Ian Thorpe expresses his only regret for the 2012 London Olympics – Swimming news
Australian comeback king, Ian Thorpe has expressed his only regret for the 2012 London Olympics that he desired to make his comeback a little earlier to prepare himself for his main event, the 400m freestyle.
The Australian champion was the master of 200m and 400m freestyle at 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games but now with the announcement of his comeback, he proclaimed that he will be preparing for the shorter distances, the 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle to compete
at the 2012 Olympics.
Thorpe announced at the press conference that he will be training under the guidance of Russian coach, Gennadi Touretski, at the Swiss Swimming Centre in Tenero to prepare for the next Olympics. He also said that he is well aware of the new swimming strategy
where swimmers are spending more time under water to go further and produce a faster sprint.
The same was pinpointed by Michael Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, on Thorpe’s return last month. The new technique was named as the fifth stroke by Australian coach, Bill Sweetenham, where swimmers put more effort with their dolphin kicks in the starts and
turns to expand their reach in the swim. Thorpe will also be focusing on this technique to register better timings in his swims at the 2012 London Games.
Bowman, when asked about Thorpe’s competitiveness said that only time can tell about his performance and he does not think that age will be a factor for his qualification. Though time is short for Thorpe, but does have a great swimming career and a lot of
potential.
While analysing Thorpe’s ability on start and turns and the role of swimming costumes, Bowman said, “The suits will make a big difference. In terms of streamlining and stroke he [Thorpe] should have no trouble. He set a world record in briefs. But what will
make the difference is the speed off walls and the underwaters. He didn't push the boundaries very much on that at his best.”
While addressing a question regarding his comeback, Thorpe said, “But we don't come back just because we want to win - we want to enjoy the sport. People expect us to be the same as we were. That's a mistake - because we all change.”
The freestyle champion is training away from his home because he wants to be left alone during his training process and he declared Tenero as his home until the London Olympics. He knows Touretski from the period when he was the head coach at Australian
Institute of Sport (AIS), and he is happy to work with the Russian, his former rival’s mentor.
Tags: