WINNINGTON’S A WORLD CHAMP
FROM the depths of despair to champion of the world in less than a year, Elijah Winnington’s transformation has been as fast as his swimming.
He almost quit the sport after flopping at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, but gave it another shot and now he’s the world champion in 400m freestyle after a masterful ropea-dope performance in Hungary.
The doubters who questioned Winnington’s guts after Tokyo have been silenced forever because this was an unforgettable win full of courage and tactical genius.
After gassing his rivals by setting off at an electrifying pace he then surrendered his lead before rising again and surging past exhausted German whiz kid Lukas Martens on the final lap.
Because his stroke is so smooth, Winnington made it look easy as he pulled away to win by a body length, but it was a performance built on heart as he joined Kieren Perkins, Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett as the only Aussie men to win the world 400m title.
“With 75m to go, I don’t want to sound cocky or anything, but I kind of knew in my mind I was going to be world champion.” Winnington said.
“I knew I had it, I just didn’t really know what time we were going. It’s just one of those things that enjoyment brings confidence.
“Like I say with my mind coach, fun is fast and that’s kind of what was brought out.”
The only thing as impressive as the manner of Winnington’s win was the numbers next to his name on the scoreboard inside the Duna Arena.
His winning time of 3:41.22 was the fastest by anyone in the world for a decade and moved him to fifth in the all-time rankings, leapfrogging Mack Horton as the second fastest Australian.
“I kind of have to pinch myself that the only person better than me in my country’s history is the great Ian Thorpe,” Winnington said.
Winnington still has the 200m and 800m to come plus the 4x200m relay.