Cody Simpson has gone from the music charts to off the charts in his swimming career.
The 25-year-old has ticked everything he wanted to in his Commonwealth Games campaign and the biggest came on Wednesday morning in his pet event, the 100m butterfly, where he lined up alongside of Australian national champion Matt Temple.
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In a thrilling finale, Temple took the silver medal in a swim where the top three swimmers finished within 0.16 seconds of each other.
Temple shared silver with England’s James Guy after both were thrown into the wall by strong finisher Joshua Liendo-Edwards of Canada.
Simpson, meanwhile, slowed down in the blocks and looked a disaster for himself as he made the turn after the first 50m before coming home in the second 50m to finish fifth, an extraordinary result.
His time of 52.06 seconds was the second fastest of his career, but was still off his personal best of 51.79 seconds.
The pop star began her journey back to swimming just two years ago after 10 years away from the pool and did so as something of an alley attraction. Now he has proven that he is only box office with his swimming credentials.
Australian swimming legend Cate Campbell told Simpson in her post-race interview that she was changing the game as a mature age converter in the sport.
“It’s been a meteoric rise, a phenomenal effort and you’re really rewriting what people can do in this sport,” he said.
“Usually we see people who come in as teenagers and they tell you if you come in as a teenager, it’s too late.”
Simpson replied, “I want to inspire young people to know that they can do whatever they want, even if they feel like it’s too late or they’re too old to take something, because it’s never too late.” he told Channel 7 after the race.
He said he is far ahead of where he thought he would be in his dream of chasing a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I think with experience comes confidence. And I’m still gathering experience, so I’m still gaining confidence,” he said.
“I’m happy to be here. And I think, win or lose today, I’m going to go back to the drawing board and make sure I come back stronger. I’m already way ahead of where I thought I’d be at this stage.”
The Queenslander’s journey from music artist to swimming star has captivated Australia this year since qualifying for the Commonwealth Games at the Australian Swimming Championships in May.
His swimming career changed forever earlier this week when he claimed a gold medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, where he swam through the heats before missing out on a place in the final.
Her dream to represent Australia had already come true this campaign when she competed in the semi-finals of the 50m butterfly.
But it has always been the 100m butterfly that has had his eye.
He was able to advance to Wednesday’s final with the fifth-fastest time overall, swimming 52.16, well ahead of the personal best time of 51.79 he set at the Australian National Championships in May.