2019 SWIMMING AUSTRALIA WORLD TRIALS
- Sunday, June 9th – Friday, June 14th
- Brisbane Aquatic Centre
- LCM
- Meet Site
- Swimming Australia 2019 World Championships – Selection Policy
- Start List
Whereas his Chinese rival Sun Yang has an on-again/off-again relationship with the 1500m free, Australian freestyle ace Mack Horton appears to be sticking to his guns in terms of officially dropping the grueling distance event from his portfolio of events after clinching bronze in the race at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The 23-year-old 400m freestyle Olympic champion’s name is indeed missing from the 1500m field on the start lists for the 2019 Swimming Australia World Trials, supporting his statement post-Commonwealth Games that he and Melbourne Vicentre Coach Craig Jackson would instead be focusing on the 200m/400m/800m freestyle triple.
Although Horton has been prolific in the 1500m since 2014, he was usually just steps behind the world’s best, whether it be 5th behind a pair of Italians in Gregorio Paltrinieri and Gabriele Detti and two Americans in the form of Connor Jaeger and Jordan Wilimovsky in Rio; or, a 10-second behind bronze at 2017’s World Championships behind winner Paltrinieri and runner-up Myhailo Romanchuk of Ukraine.
Reflecting on his 1500m career, Horton told SMH after the Commonwealth Games last year,“I’ve been in denial for a long time. I think [Coach] Craig [Jackson] has known for a while. He’s just been watching me to realise it’s the right decision.”
As such, Horton is entered in the 200m/400m/800m free events, where he’s listed as the top seed in the 400m and 2nd seed in other 2 events. He’s fully capable of beating the Aussie-dictated selection standards, but won’t be alone in his pursuit, surrounded by other top talent by likes of Elijah Winnington, Jack McLoughlin and Kyle Chalmers.
