Olympian backs Aussie depth for worlds

The Australian men's 4x100m relay team has enough depth to shine at this month's world championship, according to Olympian James Roberts.

Olympian James Roberts is confident Australia has the strength in depth for the men's 4x100m relay at this month's world swimming championships in Hungary.

Roberts heads to Europe this weekend without two of the men he joined at last year's Rio Games who secured bronze in the event for Australia behind the United States and France.

Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers had to withdraw from this year's world titles due to heart surgery while two-time 100m world champion James Magnussen has decided to focus on next year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Despite those key absences, Roberts expects Australia to do well in Budapest.

"There's a lot of young guys coming through and the depth is starting to creep back in now," he told AAP.

"I'm sure the boys can do well without some of our star names."

Roberts' final duty before leaving for the world titles was to join the official announcement of next year's trials for the Commonwealth Games to be held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre from February to March 3.

Roberts expects Chalmers, Magnussen and others such as Cate Campbell to be back on deck for the trials, which will be held just five weeks before the start of next year's Commonwealth Games.

"It's definitely a massive change for us, usually we compete up to three months after our major championships, but I for one definitely welcome the change," he said.

The decision to hold trials closer to competition was made following a Swimming Australia review after the Rio Olympics and Roberts is confident it will ensure those who earn spots are fit and firing for the Games.

"Obviously swimming here on the Gold Coast and being able to swim at the actual venue so close to a major event will be a good advantage for us."


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Source: AAP



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