Poort and parents off to Rio

A brave but calculated risk to swim to the front with three kilometres to go has earned London Olympian Jarrod Poort (West Illawarra) a shot at a second Olympics in swimming’s 10km marathon in Rio a month after his parents had booked their flights to the Games.
 

The 21-year-old from Wollongong took the lead during the final two laps of the final Olympic Qualifier in Setubal, Portugal earlier today and it was a move that paid off big time.
 

In the end just 3.2 seconds separated Poort from fellow Olympic team aspirant, WA’s fast finishing Simon Huitenga as the top 10 swimmers jostled for positions and for the Australians the one spot up for grabs for Rio.
 

“I’d had a pretty cruisey first half of the race and thought it was time to take off and if I was going to have a chance of winning the race then I had to take the lead,” said Poort.
 

“They say you shouldn’t lead but I was confident in the decision and I thought I had to do it. I felt strong and I knew I had to put myself in the race and back myself.
 

“I had done a lot of training sessions that were harder than the race so I knew I could handle it.
 

“Over the last 300m I just got swamped and I could see Simon and I knew it was going to be close.
 

“It sucks really, a real bitter sweet feeling for me to make the team and for Simon to miss out….I really feel for him.”
 

But as does happen, the 10km finish is all about putting yourself in the best place over the last kilometre of the race and Poort and Huitenga were so close in the end, finishing just metres behind Tunisia’s defending Olympic champion, Ous Mellouli.
 

Today it was Poort, who was a last minute inclusion ahead of Mack Horton for the 1500m freestyle in London four years ago, who has again grabbed an 11th hour place on the Rio team.
 

It will take the number of swimmers going to the Games to 39 following the inclusion of relay swimmers James Magnussen, James Roberts and Matt Abood onto the pool team and now Gubecka and Poort.
 

And Poort also revealed his “extra incentive” to make the team.
 

“About a month ago my dad Gary pulled me aside and said ‘son there’s something you should know,” said Poort.
 

“Your mother (Sheryl) and I have already booked our flights to Rio… and Mum wasn’t happy that he told me saying I didn’t need the extra pressure.
 

“But there was no pressure really… I just saw it as an extra incentive to make the team.”
 

It was a special day for National Head Coach Ron McKeon, Poort’s former coach and now the driving force behind the success of Australia’s open water team.
 

“I’m just so humbled not just to see these guys swim so well but they are all team mates and roommates, and they’ve had a long journey together, racing head to head and just getting on with it. I’ve got so much respect for all of them on both a personal and competitive sense,” McKeon said.
 

And as for Poort, McKeon was quick to praise his former charge saying: “He took every opportunity to win it; he swam the race and not just the race within the race while Simon gave it everything he had and to get that close and he didn’t quite get there but he was taking some water out of the field in the end.
 

“Australia has had Ky Hurst and Mel Gorman on the past two Olympic teams in the 10km event and the baton is in good hands.”