. The 50m butterfly is not an Olympic event.
Simpson’s best times are 49.11 in the 100m free and 51.78 at the 100m butterfly, both currently outside the qualifying times for Paris.
Simpson celebrated his performances in his Instagram Stories on Wednesday, posting: “Went down to Sydney last week to race during my training season,” he wrote.
“Was stoked to be relatively near personal best times while under training fatigue. Thought I’d share videos for my American mates who always wonder what the hell I’m doing.”
However, the next image featuring the medals he won had the more telling caption.
“My second and last ever Aussie short-course champs. It’s been real,” he posted.
Next years’ short-course championships are scheduled for October, which is nearly three months after the Olympics.
While his results were somewhat surprising, he still had to defeat David Morgan, the Australian record holder who won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics as part of the 4x100m medley relay and had claimed individual bronze medals in the 50m and 100m butterfly at the 2016 short course world championships.
Simpson has previously hinted at extending his career but his “last ever” comment appears to point to his swimming career nearing its end.
Before jumping back in the pool, Simpson dated the likes of Gigi Hadid and Miley Cyrus as he enjoyed a career as an internationally-famous popstar.
At the time of the switch, Simpson said: “I’ll always have music, but there’s a limited time for swimming and I just want to be able to, win or lose, look back one day and say, well, at least I gave it my best shot.”
His return to the pool has been a rollercoaster however.
On the good side, he made his first Australian team at the Commonwealth Games and claiming gold and silver as part of the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays after he swam heats for Australia.
He also began dating Aussie Olympic legend Emma McKeon, with the pair having bought a house together on the Gold Coast.
But his relationship also landed him in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as there were reports of the couple and Kyle Chalmers being in a love triangle after McKeon and Chalmers previously dated.
Reports of bad blood between the trio were vehemently denied.
He also missed out on a spot at the World Championships earlier this year finishing fifth in the 100m butterfly and seventh in the 100m freestyle.
But Simpson remained positive after the setback, posting: “Eyes ahead. This experiment I’ve undertaken in the pool wouldn’t be without its mountains and valleys.
“A week of racing at our 2023 Australian Trials brought some personal best times, but I’ve yet to craft the swims that I’ve been developing in the dojo.
“Those are still to arise. I feel very glad to be on the path I’m on, throwing myself into the ring in one of the more beautifully brutal sports there is.
“Like the stonemason, we keep swinging at the boulder until it cracks! Thank you to my friends, family, and sponsors for your loving kindness.”
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