19 minute read
OPTIMISTIC” DYLAN CARTER HOPING
“Optimistic” Dylan Carter Hoping for 2021 World Championships in April/May
by Matthew De George
Advertisement
Before the Olympics were postponed in late March, Dylan
Carter had less than two days to decide what to do. The government of his native Trinidad & Tobago announced that it would be closing its borders to international flights at midnight on March 22 to stem the tide of coronavirus transmission, leaving Carter with the choice: Stay in California, where he trains with San Diego-based Team Elite, or try to go back home.
“We had a day or two to decide,” Carter told Swimming World this week. “And I elected to stay here because I didn’t know, and we were still training for the Olympics at the time.”
Carter, 24, doesn’t regret the decision, and he’s been in frequent contact with his family back home, and they are doing well. But it’s the kind of choice many athletes were forced to make as COVID-19 encroached on their plans for 2020 and beyond.
As Carter starts to shift his training view toward 2021, he’s come out in support of seeing the 2021 FINA World Championships moved up to April or May, before the Olympics.
Carter sees Worlds, to be held in Fukuoka, Japan, as a fitting dress rehearsal for the Games. It also would position the Olympics as the pinnacle of the season, rather than having Worlds piggy-back on it. extended so long, after the Olympics next year, I think a lot of athletes, including myself, will want a little bit of a break and the thought of going on another two months and waiting for the World Champs is a little bit not great.”
The 2021 World Championships are a logistical hot potato. FINA disseminated a survey to athletes (across aquatics disciplines) in early April, floating the possibility of four dates: April/May 2021, just after the Olympics, fall 2021 or 2022. Some federations, most notably Swimming Canada and the German Swim Federation, have advocated against two major championships in one year, for competitive, financial and logistical reasons. A World Championships in the fall of 2021 would impinge on the International Swimming League, which faces a race to get its second season started as normal in 2020.
Other sports are in similar predicaments. Last week, the IAAF moved the World Athletics Championships, scheduled for 2021, back a year to 2022.
Carter’s view may stem from his perspective as a pro. The USC graduate qualified for the 2016 Olympics in the 100 freestyle, and he’s attained an Olympic A cut in the event for Tokyo. As a member of the L.A. Current in the ISL, he’s grown accustomed to a different calendar of racing than the traditional high school/college regimentation of spring and winter peaks. That and his sprinter’s mentality makes him less apt to choose a long hiatus from racing before Tokyo.
to race at a high level,” Carter said. “So for me to think, oh wow I can’t race at a top level, I can’t race against the world’s best for another year and four months, I’m like, let’s bring that sooner. And the experience you get at that top level, it raises your game, too.”
There’s also the fatigue factor. The 2020 season has turned into one long, multi-year slog with a huge and indefinite sabbatical in the middle. Plenty of athletes, after the physical An earlier Worlds would also serve as a light at the end of a long tunnel. Carter understands why FINA is taking its time with a decision given the global uncertainty of COVID-19. A later date for Worlds is the safer play as the pandemic evolves. But for athletes so used to focusing on dates well in the future, an earlier return to racing would be welcomed (with the obvious caveat of virus-related uncertainty).
Despite the unknowns, Dylan Carter is keeping himself in good spirits. Working with David Marsh at Team Elite, he was mentally prepared for the summer ahead. While he’s waiting out the pandemic like everyone else – trying to “stay safe and stay sane” – he’s hoping to use the compulsory break to refocus on the process.
“[The Olympics] had to have been postponed, so many people are out of training,” Carter said. “I was really feeling like I was ready for a good Olympics this year. But I just spin it in my head in a way that I think I’ll be even better next year. I’m optimistic in that way.” ◀
by Craig Lord
Bronte Campbell, the injury-hit double World sprint champion fr Australia in 2015, is counting her Olympic blessings as far as a one-year delay in the Games goes.
Like the rest of us, Campbell would rather not have seen the coronavirus pandemic bring the world to a halt but the postponement of the Olympic Games to a July 23, 2021, start, has also stopped the clock she was racing against to qualify at what would have been Australian trials in June.
The 25-year-old former world champion freestyler has a history of shoulder, neck and hip injuries and the 2019 season had a lot to do with rehabilitation and recovery. Now, Campbell, coached in Sydney by Simon Cusack, is grateful to have been given the extra time. In an interview with SEN Radio today, she said:
“I had a pretty rough start to the year with injury and I was really fighting the clock to get up and running and fit for the trials and then Olympics. I felt like I was going to make it but it was going to be a really tough push and a very fine line. Now I have more time to prepare … there’s definitely some benefits for me.”
If Tokyo were to be called off altogether, her Olympic career would likely be over, says Campbell the younger sister of fellow sprinter and Australia teammate Cate. While there is no “guarantee” that Tokyo 2020 in 2021 will go ahead as planned, postponement, as opposed to cancellation, keeps hope of a final Olympics campaign alive.
Like the bulk of elite swimmers the world over, Bronte Campbell hasn’t had a normal pool session or trained in water for the past month due to pool closures as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. The sprinter has been out running but is no fan. She told SEN listeners:
“Running is horrible … but I’m giving it a go. I miss (swimming) so much. I live at Bondi so I’m staring at this empty bay and beach, all I want to do is jump into the water – I just love the feeling of being in it.
“Taking a break from training has reiterated how much I love it. When you’re in it you complain about it but when it’s taken away you appreciate it a bit more.”
Campbell, who contributed to Australian gold in 3:30.65 World-Record time at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, her 52.15 split her bit alongside Emma McKeon (53.41), Brittany Elmslie (53.12) and sister Cate (51.97), did not make the podium in the 50m and 100m free finals as resining World champion.
Given her shoulder problems in the approach to Rio 2016, she was not unhappy with the outcome. She told SEN:
“Surprisingly Rio wasn’t what everyone thought it was for me. That was the year my injury started and I didn’t know how to deal with it and I hadn’t really been able to train properly for eight months.
“In the 100m freestyle final I swum just under 0.5 (seconds) of within my best time which I wasn’t expecting so I was actually really excited with how I ended up performing.
“Everyone thought I should be disappointed but it was a good milestone for me to see I can perform even with the injury, as it wasn’t something I thought I could do.”Bronte Campbell Counts Blessing Of Olympic Delay That Grant Injuries More Time To Heal. ◀
Grant Shoults Will Have Extra Year of Eligibility For Stanford Cardinal
by Andy Ross
Stanford’s Grant Shoults will have an extra year of eligibility to compete for the Cardinal in the 2020-21 season, he confirmed with Swimming World. Shoults was listed as a senior on the school’s roster, but will have an extra year of swimming after he underwent shoulder surgery in his junior season, which kept him out of competing for the second semester in 2019. Shoults was one of the top distance swimmers in the nation, finishing fourth in the 500 at the 2017 and 2018 NCAAs. He was named the 2016 high school swimmer of the year by this publication after he set the national high school record in the 200 & 500 freestyle his senior season. Both of those records have since been broken but he remains a threat to make the 2021 Olympic team in the 400 freestyle. pandemic. At his best, he is a 4:10.02 in the 500 and 14:35 in the 1650, which would put him in the A-Final at NCAAs. Stanford qualified seven guys to NCAAs this year and will be losing qualifiers James Murphy and Hank Poppe next season, but will be returning Brennan Pastorek, Jack LeVant, Daniel Roy, Matthew Hirschberger and Shoults. The team will also be gaining Worlds medalist Andrei Minakov which will help their relays tremendously. Grant Shoults was the Pac-12 champion in the 500 freestyle this year and was third in the 1650. ◀ NEW! NEW! FLY WITH
He competed at the 2019 World Championships for the United States in the 400 free and was 25th at 3:52.96, after spending the majority of the summer recovering from his shoulder surgery. He had qualified for the 2020 NCAAs and was seeded 12th in the 500 (4:12.45), 17th in the 1650 (14:52.09), and 40th in the 400 IM (3:47.90) before the meet was cancelled due to the coronavirus
NOW AVAILABLE IN FOUR DECK MOUNTING OPTIONS VELOCITY
Velocity Advantage Velocity VR
World Swimming Coaches Lambast Russia For Using Coronavirus As A Plea Bargain In Doping Ban
by Craig Lord
Swimming coaches around the world have lambasted
Russian attempts to use the global coronavirus pandemic as a plea-bargain tool to have the country’s Olympic ban dropped and open the doors to staging cancelled and postponed events in Russia because sport should “be together” at a time of crisis.
Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin yesterday called on Olympic bosses, anti-doping chiefs and judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to set aside the ban on Russian.
He suggested that his country could help to bailout other nations more stricken by the virus and facing economic hardship after containment measures come to an end. Russian could, he suggested, take over the hosting of international sports events cancelled and postponed elsewhere. Under the current Olympic ban, Russia is barred from hosting certain categories of international sports events.
As the worldwide swimming community took to social media to decry the Russian move, the World Swimming Coaches Association (WSCA) weighed in with a strong statement in which it declares that the world “can band together to fight the scourge of this virus and we can band together to fight the scourge of doping”.
The WSCA Statement In Full
The World Swimming Coaches Association finds it impossible to “forget” Russia’s Olympic doping ban and is disgusted by Russia’s attempt to use a global pandemic to sweep away years of doping that was organized at the highest levels of government. Before something can be “forgotten,” it must be forgiven. Unfortunately for Russia, before something can be forgiven, there must be confession and contrition.
More relevant to Russia’s sordid doping history than the Coronavirus is this month of Passover, Easter and Ramadan. Global themes of sacrifice, contrition and forgiveness abound, but they are all absent in Russia’s tone-deaf and cowardly attempt to hide behind the protective gear of healthcare workers all over the world.
In Russia, those same healthcare workers were perverted from their natural role as courageous healers to backroom cheaters. Mr. Matytsin must apologize to so many individuals and groups before the world can “forget,” but he should start with his fellow countrymen and women.
He should apologize to the medical professionals that Russia turned from heroes to scoundrels. He should apologize to Russian athletes who will compete under a shadow of doubt for generations. He should apologize to the Russian people for stealing their heroes and replacing them with cheaters.
The world can hold two ideas at the same time. We can band together to fight the scourge of this virus and we can band together to fight the scourge of doping. We won’t forget that easily.
Anton Chupkov Named as Finalist to Russian Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List
by Andy Ross
World Champion and world record holder Anton Chupkov was named as a finalist to the 30 under 30 list by Russian Forbes Magazine. Forbes nominated ten people in ten categories formed by rating editors with the help of experts – entrepreneurs, managers, investors, consultants. Voting started this week and will close on April 28 when the names of 30 nominees (three from each of ten categories), who will receive the largest number of readers, will be published on the Forbes website.
The top 30 representatives of the rating will be published on the Forbes website in the second half of May and in the June issue of Forbes magazine.
Chupkov was named a finalist to the “sports and esports” category along with:
Dmitry Bivol, Boxing Fedor Chalov, Football Mark Danilov, Fortnite Alena Kostornaya, Figure Skating Danil Medvedev, Tennis Cyril Mikhailov, CS: GO Artemy Panarin, Hockey Angelika Sidorova, Athletics Maria Vadeeva, Basketball
briefly held it for nine days in 2003. He is also the two-time reigning World champ in the 200 breast and the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in that event. At 17 he was the Youth Olympic Games gold medalist in the 200, and was also the World Junior Champion at 18 in 2015.
If Chupkov touches first after four lengths of the pool in Tokyo next year, he would be the first Russian to win the 200 breaststroke at the Olympics since Robertas Zulpa won in 1980. In 2019, he won the Russian Athlete of the Year award for his world record in the 200 breaststroke. ◀
Anton Chupkov is the current world record holder in the 200 breaststroke as he swam a 2:06.12 at the 2019 World Championships last summer. He became the first Russian to hold that record since Dmitriy Komornikov
Mack Horton & Family On Life Under Siege Due To Calling Out On Sun Yang’s Doping
by Craig Lord
Mack Horton and his parents Cheryl and Andrew had to have military security follow them around during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, younger brother Chad received threats, the family home was broken into, broken glass was placed on the bottom of the family pool, dog feces hurled over the garden fence and pots and pans banged outside the home at night to cause disturbance on a regular basis after the Australian swimmer called out Sun Yang as a cheat in the wake of a 2014 positive test for a banned substance.
Since Rio 2016, the Hortons have faced constant abuse online, including death threats, had computers hacked and felt like they were living through a siege, The Australian Weekend Magazine reveals in an exclusive feature this weekend.
Andrew Horton receives regular briefings from national security and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials, the newspaper reports with shocking details of the “siege:” the family have been living under.
At one of the security meetings, Horton senior was told that Mack Horton’s podium protest after the World-Championship 400m freestyle final in Gwangju, South Korea, last year, was the lead story in 6,000 media outlets across the world. The Australian reports:
“Consular officials informed him 24 hours after his son’s comments in Rio that they’d received nine million messages and “none of them were pleasant”.
Sun Yang was in the news again yesterday after Swimming World alerted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to a Chinese Swimming Association notice naming the 2012 Olympic 400 and 1500m freestyle champion as a member of the Olympic training team for a an April through June preparation exercise. The news left the likes of James Guy and other Sun rivals in the pool “speechless and shocked”.
WADA’s intervention resulted in the CSA withdrawing the “invitation” to Sun, who on February 28 this year was served an eight-year ban for tampering with a doping-control blood sample he removed from the chain of command after signing it over to the custody of anti-doping control officers in an outof-competition test in September 2018.
The penalty was requested by WADA in its appeal against a FINA Doping Panel ruling in January 2019 to hand Sun a caution but go no further. A panel of three senior judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport sided with WADA when it announced its decision on February 28 before releasing its Report In Full the following week.
Sun has until the end of this month to lodge an appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT). The CAS is based in Switzerland and subject to Swiss law, which is significant in terms of legal procedures and processes and human rights, for example).
In The Australian Magazine, Andrew and Cheryl Horton reveal the “backstage story of Mack’s public stance”. Before Horton deprived Sun of the Olympic 400m freestyle in Rio, he called the Chinese swimmer a “cheat” and said that he did not believe Sun had a right to be in Rio and racing alongside swimmers with a clean record.
Mack Horton, who is aiming to defend the Olympic 400m freestyle crown at a Games in Tokyo rescheduled by a year to July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, knew that Chinese fans would pepper hime with abuse online but there was worse to come.
The Australian reports: “For nearly four years the family has lived in a virtual state of siege. Supporters of Sun, most believed to be on student visas, regularly bang pots and pans late at night in the alley behind the back fence and abused the family from the driveway. Plants have been poisoned, dog feces hurled over the fence, and a man speaking broken English calls Andrew Horton regularly to threaten his daughter (he has no daughter). Last year, after South Korea, Cheryl was cleaning the family pool when she discovered “a bucket load” of broken glass at the bottom.
The newspaper and magazine quote a national security analyst, who declined to be named, saying:
“The family’s ordeal is believed to be well-organised and part of a systematic pattern of harassment and intimidation directed at perceived critics of China. This is not an amateur operation. The Hortons’ story is very disturbing … It says something about the reach of foreign powers within Australia.”
Mack Horton, a 24-year-old reading business management at La Trobe University, denies that his podium protest in Gwangju was pre-meditated and while he continues to receive threats alongside compliments for what supporters refer to as his acts of courage, his primary concern is for the welfare of his family. Horton tells The Australian:
“My primary concern has been my family. To be honest, initially I wasn’t aware of a lot of what was going on as my parents tried to protect me. To see and hear the impact it has had on those I love most has been the most upsetting part.”
While Mack Horton’s South African-born coach, Craig Jackson, and the swimmer’s parents believe the Olympic champion may had had protest on his mind in Gwangju, Horton himself says that his act was neither pre-planned nor an anti-China gesture. Rather, the state of swimming governance was at the heart of his frustration. He tels The Australian:
“It wasn’t pre-planned. I made the decision within the minute leading up to the ceremony. It was about frustration with the governance of the sport. Everyone should be held to the same rules equally.”
In Rio, Sun Yang claimed the 200m freestyle crown ahead of Chad Le Clos, of South Africa and the first man with a clean record to the end wall. There to greet Sun on the poolside with a big was FINA director Cornel Marculescu. There were no hugs for Sun’s rivals, two of whom, Horton and Britain’s Duncan Scott, were singled out for criticism by Marculescu at the closing press conference at the 2019 World titles in Gwangju even though, like them, Sun had also received an official warning for the acrimonious part he played in the podium protests that took place under giant banners of the championship motto: Dive Into Peace.
>> MACK HORTON (LEFT) & SUN YANG
Edited extracts from the Australian Weekend magazine:
On where it all started: At the Rio Olympics, before competition had even begun, Horton says Sun tried to provoke him in a warm-up pool by splashing water and hurling abuse as they both paused at the ends of their lanes. Asked by a reporter afterwards about the contretemps, Mack coolly replied that Sun had “splashed me to say hello, and I didn’t respond because I don’t have time for drug cheats”. “That was the moment our lives changed,” says Andrew Horton. “That’s when it all started.”
“We’ve had so many death threats that we’ve stopped taking them seriously,” says Andrew with a grim chuckle.
On The Reaction to Horton calling Sun a drug cheat:
“Within 45 minutes, some 680,000 slurs, insults and death threats had assailed Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the Chinese social media platform Weibo. His Wikipedia entry was later trolled. Mack was dog (expletive), a racist, destined for the Paralympics, and perhaps a nuclear bomb strike. He must apologise. Or else.”
On the abuse and threats: “The biggest change was the intensity,” says Andrew. “It was unrelenting. Every day and night in the second half of 2019, peaking in September, easing off in February this year.” It relented in the same month that Sun received an eight-year suspension for destroying a blood sample in an out-of-competition doping test.
On living under siege: ” … during an interview for Australian television, Andrew noticed his phone light up with text messages. Two suspicious vans had been spotted outside the family’s home, where their other son Chad was preparing for his Year 12 exams. Andrew shows me one of the texts from a concerned neighbour, which reads: “The garage door was open and so was the house and Mila [the family dog] is missing. The alarm is going off now I am waiting for the police to arrive.
Cheryl cuts a sharp look at her husband as he tells me this. “This is news to me as well… ”
