澳大利亚游泳选手肖特（Sam Short）在即将参加泛太平洋锦标赛前发表豪言，表示要"击败那些英国佬，然后击败那些美国佬"[1]。他的言论呼应了2000年悉尼奥运会美国传奇泳手盖里·霍尔二世（Gary Hall Jr.）的著名预言——霍尔当时扬言要"像吉他一样砸烂"澳大利亚队，却最终败给了由迈克尔·克林、克里斯·费德勒、阿什利·卡卢斯和伊恩·索普组成的澳大利亚男子4×100米自由泳接力队[1]。
本周在加州尔湾举行的泛太平洋锦标赛为期四天[1]，将成为肖特验证其豪言的舞台。肖特在今年格拉斯哥英联邦运动会上表现强劲，赢得了400米、800米和1500米自由泳三枚个人金牌以及男子4×200米自由泳接力金牌[1]。不过他在2024年巴黎奥运会的成绩相对逊色，400米自由泳排名第四，800米和1500米项目未能进入决赛[1]。美国选手博比·芬克在巴黎奥运会1500米自由泳项目中以世界纪录夺得金牌，800米获银牌[1]。
Australian swimmer Sam Short has thrown down the gauntlet ahead of this week's Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, declaring he intends to "smash those Pommies up and then go over there and smash those Yanks." [1] The comment invokes the legacy of American swimmer Gary Hall Jr., who made a bold prediction before the 2000 Sydney Olympics that the United States would defeat Australia in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay—only to see Australia (Michael Klim, Chris Fydler, Ashley Callus, and Ian Thorpe) ultimately claim the gold medal. [1]
Short arrives at the Pan Pacific Championships, beginning Thursday morning Australian time and running for four days, [1] as a medal contender following a strong showing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he secured three individual gold medals in the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle events and a gold in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. [1] However, his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics was less successful: he finished fourth in the 400-meter freestyle and failed to reach the finals in both the 800- and 1,500-meter events. [1]
Short will face stiff competition from American distance freestyle specialist Bobby Finke, who dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle at Paris 2024 with a world record-setting gold medal performance and also claimed silver in the 800-meter event. [1]