As reported earlier this week, Australian James Magnussen pulled out of the Grand Prix in Canberra due to a sub-scapular muscle tear he had been nursing since February. Of course this put Magnussen’s ability to defend his 2013 100m freestyle world title in doubt, but his coach Mitch Falvey insists his swimmer will be fit for battle.
Dismissing Magnussen’s injury as minor, Falvey told the Sydney Morning Herald that “It’s just a ‘niggle’ he’s been carrying for about four months now. With worlds coming up we decided to be cautious and pull him out of racing.” Falvey insists that “The world champs is where he needs to be and we’re confident he’ll be competing, for sure.”
Falvey indicated that Magnussen will see a specialist within the next week for a professional opinion and, in the meantime, has been scaling back his training intensity slightly to give the injury a chance to heal. Falvey did confirm that “It’s certainly not something which requires surgery, the seriousness of it has been exaggerated a bit.”
Falvey, Magnussen’s peer in age, took over the sprint star’s training in late 2014 after he departed from Brant Best.
Hungry to take on the world yet again in his signature event, the coach maintains that the 24-year old Magnussen will indeed be Kazan-ready to win his third straight 100m freestyle title.
