At the Australian Swim Trials, all eyes were on 50m world record holder Cam McEvoy on Wednesday night, but it was Sam Short who stole the show. Short smashed the Australian and Commonwealth record in the 800m freestyle final, creating history with a time of 7:36.73, as the 22-year-old continued a brilliant week in the pool.
Sam Short Dominates 800m Freestyle
Short was already the fastest Australian ever over the distance, and for the first 300 metres of the final, he looked as though he could be on track to break Lin Zhang's longstanding world record time of 7:32.12, set way back in 2009. Short led the rest of the field by half the length of the pool (25m) by the halfway mark, but started to fade over the final 200m to miss the world record mark.
However, it was still the most dominant swim of this year's trials, finishing more than 10 seconds ahead of second place, Benji Goedemans in 7:47.62. Short's time was also the third-fastest in history over the distance, taking over a second off his previous best. In doing so, he also registered the fastest 800m time without a supersuit.
The supersuits were banned by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) in 2010 to restore fair competition after swimmers wearing them broke dozens of world records at the Beijing Olympics. Short said the 800m world record in the supersuit is the "most untouchable" record, and he feels good now holding the fastest time ever without the supersuit.
"That 7:32, I would say, is arguably the most untouchable (world record), with the 1:42 (in the 200m freestyle) from Biedermann," Short said. "And how I swam it tonight, I think, is the only way to get even close to that, you know? But I was definitely aiming for that textile world record for a long time. After running that 7:37 when I was 19, that was a massive drop. I knew I had the potential to get under that. I'm keen to see the top 10 all-time list because it's pretty cool to see my name among those lists of legends."
The 800m gold was Short's third title at the trials after he also won the 200m and 400m finals. He could leave the trials with as many as four golds if he takes home the title in the 1500m on Friday.
Cam McEvoy Claims Another Australian Title
Meanwhile, Cam McEvoy took yet another Australian title, winning Wednesday night's 50m freestyle final, but admits he was hoping to go "a little bit faster". McEvoy (21.32) finished just under half a second outside of the world record mark he set at this year's China Open (20.88) but never looked in doubt in the men's final.
Jamie Jack, brother of Olympian Shayna Jack, finished second in 21.52, qualifying for his first Australian team, with Flynn Southam (21.72) in third. "Not too bad. I wanted a little faster," McEvoy said, speaking after the race. "Commonwealth Games is the plan for peaking. (Australia's depth) is crazy. It's a pretty exciting landscape. I think by Brisbane our 50s are going to be a powerhouse."
McEvoy also had some choice words for the Enhanced Games after Greek Olympian Kristian Gkolomeev won the 50m event in 20.81 seconds, faster than McEvoy's world record. Gkolomeev wore a previously banned polyurethane super-suit and took performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) for the swim. The Aussie said the times are not comparable as it's like someone beating his time with flippers on.
"It's like someone putting fins [flippers] on and doing a 50 freestyle," McEvoy said. "It's an exhibition swim, very much outside the scope that is regular sport. It is marketing, so to speak. Across the sports, they didn't have the top people there. It brought in a lot of views, it dominated the algorithm for a little bit of time, but largely the world of sport will move on. It is what it is."
The Australian Swim Trials continue, with Short aiming for a fourth gold in the 1500m on Friday, while McEvoy sets his sights on the Commonwealth Games.
