Ian Thorpe doubts his participation in the 400m freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics trials
Australian swimming star Ian Thorpe has declared that he will not target his main event, the 400m freestyle at the Australian trials for the 2012 London Olympics.
Thorpe, who returned to competitive swimming in February 2011 after four years of official retirement, announced that he will be aiming shorter distances freestyle events to find a spot in the Australian swimming team for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Thorpe won three gold medals in the 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He also won two gold medals in the 200m freestyle and the 400m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
The former freestyle champion is going to target 100m freestyle and the 200m freestyle events to secure his spots in the Australian team to the 2012 Olympics.
The 28-year-old Thorpe explained his only regret to the media, saying “I honestly don't think I have enough time to do anything for the 400 and already with what I'm doing in the timeframe I have, it's a tough ask.”
With his statement, the former freestyle champion has made it obvious that he will be focusing on the 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle, seeking his qualification in the Australian Swimming Squad for London 2012.
Thorpe will be facing the national 100m freestyle gold medallist James Magnussen to confirm his spot for London. In addition, he will face the 2008 Beijing Olympics champion Michael Phelps who made a world record by occupying 8 gold medals in the Beijing
Olympics.
Ian defeated Phelps once in the 200m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, where the two of them displayed a tremendous swim in front of the Beijing crowd.
In addition, Thorpe has been training with Gennadi Touretski in Switzerland and is likely to join Magnussen in Sydney, as he will resume his training there.
The former champion has expressed that he feels good about his performance but he needs a lot of improvement. Thorpe also said that he will try to meet the expectations of his fans by qualifying for the 2012 Olympics and will try to reach the podium at the
world’s biggest stage of sports.
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