Sun Yang wins 1500m freestyle meet in absence of Australian swimmers at the 2011 World Championships
Sun Yang clinched the title of Men’s 1500m freestyle meet on the eighth day of the 2011 World Swimming Championships in Shanghai, as he won the event in a world record time of 14 minutes and 34.14 seconds.
With his irresistible swim, Yang beat the 10-year-old world record of legendary Australian swimmer, Grant Hackett, who pocketed the title of the same event in 2001, after he ended his swim in a best time of 14 minutes and 34.56 seconds.
Yang thrilled the Shanghai crowd with his heart-winning efforts in the distant freestyle event, while it was very disappointing for the Australian team, who could not produced a remarkable 1500m swimmer, after having the likes of athletes like Grant Hackett
and Kieren Perkins.
Australian candidates were reluctant to take part in the 1500m freestyle at the 2011 World Championships, as only five weeks prior to the national selection trials of Australia’s swimming team for the event, the nation did not have any participant in the
respective category.
Australia’s Robert Hurley proved his eligibility for the selection standards of 1500m freestyle by posting a time of 15:08.00 minutes last year, bet he refused to participate in the event this year. Hurley believed that mediocre distance freestyle events
were more appropriate for him, which includes the 400m and 200m freestyle category.
After having phenomenal distant freestyle swimmers like Hackett and Perkins, it was a very sub-standard for Swimming Australia to have entered the championship without any nomination in the 1500m event. Like Hurley, Swimming Australia had another encouraging
contestant, Ryan Napoleon, who also stepped back from entering in the event due to the same reason.
Subsequently, there was a third Australian swimmer, Chris Ashwood, who was the third best suitable swimmer considering the Australian record, but he was on a break from the sport and was unable to represent his country at the event. In addition, the rest
of Australian swimmers were ineligible for the new time qualification criteria set by the international aquatics sport’s governing body, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA).
On the other hand, Hackett’s coach, Denis Cotterell had been attached with Chinese swimmer, Yang, and he was expected to improve Hackett’s 10-year-old record. Cotterell called this non-availability of swimmers as a bad patch for the Australian team.
Hackett had already expressed his dissatisfaction with Swimming Australia for having no player in the 1500m event at the Shanghai Championships. Hackett said, “It's getting harder to convince people to do the work required and now we don't have a great 1500m
swimmer to get the next generation engaged.”
Apart from Hackett’s point of view, Perkins was also not satisfied with Australia’s ranking. While addressing the issue, Australia Swimming national head coach, Leigh Nugent said, “It will be a challenge to some people, but this is where we need to be to
go to Shanghai with a competitive team.”
Furthermore, Hackett stressed that the 1500m freestyle is an attention paying event, but Australia failed to produce a long distant swimmer and Yang pocketed the title in a world record time. Yang was overjoyed with his world record making effort and stressed
that he is now preparing with his coach for the upcoming battle at the 2012 London Olympics, where he would like to repeat the same performance.
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