Pop-star-turned swimmer Cody Simpson has shared some revealing detail about the life of his superstar swimming partner Emma McKeon.
Simpson has found himself in a dogfight to make the Australian team that will head to Paris for the Olympics, while McKeon — Australia’s most successful Olympian with 11 medals (including five gold) — shocked the world when revealing Paris would be her last Games.
Australia’s Olympic trials are in June which will be Simpson’s last chance to make the Dolphins team.
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He finished fourth in the 100m butterfly final in the recent Australian champs and it seems unlikely he will qualify for that event.
If Simpson can move into the top six 100m freestyle swimmers, however, he could be added to the relay team.
He’s a chance but he’s well aware he might miss out.
And now Simpson has opened up on his future, while also discussing McKeon’s past.
He’s also hinted that he might give swimming away, referring to Paris as “a fairytale ending” to his swimming journey.
“A fairytale ending would be nice but it will either happen or it won’t and that is the reality of it,” he told News Corp.
Simpson did not exactly address his swimming retirement, saying it will happen when “when it comes”, but he added that he had always known what was next in his life.
He said he was also excited for McKeon and her journey after Paris.
“Emma has never had life without swimming,” he said.
“I know what it is like (to have another career), but she has never had it, so I’m excited for her to explore her other interests and have the time to do that because she has never had it as a kid.”
He said he was fortunate to have a lot of things to look forward to outside of swimming.
“(I have) another passion and career entirely that I am able to pursue again depending on what I decide on out of the pool.
“I don’t know what I’ll do yet, but I’ll make that decision later this year.”
Meanwhile, McKeon, who turns 30 in May, is lowering her expectations at Paris.
“Success for me in Paris would be to swim faster than I ever have before,” she told the Olympics website.
McKeon, who in 2019 graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in public health, seriously contemplated giving up swimming after the Tokyo Olympics.
She took three months off before settling on a return to the pool.
“I think post-Tokyo, the thing that kept me going was that I felt like I had more to give and I felt like I could go faster and do better,” she said.
“So that’s kind of what brought me back to the pool.
“But it’s not really motivation that I rely on. It’s just having my goals in mind and just being disciplined in knowing what I have to do to achieve those goals.”
Just when McKeon steps out of the pool for good after the Olympics remains unclear.
The news that she will not entertain swimming on until Los Angeles 2028, though, arrived with the admission that her motivation has “definitely gone up and down”.
– With AAP
