Heartbroken Aussie swimmer is left in tears in the pool after failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics – after another hopeful secures his spot with an amazing swim
A shattered swimmer has again missed out on Olympic selection by the narrowest of margins at the official qualifying trials in Adelaide.
Sydney based Matt Wilson, 22, was widely tipped to make his Olympic debut in the pool later on this year in Tokyo – but his hopes were dashed in cruel fashion on Tuesday night.
Wilson finished second behind Zac Stubblety-Cook, and in agonising scenes, will again watch the Olympics at home.
In his pet event, the 200m breaststroke, he touched the wall in 2:08.52, which was painstakingly short of the required time of 2:08.28.
Matt Wilson (pictured) was distraught after just missing out on qualifying for the Olympics on Tuesday night
The Sydney based swimmer (pictured) struggled to contain his emotions in the pool in heartbreaking scenes
Matt Wilson was consoled (pictured right) after finishing behind Zac Stubblety-Cook in the 200m breaststroke at the Olympic trials in Adelaide
Emotion then got the better of Wilson, who missed out on selection for the 2016 Games in Brazil by a similar heartbreaking margin.
He was seen in tears in the pool as the harsh reality set in.
‘Oh no, can you believe it?’ race caller Jon Harker said. ‘Heartbreak again for Matt Wilson.’
Race victor Stubblety-Cook then showed his class post-race, stating he felt for the despairing Wilson.
‘It’s heartbreaking, he (Wilson) worked so hard in and out of the pool and to see that, it’s pretty tough,’ he said.
Queensland’s Stubblety-Cook will be hard to beat in Japan. He produced the second fastest 200m breaststroke time in the sport’s history, narrowly missing the world record set by Russian Anton Chupkov.
Earlier this week, pop-star turned swimmer Cody Simpson, 24, turned heads in the City of Churches, clocking a slick 50.22 in the 100 metres freestyle.
The impressive feat was more than a second quicker than Simpson’s previous best time, and left him a respectable 23rd out of 92 competitors.
The former squeeze of Miley Cyrus, who was a junior swimming prodigy, still has his favoured event, the 100 metres butterfly, to come over the next few days.
Long term, he is targeting the 2024 Olympics in France.
Zac Stubblety-Cook was all smiles after winning the men’s 200m breaststroke final at the Australian Swimming Trials for the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday
Pop-star turned swimmer Cody Simpson (pictured) is also competing at the Olympic trials in Adelaide