Fairweather reverting to 800m, with one eye on Paris Olympics
ERIKA Fairweather has not waited long to get back into competition.
The Dunedin swimmer will travel to Auckland to compete in the national short course championships later this week, less than three weeks after returning from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Fairweather will compete in the 800m freestyle at the championships.
She could have deservedly taken a break, having spent two months in Europe at the Games and world championships.
However, perhaps a change is as good as a holiday in this case.
‘‘I just wanted to do something different,’’ she said.
‘‘I’m swimming the 800, rather than the 400 or the 200, which is quite exciting.’’
It could be a sign of things to come.
The 800m was a regular event for Fairweather in her younger years.
At the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics, she raced that and the 400m, while always having been a strong finisher in the shorter distances.
However, it has been predominantly the 200m and 400m in which she has competed since taking the leap into the senior ranks.
She had not fully put the 800m to sleep, though.
It could even be on the agenda for the Olympics in 2024.
‘‘We’ve always been wanting to build the 800 into our programme. There just hasn’t really been a good time.
‘‘But now seems to be a good time and it could potentially be on the cards for Paris, even.’’
It comes after a couple of months in which Fairweather firmly established herself among the world’s best.
Having had something of a breakout performance at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, she solidified her ranking by making the 400m freestyle final at the the world championships and Commonwealth Games.
She finished sixth and fourth in those races respectively, putting down the second and third fastest times of her career.
In the 200m freestyle, she finished fifth at the Games.
Fairweather had been pleased with the performances, particularly given the circumstances of her buildup to Birmingham.
She spent a week in a hotel room in Budapest, after testing positive for Covid19.
That limited her preparation for the Games, having a shorter time at the training camp in Mallorca and having to work back to full intensity.
‘‘It wasn’t affecting me by the time I got to Birmingham.
‘‘But I definitely had a couple of weeks after I caught it to avoid the effects of long covid and things like that.
‘‘There was a really slow build up of when I caught it and when I got back to full training. I don’t think it compromised my performance in Birmingham.
‘‘But it didn’t make me the most confident I’ve ever felt going into an event.’’
Despite that, it suggests there is still even more to come under better circumstances.
Fairweather’s next major event could potentially be the world short course championships, which she will attempt to qualify for this week.
The national championships began yesterday.