McEvoy pointed to Brazilian butterfly sprinter Nicholas Santos, who at 42 years old won 50-metre gold at the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, as evidence enough he could still be a heavy medal contender come Brisbane 2032.
But he expressed his hope the growth of 25-metre sprints, which do not feature in the Olympics or have recognised world records, would take the shorter events into the future.
“But regardless of if it’s approved or not as a world record, the ball has definitely started rolling for interest in this,” McEvoy said.
“It’s not a push for adding 25 to the Olympics or anything like that, but just to have a world ranking and a step forward to take it somewhat seriously within our sport I think will be massive for sprinting in general.”
Griffith University swimming high-performance assistant coach David Thomas felt the way McEvoy had reinvented the wheel would encourage more athletes to consider alternative training methods.
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But he stressed while swimmers could soon push beyond typical retirement ages, it would come down to the individual’s situation. Those factors included mental wellbeing, life balance, financial situation and motivation to continue performing at the highest level.
“I listened to an interview with him where I would say he’s found a little point in his life with his partner and new child where everything is in sync,” Thomas said.
“It feels like he’s heavily involved in the planning and design of his training, so he’s having purposeful input into what he does, not just on a day-to-day basis but actually over the course of three, six, 12 months.
“In a sport that is traditionally a bit like school in that you do what you’re told, that’s a fantastic coach-athlete relationship.
“I think he’s found ways of training where he is getting the most out of the areas he feels are the most heavily weighted towards the areas that are relevant to him.
“He’s identified the strength component, the ability component … it’s like he’s working very targeted in those areas.”
McEvoy, who holds degrees in physics and mathematics, was bracing to be hunted come Australia vs the World, and said that served as motivation to improve.
“I’d be a fool not to think there are youngsters coming up who are going to be developing themselves, and they’re going to be right there on the starting line in LA and Brisbane,” McEvoy said.
“Even well-established guys who are right now redefining the way they approach their own sport, to think they won’t come back as strong as ever is not the best place to be.”
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