Australian swimmers are ruing a gamble that fell flat after a traditional method of selection saw the mixed 4x50m medley team fail to qualify for the final at the Short Course World Championships on Wednesday.
The Australians will not contest the final of the mixed event after finishing in 10th overall with the time of 1:39.41 in Melbourne.
While Bradley Woodward (backstroke), Grayson Bell (breaststroke), Alex Perkins (butterfly) and Meg Harris (freestyle) appeared a strong chance to reach the final after finishing the first of four heats in second place, behind China, they were relegated by faster subsequent heats, falling 0.4 of a second short.
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Canada nabbed the eighth and last of the qualifying spots with the time of 1:39.01, with the USA, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Japan, Italy and China snapping up the top seven positions.
It’s common practice for teams to roll out their weaker swimmers in the heats, especially at meets where their superior athletes are juggling multiple events.
But on Wednesday, the decision to save the likes of gun swimmers Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown and Kyle Chalmers for the final cost Australia dearly.
The FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) will be broadcast exclusively live and free on Nine and 9Now from December 13-18.
“It’s a surprise result,” said Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe on Nine’s broadcast.
“I’m not saying in any way whatsoever the team was slacking off this morning, but … we’re used to having a level of depth that we can swim two teams and qualify for the final.
“Because it is a shorter format (and) you’re swimming in a 25-metre pool … the margin for error becomes slimmer.
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“The swimmers that we have rested this morning won’t have a chance tonight to be able to swim through in this race.
“But, also, looking at Sweden missing out … Sweden is one of the best nations for sprinters. Historically, (Sweden) has always performed well in these events.
“But it also shows the depth and how this race and the intention behind its introduction to be able to spread the medals around the world.”
A sound swim by Kyle Chalmers brightened Australia’s day at the pool.
The 2016 Olympic gold medallist won his 100m freestyle heat in 45.84 and qualified for the final in third.
The man considered his biggest threat to the world title, Romania’s David Popovici, posted 46.15 to qualify for the decider in fourth.
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