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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian swimming will check its progress in the leadup to the Olympics at national championships on the Gold Coast this week with swimmers adapting to the Tokyo Games’ scheduling.
Competition gets underway later on Wednesday with the heats in the evening sessions and finals held in the morning as they will be in Tokyo.
Australia holds its Olympic swimming trials in June, and results are expected to be mixed at the championships this week with swimmers at different stages in their preparations.
But the meeting will be an important milestone for a number of competitors, head coach Rohan Taylor said on Wednesday.
“Some may have rested a little bit for this meet, some may not have depending on who they are,” Taylor told reporters.
“They’ll go home and take stock of the performances, and we’ll talk to them and see what kind of support they might need to just continue their preparation to ensure that they get to the Olympics and perform.”
Men’s Olympic 100 metres freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers and women’s 400m freestyle world champion Ariarne Titmus will be closely monitored as they come back from shoulder injuries.
Chalmers returned to the pool at the New South Wales state titles in March following surgery, while Titmus is making her return to competitive swimming after three months off with her own shoulder problem.
“Talking to their coaches, they’re on track. They’re here, they’re ready to compete,” said Taylor.
“They’ve been training, they’re back to full training loads and obviously they’re just being mindful … but they’re all good to go.”
Australia was a distant second behind the United States on the medals table at the Rio Olympics pool, with three gold among 10 medals in total.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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