Worlds Bronze Medalist Sam Short Scratches 1500 Free At Australian Trials

2024 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Monday, June 10th – Saturday, June 15th
• Brisbane Aquatic Center – Brisbane, Australia
• Prelims at 11am local/9pm previous day ET; Finals at 7:30pm local/5:30am ET
• LCM (50 meters)
• Swimming Australian Olympic Nomination Criteria
• Meet Central
• Updated Psych Sheet
• Heat Sheets
• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Recap | Day 4 Finals Recap
• Day 5 Prelims Recap | Day 5 Finals Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream (VPN Needed)

The men’s 1500m freestyle on day 5 of the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials was dealt a blow as 20-year-old Sam Short scratched the event.

Already qualified in the 400m free from earlier in this competition, Short has reportedly been suffering from a gastro illness that has rendered his performances not up to his usual high standards.

In the 400m free on night 1, Short snared the silver behind winner Elijah Winnington. Winnington got to the wall first in 3:43.26 while Short touched in 3:43.90. Both men dipped under the Swimming Australia-mandated Olympic Qualification Time of 3:45.53.

Short’s lifetime best in the event sits at the 3:40.68 he put up en route to earn gold at the 2023 World Championships, so the Rackley ace was just over 3 seconds outside that caliber of performance.

Then in the 800m free at these Trials, Winnington got the edge once again, hitting 7:44.90 for the gold while Short settled for silver in 7:46.52. Short’s outing wasn’t enough to clear the Swimming Australia OQT of 7:45.80; however, as he already nailed 400m free qualified, he’ll most likely be granted a swim in the 800m free.

With these results in mind along with Short’s 1500m free scratch, in order for Short to potentially be given the nod in the latter event, it was paramount that no more than one swimmer beat the OQT in tonight’s final.

When all was said and done in the 1500m free final, Matthew Galea won the event, posting 14:58.96. That was over the OQT of 14:54.29 needed for Paris, meaning Short’s scratch most likely does not impact his likelihood of racing the grueling event at this summer’s Olympic Games.