PORT Macquarie’s favourite son James Magnussen put his year of pain behind him as he defended his 100m freestyle world title with an emotional victory in Barcelona.
A year on from his heartbreaking defeat in the London Olympics final, Magnussen reasserted himself as the world’s fastest swimmer over the distance as he clocked 47.71 seconds to win last week’s final.
In a field set a cracking pace by Russian Vladimir Morozov, Magnussen powered home late to beat Americans James Feigen and Nathan Adrian, the man who beat him by one one-hundredth of a second in the Olympic final.
Magnussen revealed he was almost too drained to celebrate the victory after what had been a “pretty terrible” 12 months.
The 22-year-old struggled at times to deal with the public backlash that came from his Olympic flop and contributing to a “toxic” team culture blamed for the London campaign.
“It was really emotional,” Magnussen said after his win.
“That last 15 metres, I really used the last 12 months of experiences that I’ve gone through.
“I was really aggressive towards the wall and I’m just stoked that I got there.
“I’ve put the last 12 months behind me now and I consider that race the start of my preparations for Rio.”
Magnussen said he was overwhelmed with relief after adding a second individual title to his 2011 triumph in Shanghai.
“The last 12 months has sort of kicked me down to the kerb,” Magnussen said.
“But I’ve worked so hard and my support team’s worked so hard.
“I think it’s a great reward for all my friends and family and support team who have stuck by me through what’s been a pretty terrible 12 months.”
