Pacific Games gold medallist Hansel McCaig has one more chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in France when he competes in the Australian Open Championships this week.
The 21-year-old will compete in the 50 metres butterfly, and 50m and 100m freestyle events when the championship starts on Wednesday.
“This is a good qualifying event for me because Australia’s Olympic prospects will also be competing. So being in the same pool with them is awesome,” McCaig said.
The third-year mechanical engineering student at the University of the South Pacific was selected to represent Fiji at the Oceania Swimming Championship in the Gold Coast, Australia but withdrew because of his educational commitments.
The championship will be held on April 21-24.
“I have exams that same week which I cannot afford to miss,” he said.
While McCaig’s upset about not being able to compete at the Oceania, he wishes the national side the best for the competition.
Meanwhile, the former Natabua High School student says balancing his studies with training has not been easy over the past few weeks.
“Sometimes I’ll just have around four hours of sleep because I usually study in the evening and train early next morning.
“It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve been able to manage so far with the help of my coaches and the support from my family.”
Meanwhile, McCaig was part of the Fiji Swimming Long Course Grand Prix 3 at the Damodar Aquatic Centre in Suva yesterday.
Seven clubs featuring more than 100 swimmers from Suva, Lautoka and Nadi competed at the event.
