Grant Hackett: “Cody’s not a fly-by-nighter”

Four-part documentary series Head Above Water premieres today on Amazon Prime Video as cameras follow elite Australian swimmers Ian Thorpe, Bronte Campbell and Kyle Chalmers.

But all eyes may well be on former-junior-champion-turned-international-musician, Cody Simpson trying his luck for the Olympics.

Olympian Grant Hackett tells TV Tonight he is convinced Simpson is the real deal.

“I wondered whether he was serious, or it was a bit of a gimmick for him,” he admits.

“The guy is absolutely 100% committed. It just speaks to what the Olympics means to certain people.

“It is the biggest stage in world sport and for someone like him to put the music career that he has on the back burner to focus on something like this speaks volumes to the commitment of what he’s doing.

“This guy’s not a fly-by-nighter. He’s a very good athlete. He’s already produced some very fast times. He’s already made a national final, just after a few months of training, and he’s absolutely committed.

“Talking to his coach overseas in the US, the guy knows how to hurt himself. He knows how to train hard, how to train like a true athlete. So he’s 100% committed.

“It just brings another dynamic or another story that creates more interest around the sport, which I think everyone’s very grateful for.”

Head Above Water begins today on Amazon Prime Video.