Gold Coast: Australian Olympic gold medallist Zac Stubblety-Cook admits last year’s world championship campaign, in which he failed to retain his 200m breaststroke title and lost his world record, delivered the motivational stimulus he needed.
By the reckoning of Australian swimming great Giaan Rooney, the disappointing Fukuoka campaign was “the best thing” for Stubblety-Cook because it “relit the fire in the belly”.
The 25-year-old Brisbane product is on the Gold Coast this week for the Australian swimming championships, at which he won the 100m breaststroke title with a time of 59.85 seconds on Wednesday night. He will contest the 200m breaststroke final on Thursday night.
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Stubblety-Cook won the 200m breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He then further stamped his authority in the event by breaking the world record in 2022, clocking 2:05.95.
But at last year’s world titles, he finished second to Qin Haiyang, and his Chinese rival stopped the clock at 2:05.48 to snatch away his world record.
“I think it’s probably what I needed, if I’m being honest. You get to the top and you get a little bit complacent. I don’t know if complacent is the right word; it’s more just comfortable. I think you get comfortable in the routine and a bit numb with racing at a high level,” Stubblety-Cook told media at the national titles.
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“This year and last year it’s been really good to have a bit more hunger.
“Paris gets closer and closer every day. That’s always been the emphasis — the big game.
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“I don’t think I’d be in this position if I didn’t love a challenge. It’s as simple as that. I’ve always loved the challenge and I’ve loved the pressure and I’ve loved those big occasions and I’m excited for Paris.”
Stubblety-Cook is competing at the national championships on the back of a high-altitude camp at Flagstaff, Arizona.
He’s expected to feature in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, 4x100m medley and 4x100m mixed medley at the Paris Games.
“He really didn’t like being beaten last year [at the world championships], and I like that,” Rooney told Wide World of Sports.
“He is a very quiet, unassuming champion, and I think the best thing happened that he got beaten last year. It relit the fire in the belly … It gives that extra emphasis in his training not to back off, and a slight, extra hunger.”
Rooney said she could “see it all over his face” in Fukuoka that he “did not like being beaten”.
“And that’s what you want,” Rooney said.
“It would only spur him on.
“Zac’s said this in an interview where I’ve interviewed him; the first Olympic gold medal is unbelievable, but then it turns to, ‘I want to prove it wasn’t a fluke, I want to prove I can be an incredibly consistent athlete that can find the right gear when needed’. I think he’s got a little bit of redemption to find after last year, but also the burning desire to be a defending Olympic gold medallist.”
