Give Grant Hackett the benefit of the doubt……for now

It’s always sad seeing a champion stumble. Grant Hackett’s bronze in the 400 metres at the World Championships could harshly be seen as his stumble. Last night’s capitulation in the 800 has led to far more drastic summations.
Remember we were told by his coach that the preparation for this meet was awful. He was in the middle of moving base and he was still in the throes of recovering from a shoulder operation. The warnings were there. Bronze in the 400 metres was understandable. Seventh in the 800? An event he has dominated since 2001? This must be serious.
Remember he is a champion. He has one event left. The 1500. His event. Let’s not write him off until we see what he can produce out of his clearly suffering body. At Athens he fought a collapsed lung to win. Now he will have to fight the weight of his own expectations and perhaps father time.
It’s a stage made for a champion.
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