JackJumpers' NBL title was special - but where does it sit among Tasmania’s top ten sporting moments?
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
Swim legend Grant Hackett defied the sands of time to win bronze in the 400m freestyle at the national swimming titles in Sydney on Friday night, six years after retiring.
The 34-year-old clocked 3:46.53, behind 19-year-old Mark Horton’s personal 3:42.34, and 22-year-old defending champion David McKeon’s 3:44.28.
The swim won’t earn him a berth in the Australian team for the worlds in Russia in July, as only the first two qualified. But if Hackett can finish in the top six in the 200m freestyle, he’ll be on the plane in the relay squad.
That would be a huge achievement. Before the meet, Hackett said if he can get to the worlds that it would be as good as winning an Olympic medal.
He should know, having won 1500m freestyle gold back-to-back in Sydney 2000, and Athens 2004.
So why is Hackett keen to return to the rigours of training, and competing against the world’s elite?
Hackett has been to hell and back over the last few years, all of his own making. His out of character bad tempered outbursts cost him his hard-earned image, and his marriage to singer Candice Alley – they were divorced in 2013.
When depression set in, Hackett headed for the US for rehab. The success of that sojourn was seen in the pool on Friday night, but Hackett was gob-smacked.
“I can’t believe I can do that after six months (back in the pool),” he said.
“Who knows what I can do in another six months?”
That is the real question, and how far does Hackett want to go? Rio next year?
But first things first.
There’s little doubt Hackett will finish in the top six in the 200m freestyle to regain his berth in the Australian team where he was such a fixture from 1998 to 2008, and the revered team captain.
But what’s more important is that Grant Hackett is out of the wilderness, he’s found himself and his self-respect. The pool is the litmus test, and to this point he has passed with flying colours.
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