11 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The one thing that could stand in the way of another McEvoy world title
Australia's quest for world swimming supremacy this year is looking shakier by the day, with Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy admitting he may not compete in the upcoming world championships in Singapore.
Two years ago, Australia topped the medal tally at the world championships in Fukuoka, beating the USA for the first time in a major meeting since 2001.
The USA picked up one more gold medal than Australia at last year's Paris Olympics but the margin could be even greater in Singapore, with Australia already missing superstar Ariarne Titmus, who won't return to competitive swimming until next year.
McEvoy, who won gold in the 50m freestyle at the 2023 world championships, is expecting the birth of his first child with wife Maddie just before next month's world championships.
The 31-year-old will race at this week's Australians swimming trials in Adelaide but his availability for Singapore is under a cloud. McEvoy is expected to miss Australia's staging camp in Darwin ahead of the world championships, which begin on July 27 and run for eight days.
'He's due [to be born] between trials and worlds. Worlds at the moment is up in the air,' McEvoy said. 'I've got trials down as a target comp. After that, who knows?
'I'm not making any decision around what happens. I'll get through the birth and just see how we're going and make a decision. It'll just be monitoring it with the doctors and getting their advice and how Maddie is going as well.'
McEvoy has also revealed he is likely to have a lighter year in 2026 - potentially sitting out the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Pan Pacs in California - before building back up ahead of the LA 2028 Olympics.
