Cody Simpson Headlines Queensland Short Course Championship As Swimming Returns In Australia
Brisbane will host its first major swim meet since being announced as the 2032 Olympic host city, with the Brisbane Aquatic Centre staging this weekend’s three-day Queensland Short Course State Championships.
It follows the cancellation – due to Covid lockdowns – of a host of other State domestic Winter Meets in NSW and Victoria as well as the Australian Short Course Championships that had been set down for Melbourne at the end of the month.
A relatively Covid-free Queensland has been the saviour of sport in Australia during the pandemic disruptions, playing hosts to the country’s major football codes – including this year’s NRL Grand Final on October 2 – and host various pre-Tokyo Olympic training camps.
CENTRE OF ATTENTION: Cody Simpson meets the press. Photo Courtesy: Swimming NSW.
And headlining the entries this weekend will be swimming’s new poster boy Cody Simpson (Superfish), who has had such a huge impact on the sport after re-launching a swimming career he left behind after relocating to chase his Hollywood dreams.
Simpson contested the Australian Olympic Trials in Adelaide, qualifying for the 100m butterfly final as he sets his focus on making the Australian team for Paris in 2024.
Featuring prominently alongside Ariarne Titmus and the Campbell sisters Bronte and Cate in the promotion of the Trials, he also played a major part in the Amazon Prime Video hit “Head Above Water” alongside Bronte Campbell, Kyle Chalmers and Ian Thorpe.
The 24-year-old who will contest the 50 and 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 100IM, recently starred in a television commercial run in prime time during the Tokyo Olympics, for swimming’s major supporter iron ore giant Hancock Prospecting – a commercial also featuring Olympic legend Dawn Fraser.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/gina-rinehart—stepping-out-from-the-shadows/13531024
Lining up with Simpson this weekend in the 100m freestyle will be Australia’s Gwangju 2019 World Championship 4x200m freestyle relay gold medallist Clyde Lewis (Bond) who missed the Tokyo team as well as an exciting group of youngsters including Australian Age champions Flynn Southam (Bond), Kai Taylor (St Peters Western) and talented all-rounder Thomas Hauck (All Saints) – who has entered in 11 events.
The women’s events will see one of Queensland’s girls most likely, 17-year-old Elizabeth Dekkers (Newmarket Racers) – heartbreakingly close to making the Olympic team – the fastest qualifier in the 200m butterfly.
Dekkers will be joined in her pet event by Commonwealth Games silver medallist from 2018 Laura Taylor (TSS Aquatic) and Rocky City’s 15-year-old Australian Age star Tarryn Roberts.
While in the 100m butterfly Dekkers will swim alongside Rio Olympic marathon swimmer Chelsea Gubecka (Yeronga Park), Alexandra Perkins (USC Spartans), Mia O’Leary (St Peters Western) and Gemma Cooney (Brisbane Grammar).
TIME WILL COME: Elizabeth Dekkers will be one of swimming’s future stars in the countdown to Paris. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
Four swimmers whose parents all swam on the 1994 Commonwealth Games team – Kai Taylor, 17 (son of Hayley Lewis); Miami’s Max Pine, 18 (son of Adam Pine), Griffith University’s Flynn Baildon, 20 (son of Andrew Baildon) and Rackley’s Indiana King, 15 (daughter of Rebecca Brown) will all contest open events.
Meanwhile TSS Aquatic’s Moesha Johnson will contest event freestyle event from 100 to 1500m freestyle after her break through performances at this year’s Olympic Trials as she pushed team mates Maddy Gough and Kiah Melverton towards their Tokyo selection
The first of the six Timed Finals sessions will start at 8.30 on Friday (AEST) ; followed by Session 2 at 12:05 with Sessions Three and Four scheduled for Saturday (8.30am and 12.40pm) and Sessions Five and Six on Sunday (8.30am and 10.50am).
SWIMMING QLD 2021 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS EVENT INFO – Schedule, Entries, Results
Awesome to see swimming back .. will it be available on SwimTv ?
Check the Qld swimming website. I think it’s a different provider