McCormack One Step Closer To Olympic Team

Chris “Macca” McCormack has moved a step closer to earning a spot on Australia’s 2012 London Olympic team.

McCormack revealed on Twitter he had been added to Triathlon Australia’s Olympic shadow squad, a prerequisite for any athlete hoping to be selected in the Australian team for London.

“Nice call from Triathlon Australia today – now an official member of the Australian Olympic shadow squad for London,” McCormack tweeted, after competing in the Noosa triathlon yesterday.

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When the initial shadow squad was announced in January this year, McCormack was still focused on Ironman racing, but he decided in February that he would have one last tilt at becoming an Olympian.

The 1997 world champion over the Olympic distance, McCormack was devastated when he missed selection for triathlon’s Olympic debut in his hometown Sydney in 2000 and turned his attention to Ironman racing.

It was only after he had achieved his ambition of winning the Hawaiian Ironman that he began to consider the Olympics again.

TA’s national selection panel is deliberating this week over early nominations for the Olympic team and in the process has agreed that McCormack has done enough to earn a place in the shadow squad, which will attend a two-day training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra next week.

Read more: Theaustralian.com.au