BRISBANE: Australian swimming icon Mollie O’Callaghan has provided a candid glimpse into her ongoing struggle with her left knee as she recovers from a dislocation, expressing that it feels as though she’s “kicking with one leg” and swimming “in circles”.
The current Olympic gold medallist in the 200m freestyle has made her return to competitive swimming at the Australian swimming championships taking place in Brisbane this week.
During the finals at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre on Wednesday evening, the 21-year-old secured second place behind Kaylee McKeown in the 50m backstroke, clocking a time of 27.51 seconds, while McKeown triumphed with a time of 27.22.
O’Callaghan also participated in the 400m freestyle final on the same night, finishing as the third Australian and fourth overall, posting a time of 4:10.63.
On Monday evening, the Ipswich native claimed the 100m freestyle title in a time of 53.12 seconds.
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Mollie O’Callaghan at the Australian swimming championships in Brisbane, making her return post knee dislocation. Delly Carr/Swimming Australia
O’Callaghan is set to compete in the 200m freestyle on Thursday, which marks the final day of the national championships, although fans won’t witness a rematch between her and Ariarne Titmus.
The latter is taking a break from competition after successfully defending her Olympic 400m freestyle title in Paris last year.
Speaking to reporters poolside on Wednesday evening, O’Callaghan emphasised that she is still grappling with the effects of her knee injury sustained in January.
“I think at the moment … the last couple of months have been the most challenging for me, especially with the rehab process. I’m still in rehab, dealing with my injured knee, so I’m not back to my best yet,” O’Callaghan explained.
“Right now, it feels a bit like I’m kicking with one leg and just going in circles.”
“The lead-up to this has certainly been frustrating.”
Although O’Callaghan’s left knee was dislocated earlier this year, it was her right knee that sustained a dislocation just a month prior to the 2023 world championships held in Fukuoka.
She is prone to knee dislocations due to her hypermobility.
“It’s been great to come here and draw on my experience,” noted O’Callaghan, who’s coached by the passionate and unique Dean Boxall at St Peters Western in Brisbane.
“My training has been quite limited; I’ve modified my sessions significantly. The whole process has taken a while thus far.”
“So coming here to swim just for the sake of swimming, without any pressure or expectations, has been refreshing. It was nice to get my first race of the year completed and assess where I’m at.”
The national championships are distinct from the trials for the world championships, which are scheduled to take place in Adelaide from June 9-14.
Singapore will host the world championships from July 27 to August 4.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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