‘One of the most infuriating things ever’: Cooper’s lane rope drama as Harris wins 100m gold

Irvine, California: Dolphins star Isaac Cooper has called on swimming authorities to scrap outdoor pools for major competitions after a lane rope drama cost him a shot at victory in the 50m backstroke at the Pan Pacific Championships in California.After standing down as a team leader following his drinking session at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Cooper said he felt the pressure to perform on a second night of competition in Irvine that saw Meg Harris take gold in the 100m freestyle and Australia’s women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team upset a highly fancied US outfit.Cooper, who failed to attend the final night of competition at the Commonwealth Games in breach of team protocol, was the fastest qualifier for the final of the 50m backstroke, which will feature on the Olympic program for the first time in Los Angeles in 2028.The Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine is an outdoor pool – a rarity at the highest level of swimming given every Olympics this century, except Athens 2004, has held its swimming program indoors.Backstrokers have been looking into the sun during day sessions, while at night there are few reference points in the sky above them. Swimmers say having something overhead to focus on, such as ceiling markings, helps them stay straight and, ultimately, swim faster.Cooper began banging into his lane rope early in his race, with NBC caller Rowdy Gaines noting it on the Channel Nine broadcast and drawing a yellow line around the Australian.Isaac Cooper struggles to find his rhythm in Irvine. WWOSAmerican Quintin McCarty also had trouble staying straight but touched the wall 0.08 seconds ahead of a dejected Cooper.After the dramas of the past fortnight, it was a “bittersweet” result for the 2024 world champion, whose time of 24.59 was outside his personal best of 24.12.“It’s got to be one of the most infuriating things ever,” Cooper said. “I don’t think there’s any worse feeling.“I hit the lane rope three times and I knew whoever was going to swim the straightest was going to win. This morning’s swim was better and if I could have recreated that, maybe I could have had a better result.Silver medallist Isaac Cooper with Quintin McCarty (gold) and Will Modglin (bronze) on the podium.Getty Images“I don’t believe that an A-grade meet should be outside. Everyone else gets to see a black line. We are literally swimming in pitch black, but I guess that is part of the skill.”Dolphins head coach Rohan Taylor decided not to send Cooper home after his indiscretion in Glasgow and the youngster is expected to address what happened on the final night at the Commonwealth Games in coming days. Cooper says he was told by Swimming Australia he is not allowed to speak about what happened.“It definitely put expectations and pressure on myself to perform,” Cooper said. “I think I use a lot of external things to motivate me when I can’t find it myself. The word I would use for that result would be bittersweet.”While it hasn’t been the gold rush of the recent Commonwealth Games, Australia’s swimmers are performing better than expected in the US, with a number of personal bests providing encouraging signs ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.Meg Harris after winning Pan Pacs gold in the women’s 100m freestyle. AP Photo/GREGORY BULLFresh off winning six Commonwealth Games gold medals, Harris (52.60) downed US star Gretchen Walsh (52.78) before having to be told by Australian bronze medallist Olivia Wunsch (52.98) that she had indeed touched the wall first.In a race missing Mollie O’Callaghan and US rising star Anna Moesch – the latter has gone sub-52 seconds twice this year – Harris saw Wunsch’s time first and was ecstatic for the young Sydney prospect.Wunsch missed selection for the Commonwealth Games after finishing fifth at trials but cracked the 53-second barrier for the first time.Wunsch broke her personal best twice in a day – in the heats and again in the final – in a promising sign for Australia’s 4x100m freestyle team heading towards LA.Jenna Forrester celebrates her 400m individual medley silver medal. Getty Images“This is going to be one hell of a race in LA, and especially this relay coming forward,” Harris said. “It’s definitely a new experience for me [having individual success in the 100m freestyle] but I’m a racer and I love racing. I’ve grown up so competitive ... with my sister only being just older than me.Wunsch added: “I did say to my teammates before I won’t retire until I hit 52 [seconds]. I didn’t know if it was going to happen tonight or not. I’m really proud of today.”Australia’s second gold of the night came in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay against a US team favoured to win. Australia are the world record holders but none of the quartet who set that mark at the world championships in 2023 – O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Brianna Throssell and Ariarne Titmus – were racing in Irvine.Inez Miller, Lani Pallister and Hannah Casey gave Australia a 1.6-second lead before a gutsy anchor leg from Milla Jansen held off a US team featuring Katie Ledecky.“I knew she was going to be mowing me down, but I think I held my own pretty well. I got there in the end,” Jansen said.Jenna Forrester (4:31.50) picked up a silver medal in the 400m individual medley and finished just 3.49 seconds behind world record holder Summer McIntosh, who for the second night in a row said she was disappointed with her performance after being beaten by Pallister in the 200m freestyle.“When I was swimming in the breaststroke, I could actually see her [McIntosh]. I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty cool’,” Forrester said. “It’s pretty exciting to be getting my time down. I’ll keep chipping away at it and hopefully we’ll get faster leading into LA.”Will Petric cracked the four-minute, 10-second barrier in his 400m IM to finish fifth, Sam Williamson hung on for bronze in the 100m breaststroke after his double individual gold at the Commonwealth Games, while Iona Anderson snared bronze in the women’s 50m backstroke.Australia’s men also took silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay, 1.73 seconds behind the USA, prompting lead-off swimmer Max Giuliani to declare: “I think that’s an incredible time. Everyone should be very excited for us come 2028. Game on.”News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners