Cut-throat heats will test even star pair
A PROGRAM tweak has ensured swimmers Cate Campbell and James Magnussen will have to be firing when they launch their comeback at the Commonwealth Games trials.
Australia coach Jacco Verhaeren says semi-finals have been removed this year, ensuring a cut-throat heats session will determine the eight finalists.
Verhaeren said the semifinals were ditched to keep the pressure on his athletes and create the intensity of a major meet, tipping even Campbell and Magnussen to feel the pinch.
Former world champion Campbell officially returns to competition after taking a 2017 sabbatical in the wake of her disappointing Rio Olympic campaign.
Two-time world champion Magnussen is back after taking time to recover from shoulder surgery.
“Even for them it will be tough competition,” Verhaeren said. “We cut out the semis, it’s top eight immediately qualify for the final.
“We did it on purpose to replicate and create tough conditions to make the final to drive peak performance and resilience, to show every moment counts.”
Verhaeren copped criticism for allowing the high-profile duo, as well as Olympic freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers, to enjoy a 2017 break from competition, missing the world titles campaign in Budapest where Australia finished a distant eighth with one gold.