World Championships: Isaac Cooper Says He’s A Better Version Of Himself After “Losing Gold” In The 50m Backstroke

Isaac Cooper of Australia stands with the silver medal after compete in the 50m Backstroke Men Final during the FINA Swimming Short Course World Championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia, December 16th, 2022. Photo Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

BETTER VERSION OF HIMSELF: Isaac Cooper returns from devastating gold medal loss to help Australian men win bronze in the 4x50m medley relay. Photo Courtesy:

A Special Thanks to Deep Blue Media for providing the images from this meet

World Championships: Isaac Cooper Says He’s A Better Version Of Himself After “Losing Gold” In The 50m Backstroke

Shattered Australian teenager, Isaac Cooper, was ready to pack his bags and go home last night, feeling ripped off after being forced to re-swim for a title he believed he had already won a the World Championships.

The 18-year-old had touched the wall first in the 50m backstroke after officials called a false start that saw only three of the eight finalists stop – the race aborted with the field forced to race again.

Cooper then finished second to American Ryan Murphy in the re-swim and the Tokyo rookie was left devastated and in tears as he struggled to come to terms with the fact that he had done everything right – and that his gold medal had been taken away from him.

Day 5 Results

But after sleeping on it, the youngster woke up this morning with a new lease on life and a new read on what happened.

“I realised what happened was beyond my control and I woke up this morning and I was still upset but I thought my job’s not done here,” Cooper told Olympic legend Ian Thorpe in a post race interview on Channel 9 in Australia after he helped Australia win bronze in the 4x50m medley relay.

“I have still got to race, I have to be here to represent my team, my country, my family and my friends.

“I’ve actually been in an incredible mind set today, I’m kind of grateful for what happened last night.

“I have learnt so much from it; I think over the last 24 hours I’ve become a better version of myself and as Kyle Chalmers has said, I got to race with some of my best friends who have been supporting me through thick and thin and I’m just proud to stand on the podium with them…

“I’ve been swimming my whole life and I have always seen it as an individual sport and I reckon over the last week I have realised that while we swim individually I would not be able to do any of this without my family who are my team, the Dolphins who are my team, Kyle and my mates who are a team as well.

“Swimming is a team sport and I could not do anything without my squad and my coach.”

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