Ian Thorpe expresses his regret to compete in his main events at the 2012 London Olympics trials
Australian comeback king, Ian Thorpe, expressed his only regret for the 2012 London Olympics that he desired he would have made 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 the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, but now with the announcement of his comeback, he proclaimed that he will be preparing to compete at the 2012 Olympics in shorter distances, which include
the 100m and 200m freestyle meet.
Thorpe remained undisputed in the 400m freestyle at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. In addition, he won the silver medal in the 200m freestyle at 2000 Sydney Olympics but later on, at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he clinched the gold medal of the 200m event.
He also acquired two gold medals and one silver medal in the events of 4*100m freestyle, 4*200m freestyle and 4*100m medley relay, respectively at the 2000 Olympics. He was also a member of the Australian 4*200m freestyle relay team that occupied the silver
medal at the 2004 Olympic Games.
Thorpe announced 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 pin-pointed 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.
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 he is sure that the Australian has a lot of swimming
left in him.
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.”
While addressing to 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. Furthermore, he knows Touretski from the period when he was the head coach at
the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), therefore Thorpe is hopeful that he will turn good at shorter distances in near future.
The Australian has recently participated in the final three stops of 2011 World Cup, where he expressed contentment over his timings. In addition, he understands that he will need to work hard to ensure his spot in the Australian squad to London Games.
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