Australian swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan has “tweaked” her knee during a dryland training session, but is expected to be available to race at the World Championships next month.
“She tweaked it during a stretching session, she was in the water last night and will be going to Worlds but is on a modified program to get her back to full fitness,” according to a statement from Swimming Australia (first Tweeted by Sydney Morning Herald reporter Tom Decent on Wednesday morning).
Word out of Swimming Australia is that Mollie O’Callaghan will be right for world champs next month in 🇯🇵 Has hurt her knee. Playing down severity. Aus coach Rohan Taylor not worried. Red-hot chance in 100 and 200 free pic.twitter.com/PJrjB3feXQ
— Tom Decent (@tomdecent) June 27, 2023
O’Callaghan, the defending World Champion in the 100 meter free, has blossomed into one of Australia’s biggest stars in the pool. She is the world leader so far this year in both the 100 free (52.48) and 200 free (1:53.83) after a big performance at the Australian Championships.
She was also pegged as a possible backstroke leg for Australia’s medley relay as they search for a solution for the breaststroke leg, which could include World Record holding backstroker Kaylee McKeown swimming a secondary stroke.
But for now, the world will watch O’Callaghan closely for the next month ahead of the July 23 start date for swimming in Fukuoka. Even without her, Australia’s depth is such that they would remain favorites in the 400 free relay, but her absence would otherwise rewrite a lot of predictions ahead of the global championship.
Take care! Take great care! Too immense a talent and too much a character gal to hazard anything. This isn’t Paris! I realize WC is big, and her fans, among whom I’m one, will miss seeing her if she is taken down, but it’s not Paris…
And the excuses start early.
“Aussie swimming champion Mollie O’Callaghan dislocates her kneecap in bizarre training accident just weeks before World Championships” – Dailymail
How unlike that bastion of journalistic integrity to declare it a bizarre training accident without bothering to explain why it was bizarre. She hurt it while doing routine stretching exercises. It’s not uncommon for top sportspeople to injure themselves performing exercises they’ve done many times before. Sometimes their bodies object to the persistent, vigorous stresses of training.
Brett Hawke peddling lies, as usual
Please let her be ok by July 23. Fully fit I mean.
Here’s to a speedy recovery, Mollie.
Oof hopefully she’s fully recovered in time!
Here’s hoping. It would be much more exciting with her at full fitness… there are some great races in the 100 and 200 free, and 100 back too.
A month out she should hopefully be ok.
Hopefully it is a one off. As shown with Titmus’ shoulder recovery, she will be in the best of hands.
By the wording I’d guess a rotational tweak spraining a tendon or two, should be fully relaxed in time.
If it was a dislocated patella, she wouldn’t be in the pool.
After reading all reports, it seems like a subluxated patella, so I spoke too soon, but a full dislocation almost always causes a fair bit of damage.
Happened on Thursday, no damage to anything is very fortunate. Taylor visited SPW on Monday and she is training fine under a modified plan, making sure not to aggravate it again, but it should be completely normal during the staging camp.
Not great timing, but far better than happening this time before Paris
After World’s they will probably take a real good overview of any injury risks in the future, it seems like a freak incident but if you are looking at doing this for a decade longer, you need to… Read more »