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Grant Hackett sent an ominous signal to his Beijing rivals with a superb 1500m swim on the final day of the grand prix meet in Sydney.
Hackett, bidding to become the first man to win the event in three straight Olympics, clocked a world class 14min 51.62sec in what amounted to little more than a training hit-out before a hundred or so spectators.
The timing was ideal – in more ways than one.
It was the fastest 1500m he has ever swum in full training, and sent a clear message to his American rivals Erik Vendt and Larsen Jensen just as they are preparing to swim the 1500m final in the US trials in Omaha, Nebraska early tomorrow.
Vendt, who had tapered for the Omaha event, qualified fastest with a swim of 14:50.24, with Jensen fourth in a more leisurely 15:11.99.
Hackett, the world record-holder, surprised himself with how easily he negotiated the 30 laps today.
He bounced out of the pool where he downed Kieren Perkins to win his first gold medal at the Sydney Olympics eight years ago and declared himself “stoked” with the swim.
“I’ve never broken 15 minutes in hard work before,” he said.
“To go 14.51 – I’m really happy with that.
“I was really hoping to go around 15 minutes, and I just got out there and I felt extremely fit. I felt I could just keep going.”
He had plenty in reserve, too.
“If I was pushed I probably could have swum a mid-40s, which is nice when you’re in hard training.
“I just felt like I got on the pace well, and ticked over well.”
Hackett now believes the morning final in Beijing could play into his hands, especially as it will give him an extra 10 hours of rest.
At 28 he will be the oldest man in the field and he has sometimes struggled to back up the day after a hard swim.
But after this swim he now thinks his body clock is better suited to morning finals.
“Mentally and physically I actually feel better swimming in the morning than in the evening,” he said.
Hackett’s task now is to hone his fitness and keep himself free from illness in the final five weeks before he hits the water in Beijing.
He believes Vendt and Jensen will be his main rivals.
“These guys have really improved, and we’ll wait and see what they do in the final to see where they are really at.
“I think they’ll be the two to beat at the Olympics. It’s going to be a competitive field.
“Swimming well doesn’t mean it’s in the bag by any means. It’s going to be one of the toughest and closest races I’ll ever have.”
While the team captain was making short work of the 1500m field, 16-year-old Cate Campbell made even shorter work of the sprints.
In a head-to-head race with world record holder Libby Trickett (27.17s), the teenager touched the wall in 24.17 seconds in the 50m freestyle – the fifth fastest time in history.
Campbell then backed it up ten minutes later by winning the 100m freestyle in 54.20 seconds with Trickett (55.78s) fifth.
Her coach Simon Cusack was delighted.
“That is good to see you can get up and fire in the morning and go home now and start resting up and see what happens,” he said with a smile.
To put the 50m in perspective, at the US trials Dara Torres (24.38s) topped the timesheets for the final with a time two tenths of a second slower.
Campbell is quickly looming as one of Trickett’s greatest threats in the 50m and 100m freestyle in Beijing.
Trickett’s performances today are no reason for alarm, the sprint star used the meet as a glorified training exercise and competed in standard swimmers.