Ian Thorpe reaches Australia to train with James Magnussen, hopeful for the 2012 London Olympics
The five-time Olympic Freestyle Champion, Ian Thorpe returned to Australia on May 18 to train alongside Australian 100m Freestyle Champion, James Magnussen in Sydney.
Thorpe was recently training at his major training camp base, Switzerland under the guidance of the great Russian coach, Gennadi Touretski. Touretski, who flourished the careers of Alexander Popov and Michael Klim, has signed a contract with Thorpe to assist
him in his dream of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.
After four years of retirement, Thorpe returned to competitive swimming in February 2011 and said that he is aiming to find a spot in the Australian international team to compete at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The Australian Swimming Head Coach, Leigh Nugent was very impressed with Thorpe’s rapid improvement in such a short period of time. Thorpe has reduced a lot of weight and has been performing well in his training session.
Furthermore, Nugent expressed that Thorpe’s return to his beloved country will leave a positive impact on swimming.
While speaking to reporters, Nugent said, "I think Ian swimming around out there now it's a bit like a circling shark. They (his competitors) don't know what he's doing and our athletes here have probably risen to another level, we saw that at our national
trials, because they just can't leave anything to chance now."
The 28-year-old Thorpe will return to Switzerland at the end of this week. On his arrival, Thorpe revealed that he would not race in the 400m freestyle event at the trials of next year's Olympics. Ian said that he does not have time to prepare for the distant
freestyle event and he will be attempting the 100m freestyle and the 200m freestyle events to secure his spot in the Australian Swimming Team for the London Olympics.
The Australian will compete in his event at the Singapore World Cup Series in November, as the nine-month ban imposed by FINA on him expires in November 2011. Besides, his second participation in a swimming championship is expected in December 2011 at the
Queensland State Swimming Championships.
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