With Australian swim stars Jack McLoughlin and Mack Horton winning medals at the recent Pan-Pacs Championships in Japan, it would be natural for David McKeon to be concerned.
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But McKeon isn’t worried.
Having battled shoulder pain for over a year, McKeon was preparing for shoulder surgery while his teammates were blitzing their American foes.
However, after enduring a year in which he couldn’t swim without pain, McKeon is instead looking forward to returning to the pool and eclipsing his rivals.
The return will have to wait, with the 12-month recovery period forcing the 26-year-old to miss next year’s World Championships. But by the time Tokyo comes around, McKeon is confident he’ll be fit and swimming faster than ever.
“Most definitely, I’m confident I can get back to my best,” McKeon said. “Knowing that I made the Commonwealth Games team and swum in a final of the Commonwealth Games with a 1.5 centimetre tear in my subscap, I think of what I could have done if I didn’t have that tear.
“Being able to address the issue now was important. We could have taken different paths, but now we have a full two-year preparation leading into trials for the 2020 Olympics.
McKeon has endured a frustrating 12 months, with one of the highlights of his career, a home Commonwealth Games, derailed by the injury.
Such was the seriousness of the injury, McKeon was in pain every time he swam and was unable to do the work required to achieve his goals.
What resulted was a disappointing Games in which he finished sixth in the 400m freestyle final.
“It affected my preparation a lot. I had done less than half my usual work load leading in. I wasn’t able to perform in training sessions to be able to get good work under my belt.
“Leading in I was positive and was able to put it to the side. I didn’t know I had a tear at the time and that worked in my favour, it would’ve forced me to pull out of the Games. I’m grateful to have been able to swim at a home Commonwealth Games, but it’s a bit disappointing the injury happened.”
Now having had the operation and going through the first significant break from swimming in his career, McKeon is enjoying the opportunity to refresh both mentally and physically.
“I think it will be a net positive for me. It’s the longest break I’ve had from swimming since starting in 2010. It will be good for my shoulder, but also very good mentally to have a bit of a break from jumping into the pool every day. I’m looking forward to doing other things in my life and progressing to the next chapter.”
