Southam's Spur: 'I Got Sick Of Coming Second to Kyle Chalmers'
Explain the underpin of perseverance and patience. Defeat and longing to be No1, first up, then what's driving him to LA2028: the totem of 'Cam McEvoy's book of super specificity' - Flynn Southam
Look back down the years and many a champion has cited the same as Flynn Southam during or after their careers when asked them to name the nature of motivation, drive, zeal and pushing on when to do so might have felt like the hardest thing to do: defeat.
Even the G.O.A.T, Michael Phelps pointed to it when I asked him back in 2009 to name the moments that provided the spur for rising higher. He cited defeat, silver behind USA teammate Tom Malchow on then 200 'fly at Pan Pacific Championships.
He mentioned other similar moments, and by the time his 23-gold-atop-28-Olympic-podiums career was done, he'd mentioned two other big drivers that made my top 15 favourites from the G.O.A.T's Games-Over collection:
- At No4: 200m freestyle Athens 2004 – Bronze: the ‘race of the century’. Well, it won’t be by the time the century is up, four years into 100 years not the best of moments to dismiss 96 years of achievement to come. Still, what a race and with Ian Thorpe and Pieter Van Den Hoogenband ahead of him, Phelps had the best gift he could have had in terms of the next four years in pursuit of those pieces of eight
- At No5: 200m butterfly, London 2012 – Silver: same spirit as above. It is because Chad Le Clos got his hand to the wall a touch ahead in London that we were all able to witness the wonder of Rio 2016.
Those memories:
Craig Lord
So, be as sick as you like - it's fuel for the road - says Southam when asked to describe the difference between seasons that ended shy of goal and this one of Commonwealth gold ahead of Matt Richards (Wales) and Dolphin mate Kyle Chalmers, he of Olympic gold (2016) and two silver (2020one and 2024):
“Honestly, I got sick of coming second to Kyle Chalmers. I really took that personal the past couple of years because I want to be that guy for Australia in the individual 100 and it's my time now..."
He was speaking at a time when Cam McEvoy is away on World Cup tour, and on a day when the 50m free final in Sydney still provided another moment to help Southam practice what he preaches: patience.
McEyoy on 20.22 in his opening gambit on the Silk Road's Baku stop of three Cup rounds yesterday - his sights set on a sub-20 before the job is done - back home, the clock stopped at 20.68, the winner Isaac Cooper in a career high 20.68, after 20.72 in heats.
The silver went to Southam in 20.95, another pb, but no automatic berth in the Beijing dash. He'll probably get one, being the Australia number 1 on the blocks for the 100m and a title contender when he's stepped up, landed the crown, and when he will step up in China in December. That kind of season.
The dash bronze went to a 19-year-old, Ollie Moclair on 21.08, after 20.98 in heats.
Nicole Jeffrey and colleagues rightly thought it well worth grabbing a word with the Commonwealth 100m free king in the mixed zone before he heads off to prepare for a ball in Beijing.
Summing up his week, he said:
“I'm pretty happy with it after a pretty tough year of racing, heaps of racing, but I'm super thrilled, and motivated to get back to training, and I'm just ready to take on the world – Jack Alexy, Egor Kornev, David Popovici, Kristof Milak, they are a few of the guys that are on my hit list."
Given that you had such a brilliant junior career, and that that conversion from junior to senior is quite tricky, how do you feel like you negotiated that and how difficult was it for you to kind of be patient?
“Definitely, patience is the best word, and patience is the virtue we all must master. And I think that I learned that the hard way, because I feel like when I was younger, I just went on a really upward trajectory from about 14, 15 years old, with Australian records, and lots of hype around me and everything, and then I found that I kind of, not plateaued but I didn't have that same trajectory for a couple years.
"I think a lot of that was to do with growing - I put on 7 or 8 kilos in the span of a few months when I was 18-19. So for me, it was all about growing into my man's strength, but more importantly, mentally, just believing in myself and having a really solid base and trusting my team, which is what I do completely, and knowing that I do belong there and that there's no imposter syndrome, and, knowing that I'm better than all those guys, I think, and now it's just about me going out there and proving it.”
What was the difference this year that you've managed to get to where you felt like you should be?
“Honestly, I got sick of coming second to Kyle Chalmers. I really took that personal the past couple of years because I want to be that guy for Australia in the individual 100 and it's my time now. So I really took it on the chin and I worked really hard and set myself a goal of winning at Com Games. I said that to myself at the start of this year, and worked backwards from there."
You said you haven't abandoned the 200, but you didn't do it here either. Why is that?
“I'm really just trying to get to the next level in the 100, and I think getting super specific with that and taking a page out of Cam McEvoy's book of super specificity. I think that's really important for me to follow the steps to what's needed and what's required to contend for a gold medal in LA.
"That’s a massive motivator for me. I think there’d be no greater honour than to win in LA, but then show up to Brisbane (2032 Olympic Games), as the reigning champ. That's my goal, to come to Brisbane and win in my own home state and hometown, and that'd be a dream come true.”
