The Commonwealth Games are underway in Birmingham, England and day two brought a surprising result from Australian swimmer Cody Simpson. The 25-year-old is more commonly known for his performances on a different kind of stage, but is making his debut in the pool and qualified for the semifinals in the 50m butterfly on day two.
Simpson is a well-known musician, actor and model, but has been swimming since he was a kid. He has recorded pop albums, worked on Broadway and modeled for various companies, but does not want to stay in the box of an entertainer.
In an interview with Olympics.com, Simpson said, “I want to expand the ideas around what somebody can do in their lifetime. I think it’s very easy to box yourself in and label yourself. And that’s the easiest thing for our minds to do to ourselves and to other people is to box them in. But I don’t ever want to do that to myself and I never wanted to do that to other people. So I like to be unidentifiable at times I suppose.”
Simpson took 10 years off from swimming and returned to competition just one year ago. He missed out on qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by only 1.24 seconds. Now, he has his sights set on Paris 2024 in at least one event, maybe two.
At the 2022 Australian National Championships in May, he finished third in the 100m butterfly to earn a spot at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“I want to expand my events,” he told Olympics.com. “I was in the 100 free finals at the Australian national trials, and I went 49 [seconds] twice in that day for the first time which was a step for me. I may try a few 200s, even if it’s just to get me fitter.”
Simpson is very quickly showing that he is not just a talented entertainer, but a strong athlete who has a very real chance of finding his way to France in two years. And for the naysayers and critics who have labeled him just a pop star? Simpson responded with, “How fast do I have to go before you drop that?”
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
