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Hackett misses out on trip to Rio

Adelaide - Grant Hackett missed out on his chance to compete at a fourth Olympics in Rio this year when he failed to qualify for the 200m freestyle final at the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide on Friday.

Hackett, 35, who came out of six years of troubled retirement to try to make the Games, had hoped to become the oldest Australian swimmer to qualify for an Olympics.

But the dual 1 500m Olympic champion finished seventh in his semi-final and 11th overall, missing out on a place in the final on Saturday.

Hackett focused on grabbing a berth in the 4x200m freestyle relay team for Rio after finishing fourth in the 400m freestyle behind Mack Horton on the opening night of the trials on Thursday.

Hackett, one of the greats of Australian swimming, retired after the 2008 Beijing Olympics after winning the 1500m freestyle at both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics and he also claimed four world titles in the 30-lap event.

"I have no regrets," Hackett told reporters. "At some stage, you have to let go of all this.

"I don't feel sad at all," he added. "I am disappointed that I didn't get a good result. There was no way I thought I would be lining up for a crack at another Olympics. Just to get this far has been great.

"To make that team would have been huge but it wasn't to be - now I can get back to my normal life."

Thomas Fraser-Holmes (1:46.71) finished the fastest qualifier into the 200m final ahead of Cameron McEvoy (1:46.83).

In Friday's finals, Emma McKeon swam 56.89 to beat Madeline Groves (57.08) in the women's 100m butterfly, while Jessica Ashwood qualified for Rio winning the 400m freestyle in 4:03.71 from Tamsin Cook (4:06.38).

In the only men's final, Jake Packard (59.65) beat Joshua Palmer (1:00.51) to win the 100m breaststroke.

Results of finals on the second day of the Australian Swimming Championships and Olympic Games trials in Adelaide on Friday:

Men

100m breaststroke: 1. Jake Packard 59.65, 2. Joshua Palmer 1:00.51, 3. Matthew Wilson 1:00.54 

Women

100m butterfly: 1. Emma McKeon 56.89, 2. Madeline Groves 57.08, 3. Alicia Coutts 57.27 

400m freestyle: 1. Jessica Ashwood 4:03.71, 2. Tamsin Cook 4:06.38, 3. Kiah Melverton 4:10.20

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