Shock, heartbreak as Aussie gold medal shot Sam Short fails to reach 800m freestyle final
PARIS: Australia's star-studded swimming team suffered a major blow on Monday night (AEST) as Sam Short, who'd been widely considered a genuine Olympic gold medal chance in the men's 800m freestyle, failed to qualify for the final.
Short won silver in the 800m freestyle at last year's world championships, and finished just 0.76 of a second behind the gold medallist, but in Paris he could only manage the ninth-fastest time of the heats, meaning he fell one position short of qualifying for the final.
At Australia's Paris 2024 trials in Brisbane in June, at which Short contested the 400m and 800m freestyle events and finished second to Elijah Winnington in both, it emerged that he was struggling with a stomach illness.
FOLLOW LIVE: Paris 2024 day three coverage
READ MORE: Three words that summed up extraordinary Jess Fox theatre superbly
READ MORE: Famous father consoles teen Aussie after heartbreak
Swimming Australia said post-race on Monday night (AEST) that he no longer had a virus.
In the 400m final on Sunday morning (AEST), his first event of the Paris Games, he finished fourth, despite having won last year's 400m world title.
After the 20-year-old's heartbreaking 800m swim, he didn't stop to speak to reporters as he made his way through the media mixed zone.
Sam Short pictured after his 800m heat in Paris. Adam Pretty/Getty Images
Winnington, the Australian who won silver in the 400m on Sunday morning (AEST), qualified for the 800m final with the fourth-fastest time, posting a 7:42.86.
"If there's anything I know about Sam it's he's a tough athlete," Winnington said of his young teammate in the media mixed zone.
"He's still got the 1500m [to come in Paris] and he's a fighter and there's no better fight than the 1500m, so I back him all the way."
Check out below how the rest of the session's heats panned out.
Women's 400m individual medley heats
Australian Olympic debutant Ella Ramsay secured her spot in the women's 400m individual medley final by clocking the sixth-fastest time of the heats.
The daughter of Heath Ramsay, who contested the men's 200m butterfly at the Sydney 2000 Games, posted a time of four minutes, 39.04 seconds (4:39.04).
Fellow Australian Jenna Forrester missed out on a place in the final by just 0.15 of a second, finishing ninth with a time of 4:40.55.
Emma Weyant of the US advanced to the final as the fastest qualifier, stopping the clock at 4:36.27.
Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.
Ella Ramsay in action in France. Michael Kappeler/Getty Images
Women's 100m backstroke heats
Australia's Kaylee McKeown, the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 100m backstroke, qualified for the semi-finals with the third-fastest time, clocking a 58.48.
Australian Olympic debutant Iona Anderson, 18, also snared a spot in the semis by posting the seventh-fastest time, a 59.37.
The fastest qualifier was American Katharine Berkoff (57.99), while US teammate Regan Smith, who broke McKeown's 100m backstroke world record last month, registered a 58.45 to advance as the second-fastest qualifier.
