Mollie O'Callaghan closes in on Aussie legend's record amid heartbreak for teammate

Yahoo

6 days ago

Reigning Olympic champion Mollie O'Callaghan has cemented her superstar status after claiming gold in the women's 200m freestyle to close in on Aussie legend Ian Thorpe's record at the world championships. The stunning display came on a dramatic night in the pool in Singapore, with fellow Aussie Sam Short's medal hopes crushed after he was forced to withdraw from the final of the men's 800m freestyle due to illness.
O'Callaghan qualified second-fastest for the 200m final but blew her rivals away with a superb final turn, before powering home to win in 1:53.48, ahead of China's Bingjie Li and American rival Claire Weinstein. The Aussie champion's victory takes her tally to 10 gold medals at the world championships, leaving her just one win off Thorpe's national record of 11 golds.
The Paris Games champion took a break from swimming after struggling to deal with her newfound fame and status after the Olympics. And she also suffered a setback before the worlds after dislocating her left knee in January. But the 21-year-old put a tumultuous few months behind her and defied her well-publicised nerves before big races, to claim another superb win on Wednesday night.
"Having a big long break after the Olympics was well needed and then coming back from injury myself, I am so thankful to have an amazing coach (Dean Boxall) to guide me through this difficult time," she said after the race. "I know it has been hard for a lot of people to come back after the Olympics but I am very grateful to have a good support from the team to get me through this mentally and physically."
O'Callaghan's winning time was more than a second outside the world record held by fellow Aussie champion Ariarne Titmus, who decided to have a break from swimming and skip the worlds. But O'Callaghan was still pleased considering she wasn't even sure whether she'd be competing in Singapore.
'Honestly, coming here was one of the last things I thought I would do at the start of the year," O'Callaghan added. "If you told me I would become world champion again, I would be shocked. So it's quite unbelievable to be able to stand on the podium for my country again."
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Sam Short pulls out of final as illness ruins Aussie's hopes
Meantime, Aussie teammate Short's gold medal hopes in the 800m freestyle were crushed when he was forced to withdraw from the final due to a bout of gastro, thought to be from food poisoning from the team hotel. Swimming Australia are investigating the incident, which left an 'emotional' Short shattered after his Olympics were also cruelled by illness.
"Extremely emotional after this decision as I was very excited to showcase what I can do and the training I have done!" Short said about his withdrawal after qualifying for the final with the second-fastest time. "After an awesome heat swim... I got very ill very fast, which we believe is food poisoning from my hotel lunch. I have only been consuming meals from the hotel."
The news was better for rookie Harrison Turner, who clinched a special piece of Australian history with bronze in the men's 200m butterfly. It was Australia's first ever medal in the event at the worlds, and Turner's time of 1:54.17 broke a national record held by Nick D'Arcy that had stood for 16 years. American Luca Urlando stormed home to claim gold in 1:51.87.
France's four-time Paris Games gold medallist Leon Marchand also left fans in disbelief after breaking the world record in the men's 200m medley. Marchand clocked 1:52.69 in the semi-final to smash the previous mark of 1:54.00 set by American great Ryan Lochte in 2011.
with AAP