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Posted: 2021-06-15 04:09:56

Pop-star turned swimmer Cody Simpson has impressed in his first appearance at the Australian Olympic trials in Adelaide, clocking a personal best in the 100 metres freestyle.

Simpson's time of 50.22 was more than a second quicker than his previous best, and left him a respectable 23rd out of 92 competitors.

As expected, Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers set the fastest time, 48.58 seconds, a quarter of a second quicker than his nearest rival, Western Australia's Zac Incerti.

Simpson still has his pet event, the 100 metres butterfly, to come later in the week.

"I went a second-and-a-half PB, so I'm pretty stoked," Simpson said after the heats.

"Good swim, considering the 100 free is kind of a fun event for me.

Cody Simpson after the heats of the 100 metres freestyle at the Australian Olympic Swimming Trials in Adelaide. (Getty)

"I just wanted to get in the water and see how much progress (I've) done. I'm super happy with it."

The 24-year-old, who has put his music career to one side to focus on swimming, now has two days to prepare for the butterfly.

"I feel amazing. Really nice to get one under my belt before the 100 fly, I definitely went a lot quicker than I thought I would," he said.

"Still got a couple of days left (before the butterfly) so just go and relax, go through the same process.

"It's amazing to be around so many incredible swimmers, guys that I've known since they were little that I used to race against, that I'm racing against here now.

"Seeing Ariarne (Titmus) and Elijah (Winnington) and Kaylee (McKeown) and everyone just breaking records left, right and centre.

Cody Simpson starts his heat of the 100 metres freestyle at the Australian Olympic Swimming Trials in Adelaide. (Getty)

"Just being around it, the energy is unreal. This meet, I wanted to come and get my first experience under my belt, and see what it's all about. I'm having a ball."

Olympic champion Grant Hackett revealed to Wide World of Sports last month that Simpson has the talent and the determination to make the Australian team, but conceded the 2024 Games in Paris are a more realistic target than Tokyo.

"If he's making finals this time around in Adelaide, then that's freakish, because he's done this for months, not years," Hackett said.

"He knows he has to do years of work to produce a performance that puts him in contention to make an Olympic team.

"He's absolutely committed to that, he knows how to train hard, absorb pain and be consistent."

Chalmers, who is looking to defend the title he won in Rio in 2016, says he's preparing the same as he did five years ago, regardless of the fact he's the reigning Olympic champion.

Kyle Chalmers will defend the gold medal he won in Rio.

"My mindset is not different, the only time I ever think about being the defending champion is when media put it in my mouth," he told Wide World of Sports.

"I think for me, nothing changes, I went into Rio as an unknown, it just happened and I didn't know what to expect.

"I've worked so hard over the last five years to be where I am now, I just want to get over there and enjoy the experience."

The 22-year-old had shoulder surgery at the end of last year, but isn't expecting it to hinder him in the pool.

"The shoulder's coming along, it's definitely a whole lot better than this time last year," he said.

"It's now manageable, I don't think it will ever be as good as it once was, but that happens with every athlete, you just have to learn to deal with it.

"I'll be right when I stand behind the blocks in Tokyo."

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