Britain’s Ben Proud, USA’s Michael Andrew No-Show Men’s 50 Fly Heats

2021 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

While Trinidad & Tobago swimmer Dylan Carter, reigning co-World record holder Szebasztian Szabo of Hungary, and up-and-coming Dutchman Nyls Korstanje claimed the respective top 3 seeds of the men’s 50m fly, notable athletes wound up setting gon the sidelines.

On day 4 of the 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi, we saw both American Michael Andrew and Briton Ben Proud no-show for their heats of the 50m fly.

27-year-old Proud has been on the elite international podium in this 50m fly event, having reaped long course gold at the 2017 World Championships as well as bronze at the European Short Course Championships that same year. He opted out of the 50m fly at the 2018 edition of these SC Worlds.

Proud has the men’s 50m free tonight and is most likely just going all-in on that blue ribbon final.

As for Andrew, the multi-Olympic finalist has been a non-factor here thus far, collecting finishes such as 14th place in the 100m breast and 33rd in the 100m fly.

Also of note is the fact South African Chad Le Clos missed moving on, finishing 20th with a morning swim of 23.02. He is the man who took silver behind co-World Record holder Nicholas Santos of Brazil 3 years ago in Hangzhou.

As for Santos, he’s in the mix with a heats swim of 22.66 sitting 9th entering tonight’s semi-final.

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Sun Yangs Mom
2 years ago

Just feel like this is unfair to many of the promising college athletes who would have killed for this spot. And Coleman Stewart lol

anonymous
Reply to  Sun Yangs Mom
2 years ago

They don’t get to go because they are a “promising college athlete” or their name is CS.

Ian
2 years ago

Been a long season coming off the back of Olympics straight to ISL and now World’s SC
Never had so much going on

Yup
Reply to  Ian
2 years ago

you mean just like Le Clos, Shields, Sjostrom, Masse, Kolesnikov and countless others have done????

Oldmanswimmer
2 years ago

Would be appropriate if USA swimming was able to make him repay the cost of his travel.

shoudawouda
Reply to  Oldmanswimmer
2 years ago

Not a useful comment. Suspect some personal amimus there.

Oldmanswimmer
Reply to  shoudawouda
2 years ago

Not personal at all. I don’t know the guy, and I hear he’s a really sweet person. That doesn’t matter; I resent that the money we all pay into the system is used to pay for someone who has not trained or taken their obligation to do their best seriously. He’s not been the only one over the years either.

Stoked 2 b vaccinated
Reply to  Oldmanswimmer
2 years ago

Agreed.

Bevo
2 years ago

Why go? Someone else could have had that spot….

Comet
Reply to  Bevo
2 years ago

Agree. From his IG page it seems he has gone surfing more than he has been swimming. I get it he needed a break from training but didn’t need to go to this meet. I like MA but now he is an Olympian, in fact a relay gold medalist, so he needs to think about his future more seriously. He could be very valuable to any of the ISL teams or he should consider another training base where he could be challenged more.

Steve Nolan
2 years ago

tbh Andrew hasn’t been showing up for anything thus far

boom roasted!

Erik
Reply to  Steve Nolan
2 years ago

Not since trials.

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