2024 Australian Olympic Qualifiers
The veteran backstroke swimmer was surprisingly left out of the initial psychology sheet. Mitch Larkin He is set to compete at the Australian Olympic Trials next week.
Larkin was not on the original list of competitors announced in late May but is reportedly set to compete in the tournament, scheduled for June 10-15 in Brisbane.
That proved to be the case after Swimming Australia released its latest psychology sheet, confirming that the 30-year-old will once again compete in the men's 100m and 200m at the trials.
Larkin, a three-time Olympian, is seeded eighth in both the 100 backstroke (55.01) and 200 backstroke (2:00.08) but has barely raced in the last 18 months, especially after nearly a year off competition following the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Larkin, who trains out of Chandler Swim Club, has been active on the 2023 World Cup circuit and has recorded the fastest times in the 100 backstroke (55.01 seconds) and 2:01.00 in the 200 backstroke, most recently 55.50/2:00.44 at the Australian Open Championships in April.
Larkin made his Olympic debut in London, reaching the final of the 200m backstroke where he placed eighth, and then won two medals at the Rio 2016 Games, winning a silver medal in the 200m backstroke and a bronze medal in the men's 400m medley relay.
This came after he was in the best form of his career, winning two backstroke gold medals at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. In November 2015, he set what remain Australian and Commonwealth records in the 100m backstroke (52.11) and 200m backstroke (1:53.17) at the World Cup in Dubai, and then a few weeks later set the SCM world record in the 200m backstroke (1:45.63), which still stands today.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Larkin placed seventh in the 100 backstroke (52.79) and 10th in the 200 individual medley (1:57.80).
The updated sentiment sheet showed no changes to the lineup of featured artists already entered for the event.
The competition will take place at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre from June 10th to 15th.
