Olympic Medalist Maddie Groves Missing From 2019 Aussie World Trials

2019 AUSTRALIAN WORLD SWIMMING TRIALS

• Sunday, June 9th – Friday, June 14th
• Brisbane Aquatic Centre
• LCM
• Meet Site
• Swimming Australia 2019 World Championships – Selection Policy
• Start List
• Heat Sheets
• Day 1 Prelims Recap
• Live Results
• Live Stream

In one of our previews for the 2019 Aussie World Championships Trials we reported how Olympian Maddie Groves had pared down her racing schedule to include just the 100m fly and 100m free according to the heat sheets. But, based on her absence from this morning’s 100m fly heats, it appears the 24-year-old athlete is absent for the meet in its entirety.

Groves’ career achievement came when earned silver in the women’s 200m fly at the 2016 Olympic Games. Her time of 2:04.88 in Rio fell just .03 shy of gold, with Spain’s Mireia Belmonte getting the gold medal touch in 2:04.85 instead.

Groves raced the 200m fly event a handful of times in 2017, including at the Mare Nostrum stops of Barcelona and Canet where she produced efforts of 2:07.90 and 2:09.44, respectively. She also raced the event at the 2018 Australian Trials, though her 2:10.67 performance rendered her 5th and out of the event for the home country-hosted Commonwealth Games.

Instead, Groves qualified for the 100m fly where she ultimately took silver in the Gold Coast in a time of 57.19.

Groves had a tough 2018 as a whole however, contesting a potential suspension from competition due to missing 3 doping tests over a 12-month period, as well as having undergone surgery for endometriosis. She was cleared of any wrongdoing in the doping situation and bounced back by being named Sportswoman of the Year at the Bond University Blues and Sports Awards last year.

She has yet to race in 2019 and a source tells SwimSwam that, although originally entered in this meet under Griffith, Groves has actually moved to Rackley. SwimSwam has reached out to both Griffith Coach Bohl and Groves herself for comment.