Source : ABC NEWS
Lani Pallister produced the race of the evening and Kaylee McKeown made a successful return in the opening session of the inaugural Swim GP.
This is McKeown’s return to competition after the backstroke star pulled out of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games because of glandular fever.
She won the 50m backstroke skins event, beating Iona Anderson in the last round on Friday night at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Asked if she was having fun immediately after the backstroke skins, a breathless McKeown groaned “no”.
Pallister won the 400m freestyle in 3 minutes 53.73 seconds, just two seconds off her personal best.
At the start of next month, the Australian distance freestyle ace will compete at the world short-course championships in Beijing.
Lani Pallister of team KingTide was superb, as ever. (Getty Images: Quinn Rooney)
The Wahoo team leads on 105 points, 11 ahead of Kraken, with McKeown’s Tsunami team next on 77 and Pallister’s King Tide scoring 63 and with work to do in Saturday’s final session.
Kyle Chalmers is captaining the Kraken team, but he is not competing in the made-for-TV novelty event.
On doctor’s orders the 28-year-old is in the midst of a six-week break from swimming after the latest MRI scan on his troublesome back.
Six weeks is manageable, especially with three Olympics under his belt and all the faith that experience brings.
But an injury tweak at the Swim GP could turn that into 10 weeks, with next year’s national trials looming large, and the Los Angeles Olympics less than two years away.
“Earlier, when I was going through surgeries, I’d always try to force myself back in the pool and set myself back further — taking more anti-inflammatory tablets or getting a cortisone injection as a quick fix,” he told AAP.
“But my doctor has advised me to have six weeks of no swimming and it’s very important to take that seriously, so I don’t push that six weeks out to 10 weeks.
“Then I’m really behind the eight ball of where I need to be.”
Kyle Chalmers is resting his back for this event. (Getty Images: Quinn Rooney)
After qualifying for the Paris Olympics two years ago, Chalmers revealed he had needed four epidural injections into his spine. That is as brutal as it sounds and he’d prefer not to go through it again.
“It would have been up there as one of the worst experiences for an athlete,” he said.
“At some point you have to step back and say ‘I am a human being first, I’m not just a racehorse that needs to be jabbed’.
“I don’t want the quick fix, I need the long-term solution so I can run around in the backyard with my daughter — hopefully also future children.”
Chalmers also noted that he usually takes time out of the water around this time of year.
He calls this enforced lay-off a small road bump.
But Chalmers was keen to be in Melbourne and lead the Kraken team, calling the Swim GP a great opportunity for the sport.
“I know I could race here and it could be fine, but does it put me back a little bit further in my rehab, and trying to get my body right for what matters most?” he said.
“That’s why it’s still cool to be able to be here and be part of the team.”
Fellow Olympic gold medallist Mollie O’Callaghan also pulled out of the event as she manages a skin infection.
Swim GP is a points-based competition in a 25m pool, with no official times recorded and a variety of relay and individual race formats.
AAP
