When Grant Hackett and Daniel Smith step onto the blocks for the 200-metre freestyle final at the Australian Swimming Championships in Sydney tonight, there will be a lot more at stake than medals.
Both have been to hell and back, and both will admit their problems were their own fault.
For the 34-year-old Hackett it will be another step in the right direction after four years of an addiction to Stilnox, a sleeping pill medication.
Hackett eventually flew to the United States for rehab after out of character behaviour that wrecked his image – and his marriage.
The fruits of that successful rehab will be on show tonight.
For the 23-year-old Smith, 18 months of rehab to overcome five years of self-destruction with drug addiction, alcoholism and homelessness, will also be on show.
And the carrot dangling in front of both will be a seat on the plane with the Australian swimming team for the world titles at Kazan in Russia in July if they finish in the top six tonight.
That should be a matter of course.
There’s hardly a struck match between the top five qualifiers in last night’s semis.
Daniel Smith 1.47.08.
David McKeon 1.47.23.
Grant Hackett 1.47.42.
Tom Fraser-Holmes 1.47.49.
Cameron McEvoy 1.47.54.
It will be a major coup for both Hackett and Smith to be back on track to normality to win national selection.
Hackett has been there and done that as a swimming legend in the Australian team from 1998 to 2008, with his two Olympic gold medals over the 1500-metre freestyle at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. He won the first of those medals at the very pool he’s on duty tonight.
Beijing 2008 was Hackett’s last competitive meet, until his surprise bronze medal at this meet in the 400-metre freestyle on Friday night.
For Smith it will be about redemption. He promised so much before he ran off the rails at 14.
At the age nationals, Smith won eight gold medals – the biggest haul since Ian Thorpe. The media at the time described Smith as the next Thorpe.
But there was to be a huge difference in their careers at the same age.
Thorpe was 14 when he first represented Australia at the Perth worlds in 1998, going on to become the youngest ever world champion. He went on to become Australia’s most successful Olympian with five golds, setting 13 long course world records, and voted the Young Australian of the Year in 2000.
So good luck to Grant Hackett and Daniel Smith tonight.
They have paid the price, and their redemption is nigh.
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