Cody Simpson: Will popstar-turned-swimmer qualify for Paris Olympics 2024?

Popstar-cum-swimmer Cody Simpson can still dream of going to Paris 2024 despite failing to secure a place in Australia's team for the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships.

There was some encouraging news for the 26-year-old heartthrob as he made the finals of all three events he contested in Melbourne, needing to win a dramatic swim-off in the 100m freestyle.

And he will have one last chance to qualify for Paris 2024 when Australia holds its Olympic swimming trials from 10-15 June next year.

Becoming an Olympian has been Simpson's main goal since he placed his music career on ice in 2020.

He has shown plenty of promise on that journey, winning medals at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham to mark a remarkable return to swimming after a 10-year absence.

Simpson's ascent to the podium in Birmingham – winning gold in the 4x100 freestyle and silver in the 4x100 medley relays – highlighted his talents in two highly competitive fields. His achievements also put paid to the notion that Simpson’s transition into swimming was a publicity stunt.

After missing the World Aquatics Championships for the second time, however, Simpson is still looking to carve a spot for himself among the sport's elite.

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Cody Simpson: A bona fide swimmer

It is now five years since Simpson teased a potential cameo in the sport and he has since established himself as a bona fide swimmer with the silverware and world-class times to boot.

Representing Australian on the global stage is an impressive achievement in itself, but Simpson wants more. Becoming an Olympic swimmer remains at the top of his bucket list, and he is hellbent on booking his ticket for Paris 2024.

Simpson demonstrated his raw potential when he qualified for the Australian Olympic Trials in 2021 after just one year of full-time training.

“Growing up competing, and then inevitably having to cut my career short as a 13-year-old Australian champion when I received an opportunity in music that I couldn’t refuse,” Simpson said at the time.

“Now almost exactly 10 years later, here I am poolside 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.

"It is my greatest ambition in life 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!"

Cody Simpson: Rising to the top

Simpson fell short of making Tokyo 2020, finishing last in the men’s 100m butterfly final at the trials and missing an Olympic spot by 1.24 seconds.

He was pleased with his finish, saying that merely reaching the final was akin to a gold medal as he only expected to race competitively by 2022 or 2023.

This came to fruition with Simpson almost earning a ticket for the 2022 World Championships.

He thought his third place in the 100m butterfly at the Australian national champs would be enough, but Kyle Chalmers opted to contest the event having previously said he would not.

Chalmer's performance, however, secured a place at the Commonwealth Games where he had his first taste of international swimming and silverware.

“My first Commonwealth Games done & dusted. For me, the very act of training morning and night and the thrill of racing is rewarding enough – but to walk away from my international swimming debut with a gold and silver medal (for my swims in the men’s 4x100 freestyle and 4x100 medley relay heats) is something beyond articulation for now. Thanks all,” he wrote on social media.

“Ready to go back to work, keep improving on my individual events and perhaps explore new territory. I’m honoured to represent Australia and represent all the kids who decide to walk steadfastly in the direction of their dreams, it’s never too late!”

Cody Simpson: The why must be stronger than the what

His hopes of turning out at next year’s Olympic Games hit a snag in April, with Simpson producing below par performances at the 2023 Australian Swimming Championships where he competed after a recent illness.

Simpson finished eighth in the 100m butterfly final in 53.48s – 1.6 seconds slower than his personal best in the event. He failed to reach the final in the 100m freestyle finishing fifth in the B-race in a time of 50.25s.

His times improved at the Australian World Championship Trials where Simpson made the finals in all three of his events: men's 50m and 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle.

He finished fifth in his signature race, the 100m butterfly, in a time of 52.24 seconds, and broke the 50-second mark in the 100m freestyle, touching the wall in 49.11 seconds for seventh place. He also placed fourth in the 50m butterfly, which is not an Olympic event.

While these results did not earn Simpson a ticket to the Fukuoka 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, the multitalented Australian is showing no sign of giving up on his swimming dream.

"In pain there is progress, in discomfort there are diamonds," Simpson posted on Instagram in May.

"The path I’m on right now is very different from the ones I’ve walked in the past, and the ones I will walk again in the future, but it might be the purest path I’ve experienced. I’m satisfying the swimmer in me."

There are more practical similarities between Simpson’s sporting and musical lives too.

Being on stage and playing in front of thousands prepared him for the nerves he’d experience before major race meets, as well as the subsequent media and fan attention.

_“_In both pursuits you're about to do something that you really care about the outcome of with plenty at stake, and that you’ve trained hard for,” Simpson said.

“At the Australian Olympic trials in 2021, I was going for the final 100 fly like a crowd is chanting my name. Despite not being in shape to make the team at that stage, it could have been overwhelming. But because of the experiences of my life so far, it didn’t ruin me in that moment or make me choke.”

Simpson moved to the USA full-time aged 14 to pursue his dream of becoming a musician, but his desire to swim still burned bright.

As soon as he got the chance, the young singer took a trip to North Baltimore to meet his then hero Michael Phelps.

“I made him sign about 20 caps before he got in the water for training and I did some sessions with Bob Bowman’s junior squad,” Simpson continued.

“This was in 2009 after the Beijing Olympics and he was at the top of his game, so it was like otherworldly to me.”

The 23-time Olympic gold medallist didn’t know who Simpson was back then, but now shares a close bond with the Australian, as does Aussie swimming legend Ian Thorpe.

“Phelps has been through some of the same struggles [as Thorpe] and actually not long ago he was giving me tips on how to fall asleep during meets, mental sets of triggers and little things you can try and use to relax and take your mind off of racing.

“There were a few visualisation techniques that he shared with me, like closing your eyes and painting the room around you.

“It’s special being able to talk to them as often as I can.”