How pop star Cody Simpson chased his Olympic dream
The Australian pop star hit pause on his music career for five years to become a swimmer. Though he did not qualify for the Olympics, it was a journey to remember.
Swimming
Australian pop star-turned-swimmer Cody Simpson’s bid to make it to the Olympics may have fallen short but the singing sensation is proud of what has been an incredible journey.
Though a talented swimmer as a kid, Simpson’s musical talents gravitated him towards the entertainment industry. Starting as a YouTube sensation in his tweens, the Queensland-born moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and built a stellar musical career.
However, in 2019, Cody shifted his focus back to the pool to ‘just to do right by that kid in him’.
“To have the chance to be swimming for my country and make Australian teams and medal internationally ... is just something that not a lot of swimmers get to achieve or get to experience,” Cody reasoned.
Despite staying away from the sport for almost a decade, Cody had a real go at his dream.
He spent time training with two-time Olympian Brett Hawke in preparation for his swimming comeback and was even mentored by American swimming legend Michael Phelps, Cody’s childhood hero, and even Aussie icon Ian Thorpe.
Cody Simpson’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics shot
A host of brilliant performances saw him make the Australian Swimming Trials for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics held in June 2021. Cody logged a personal best time of 50.22 in the men’s 100m freestyle but failed to make the finals.
However, he made the finals in the 100m butterfly but finished eighth overall with 52.94 and failed to secure a berth in the Australian Dolphins squad for the Tokyo Olympics.
Unperturbed, though, Cody gave his Olympic dream one more shot and moved back to Australia to train under coach Michael Bohl at Griffith University.
Cody won the bronze medal in the 100m butterfly event at the Australian Swimming Championships 2022 and made the Australian squad for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later that year.
At Birmingham, Cody helped Australia win the gold medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and a silver in the 4x100 medley relay. He also won the gold medal in the 100m individual medley at the Australian Short Course Championships 2022.
In 2023, Cody won his first individual medal in an international meet after bagging silver in the men’s 100m butterfly at the Swimming World Cup 2023 held in Athens. His other international podium finishes include a gold in the men’s 4x100m relay event at the Budapest World Cup that year and a silver in the 4x100 medley relay at the Athens leg.
Cody Simpson’s attempt to qualify for Paris 2024 Olympics
On the back of an impressive 2023 season, Cody, who currently dates fellow Aussie swimmer Emma McKeon, Australia's most-decorated Olympian, got an opportunity to earn a berth for the Paris 2024 Olympics as well.
He was fighting on two fronts at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials - in men’s 100m freestyle and his pet event, 100m butterfly.
In the freestyle event, Cody was ousted in the heats. He did win Final B with a personal best of 48.67, which, if it came in the heats, would have qualified him for the Final A in sixth place, potentially earning him a spot in the relay team at Paris.
Cody came fifth in the 100m butterfly final with 51.79, just over half a second short of Swimming Australia’s Olympic qualification time of 51.17. Matthew Temple (51.15) won the event and qualified.
At the post-event interview, Cody revealed that his Olympic chase was over and he’d be switching back to music with a lot of ‘exciting projects’ lined up.
“I did what I could do, and that's all you can do. I've come a lot further in the last four years than perhaps I could have bargained for,” Cody said. “Starting from zero and trying to see how far I could get in half or a third of the time that everybody else has been training, just to do right by that kid in me that gave it up to go and pursue something else, which I had an incredible journey.”
Though he’s moving back to music, Cody also feels that the learnings from his Olympic journey has helped him grow both as an individual and a musician.
“The discipline and resilience and perseverance that swimming has again instilled in me is something that I'm really excited to implement in my future endeavours because it's just helped me grow so much,” he concluded.