Sam Short Shakes Off ‘Stubborn’ Mindset to Redeem Himself on the Road to Recovery After Paris Setback

Australian swimming star Sam Short has opened up about his previous “stubborn” mindset regarding sports psychology, once perceiving it as a sign of “weakness”.

However, following an Olympic campaign that he has labelled a “failure”, the Brisbane native now credits sports psychology as key to his transformation into a “new man”.

Short is set to showcase his talents at the upcoming Australian swimming trials in Adelaide next week, where athletes will compete for coveted positions on the Dolphins team for this year’s world championships, slated for July and August in Singapore.

The 21-year-old freestyle swimmer is prepared to tackle the 400m event, the same race in which he clinched gold at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, along with the 200m, 800m, and 1500m.

On a mission to reclaim his world-class form following setbacks from illness and injury ahead of Paris 2024, Short has prioritised his mental well-being. He believes that connecting more with his psychologist at the Queensland Academy of Sport has significantly aided his mental and emotional recovery.

“Until I was about 19 or 20, I didn’t see how beneficial sports psychology could be. But after seriously committing to it over the past six months, it has opened my eyes to a new realm of training,” Short shared with Wide World of Sports.

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“You can dedicate all your time to physical training, but if your mind isn’t strong, progress will be limited,” he explained. “I feel as though I have all the tools now to handle any situation that comes my way.”

“I began to engage with him [his psychologist] more purposefully, and I genuinely wanted to see him after the Olympics. Personally, I was very dismissive of its importance until I turned 20, when I foolishly regarded it as a weakness.”

“Now it’s transformed my perspective, my training approach, and how I manage various situations.”

This renewed focus on psychological resilience aligns with the recent move of Short and his coach, Damien Jones, to train at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre rather than the Centenary Pool in Spring Hill.

“As of January 1, I was a new person,” Short stated. “I’ve moved on and choose not to dwell on anything from the Paris 2024 experience.”

The swimmer’s initial Olympic journey hit a snag when he contracted gastro in the lead-up to the trials but pushed through, instead of easing off to allow his body to recover.

“I really compromised my immune system and just about ran myself into the ground,” Short acknowledged.

His 2024 season was complicated further by a subscapularis muscle tear in his right shoulder, for which he relied heavily on anti-inflammatories to manage the pain during training and competition.

He delivered his best performance at the Paris Games in the 400m but fell short of medal contention, finishing fourth with a time of 3:42.64. Australia’s Elijah Winnington secured the silver medal in that event.

In both the 800m and 1500m races, Short did not progress beyond the heats.

Despite being disappointed, Short’s personal bests in the 400m and 800m exceed the gold-winning times from France, though the conditions at the Paris La Defense Arena were deemed “slow”.

“From my perspective and that of my support team, we can acknowledge the Olympic experience as a ‘failure’. However, it came with invaluable lessons and some fantastic memories,” Short reflected in a candid Instagram post last September.

Recently, he has been competing in the US and Brazil, and training at a high altitude in Flagstaff, Arizona, experimenting with sleeping in an altitude tent at his home in Brisbane.

“I’m incredibly motivated,” Short remarked, expressing his ambition to compete in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m at the world championships in Singapore. “I yearn to race against the best; that’s my driving force. I aim to rise to the challenge against the world’s elite competitors. There have been some remarkable performances this season, and I’m confident I can achieve similar results. I’m looking forward to taking on the best.”

“Right now, my focus isn’t solely on the Olympics; I’m determined to perform my best this year and build steadily towards the Olympic cycle.”