Australia’s race I’LL BE GLUED TO MACK AND JACK SHOW
THE “Mack and Jack Show” has all the makings of a classic 1500m freestyle duel because I fancy underdog Jack McLoughlin will be leading with 200m to swim on the Gold Coast tomorrow night.
Say what you like about the 100m being swimming’s blue-riband event, I still think Australians have a very strong connection with the 1500m and its history in our swimming culture. They are like the bookends of a major meet – finding the fastest on water and the distance king.
I’m excited to see two very good swimmers duking it out for an Aussie one-two and I don’t think anyone can be sure which way it’s going to roll. I’m predicting a close Mack Horton victory but these are two swimmers who will race this head-to-head with their own different, tailored game plans.
You have to dictate your terms in a 1500m race. Jack likes to take the race out hard from the get-go to put on a gap. Jack comes across to me as a fighter, a gritty, tough racer.
Mack’s approach has a bit more flair. With his extra speed, if he is within a bodylength-and-half with 200m to go he’s going to reel Jack in from behind.
One bit of intrigue is the scrapping of the Monday morning heats because with only eight entries it’s become a straight final.
My sense is that Mack will likely get more benefit with the extra rest after a busy program which started with his 400m gold on the opening night, a new personal best in the 200m and his 4 x 200m relay gold.
Jack will have come to the Gold Coast trained for a heat hitout as I was in my swimming days, because I found getting into the mode of 1500m racing hugely beneficial.
Mack said he was swimming a bit rough on the last night of his Rio Olympics program in the 1500m after all the energy and emotion expended after his 400m triumph at the front end of the meet.
Watching him this week on the Gold Coast, you can see how much he’s learnt about managing himself really well and his level of emotive responses have been controlled even after two gold medal swims already.
It wasn’t until I was told the other day that I discovered my 1500m time (14 min 41.66 sec) from 1994 in Canada is the oldest Commonwealth Games swimming record still in the books.
It’s a nice reminder that I did compete and maybe for my kids to realise I did. Maybe it can survive a bit longer if Mack and Jack get into a bit of a drag race against each other in adjoining lanes that is less about times. It’s going to be fun to watch.