Dual Olympian Mack Horton says he has the utmost respect and admiration for Australia’s newest cult hero Nedd Brockmann, which might explain why the one-time 400m freestyle champion is continuing to punish his body in the pursuit of returning to greatness.
Towards the end of Brockmann’s mind-boggling run across Australia, Horton’s social media feed was awash with content of the bloke with a blond mullet.
“It would be like swimming the English Channel crossing [33 kilometres] every day,” said Horton of Brockmann’s brutal 47-day run across Australia that ended at Bondi Beach in late October.
“It’s just unbelievable what he did. I just love that he is absolutely punishing himself. Nothing gets me going more than watching people punish themselves.”
Like Brockmann, who subjected himself to “forced torture”, Horton has nothing to prove to anyone, yet refuses to hang up the goggles.
Horton has a blunt message for the doubters who question his ability to go faster than he did in 2016: he isn’t going away without a fight.
Mack Horton has his sights set on the 2024 Paris Olympics.Credit:Getty
It’s been six years since Horton edged out arch-rival Sun Yang to win gold in the 400m freestyle at the Rio Olympics.
Horton will dine out on that race for the rest of his life, for it is a moment etched in Australian Olympic folklore.
But after failing to qualify for the event five years later at the Tokyo Olympics, Horton was at a crossroads.
Even this year, Horton’s new coach, Michael Bohl, came out and said the 26-year-old performed better at training than in big meets, such as the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Horton (right) won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.Credit:Al Bello/Getty Images
“That’s a very fair call,” Horton said.
So, what is Horton’s why? What motivates him to still get out of bed every day at the crack of dawn?
“Good question,” Horton told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. “I just love it. It’s pretty simple. It’s fun still. I think I can still improve, which helps keep it fun. I enjoy constantly chasing that.
“I feel like the pressure on me is alleviated in a weird way. If people enjoy watching it, good for them. If they don’t, tough. I’m going to keep doing it.
“The grind is my favourite part. It does get a bit harder on the body. Getting up in the mornings these days is a bit stiff. That’s also fun in a weird way. I love training, heaps. That’s my favourite part of swimming. If I could just train forever, that would be the dream. Train and get paid.
“It’s also assembling the jigsaw puzzle. There are pieces that are coming together but I still need to pull it all together.”
Less than two years out from the Paris Olympics, Horton will compete in the World Swimming Championships (shortcourse) next week in Melbourne, beginning on Tuesday.
Never afraid to speak his mind – who could forget Horton calling Sun Yang a “drug cheat” – the bespectacled senior figure of the Australian swim team admits that swimming shortcourse (25m pool) never appealed to him.
Mack Horton at the Australian National Olympic Swimming Trials in June.Credit:Getty
But a chance to compete in front of a home crowd at just Australia’s second World Swimming Championship event this century – Melbourne held the longcourse titles in 2007 – was too hard to pass up for the Victorian who moved to the Gold Coast last year to train in Bohl’s super squad.
“I will never be a Queenslander,” Horton said. “I’m a proud Victorian.
“I’m going to be honest, I’m not the biggest shortcourse fan and I’ve never done a shortcourse worlds. Going into Worlds and Comm Games, I didn’t think I was going to do it, but I thought I may as well do it. I had FOMO [fear of missing out] on the home crowd in Melbourne. I had to do it.
“At the same time as World Shortcourse in Melbourne, we have Queensland states. I thought I’m either racing Queensland states in the most miserable pool in the world with no crowd, or I’m going to do World Shortcourse in front of a home crowd in Melbourne. That’s obviously the more appealing option.”
Horton won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in a time of 3:46.49. It was five seconds outside his personal best (3:41.55) from the Rio Olympics.
It’s a long way to make up, particularly with Elijah Winnington and Sam Short both swimming sub 3:45 at the Commonwealth Games.
Can Horton really go quicker?
“You’ll have to wait and see,” Horton said. “And so will I.”
FINA World Swimming Championships on Channel 9 and 9Now from 7.30pm (AEDT)
