Swimming: Burmester dazed by early exit from signature event

Moss Burmester says he'll look ahead. Photo / Richard Robinson

This was not how it was supposed to unfold.

Moss Burmester should have been defending his Commonwealth Games 200m butterfly title last night.

It was a crown won thrillingly in Melbourne four years ago in a then-Games record 1m 56.64s.

Then there was a bold fourth from the outside lane in the same event at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when he gave the peerless Michael Phelps a decent shake.

Instead the 29-year-old from Tauranga was left an onlooker last night, unable to do better than 10th overall in the morning heats, clocking 1m 58.93s. Had he been .52s quicker, he'd have been in the showdown.

Champions are supposed to go down fighting their corner but Burmester finished about where he was expected to, purely in terms of rankings. The outcome wasn't accompanied by any whiff of shock or horror.

To be in the frame, Burmester needed to be significantly better than he has been in recent times. Had he swum his season best, 1m 57.43s, he'd have qualified second behind Canadian Stefan Hirniak.

It was not to be. He felt he was moving more quickly through the water than he actually was during his heat.

The signs were ominous early when he finished third in the first of yesterday's three heats. From there, he could only stand and watch as the big screen displayed the eight fastest times.

"Now I've just got to focus on other events," Burmester said, the face unable to hide his disappointment.

The New Zealand squad's pre-Games camp in Abu Dhabi had been "great", indeed the last few weeks' preparation were fine, he said.

But his longer-term buildup had not been ideal. He'd struggled to adapt once the slick body suits were ruled out by the sport's governing body, Fina.

"It hasn't been smooth. But I've still got more events," he said, looking to inject an optimistic element into a grim day.

But they're not his stellar events, the 50m butterfly today and the 100m on Thursday. This was his moment and it ended limply.