Popstar Cody Simpson has revealed on social media that he has qualified for Australia’s Olympic swimming trials – to be held next year.
Simpson, who is a good friend of Justin Bieber and an ex-boyfriend of Miley Cyrus, posted his “personal milestone” to Instagram. The 23-year-old, who was a promising junior swimmer prior to launching a global music career, has returned to the pool in the US in the past two years, under the guidance of former Olympian Brett Hawke.
Simpson said in his post he had swum a time of 54.7 seconds for the 100m butterfly, below the qualifying mark for the Olympic trials of 56.87 seconds.
The news came as a massive surprise for most, given Simpson is best known around the world as a teen heart-throb.
Simpson got his start as a singer after being discovered on YouTube in 2009 and has spent the past decade touring the globe. He was once the most followed Australian on Twitter and still has a massive following of more than 11 million people on social media.
Cody Simpson Shared the Olympic News on Instagram
Simpson shared the news on Instagram, writing:
I just qualified for my first Olympic trials.
I’d love to share this personal milestone and let you in on my current journey as an athlete that I’ve kept relatively low key until now. Growing up competing, and then inevitably having to cut my career short as 13 year old Australian champion when I was given an opportunity in music that I couldn’t refuse. I have had the chance to experience and learn so much as a musician from touring around the world, releasing albums, performing as a leading man on Broadway, publishing a work of poetry, traveling with and speaking at the United Nations on environmental and oceanic matters and much more.
For this I will be forever grateful. Now almost exactly 10 years later, here I am once more. For years I had been fuelled by the silent fire in my stomach of returning to the sport of swimming, with the idea that 2020 would be the year I’d try training again. After only 5 months back in the water with my incredible coach @hawkebr, I was able to take out a win and secure a spot at next years Australian Olympic trials in the 100 fly. It is my greatest ambition to expand the limit and perceived notion of what’s possible for someone to achieve in a single lifetime, and I’m here to tell you can do absolutely ANYTHING if you are willing to work for it. I’m looking forward to seeing where this all takes me on the long road ahead! 🇦🇺
The singer went on to get some supportive comments from some of his famous athlete pals.
“Lfg!! Congrats mate,” wrote Michael Phelps, who won 28 Olympic medals throughout his swimming career. Australian Olympian Ian Thorpe also celebrated the news, responding to Phelps’ message with a string of thumbs-up emojis.
