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Comeback plans are on track for controversial swimmer Nick D’Arcy despite his no show at the Queensland championships at Brisbane, his coach said.
After glamour girl Stephanie Rice pulled the plug on her Queensland titles campaign following just one event, D’Arcy was also conspicuous by his absence at the championships – expected to be his first event since pleading guilty to assaulting ex-international swimmer Simon Cowley.
Sunshine Coast-based D’Arcy had nominated for four events but opted out of the state titles after his preparation was disrupted by recent university exams for his science degree.
But D’Arcy’s coach Brian Stehr said on Monday his charge was “champing at the bit” to succeed at March’s 2009 world titles selection trials – if given the chance.
D’Arcy will be sentenced on February 20 after last month pleading guilty to punching Cowley in the face in a bar fight.
The champion butterflier was dumped from Australia’s Beijing Olympic team after being charged with the attack that left Cowley – a Commonwealth Games gold medallist – with fractures to his jaw, eye socket, hard palate, cheek bone and nose.
“I am not worried about it (D’Arcy missing the Queensland titles),” Stehr said.
“If he is given a bit of space now and allowed to think about the next three months, he will get his head together and allowed to make that team for the world championships and then who knows what he might do.”
The world titles selection trials will be held in Sydney just weeks after D’Arcy’s February 20 sentencing.
After pleading guilty to one count of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, D’Arcy faces a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars.
Stehr said D’Arcy was handling the uncertainty as well as can be expected.
“He is coping with it really well. We don’t talk about it a lot, there is nothing to be achieved to discuss it at any length,” he said.
“I just hope it all comes out okay for him. It would be a horrible thing if it goes the other way.
“But he is training as well as ever.
“He has retained his dignity throughout the whole thing. It has been an awful year for him and his family and a pretty hard one for me too I suppose.
“The way he has conducted himself throughout all of this has been a credit to him.”
Stehr said D’Arcy would only have a couple of days off over Christmas before resuming training in a bold bid to make the 2009 world titles team.
“He had quite a long period of time during the other business when he didn’t do a lot of training,” he said.
“It has been one of those years that we would prefer to put behind us.
“But now that (exams) is over it’s head down bum up for the next three months.”
In major state titles results on Monday night, Beijing Olympic relay gold medallist Bronte Barratt nabbed her second win in as many days by taking out the 400m freestyle final.
Barratt clocked 4min:08.92sec ahead of fellow Beijing Olympian Meagen Nay (4:13.34) and Gold Coast teenager Ellen Fullerton (4.15.59), already considered the next Stephanie Rice.
Fullerton, 16, also took out the 200m individual medley state crown on Monday night despite battling illness.
She has emerged as one to watch leading into the world titles trials after taking down Rice’s national short-course record in the 400m IM at the Australian titles in September.
Barratt also won the 200m freestyle final on Sunday night, relegating Rice to fourth.
Rice promptly withdrew from the state titles, citing illness.
Meanwhile, Beijing silver medallist Brenton Rickard won the 100m breastroke final and Games bronze medallist Cate Campbell took out the 50m freestyle title ahead of fellow teenager Emily Seebohm.