Kieren Perkins opposes Leigh Nugent’s idea of contesting Ian Thorpe in multiple events
The two-time Olympic gold medallist and Australian expert, Kieren Perkins opposed Australian Head Coach, Leigh Nugent’s idea of contesting Ian Thorpe in multiple events.
The 38-year-old Perkins, who is one of the strongest supporters of Thorpe’s return, expressed concern over his frequent participation in swimming events.
Nugent wants Thorpe to participate in as many meets as he could before the Australian Selection Trials for the 2012 London Olympic Games. In contrast, Perkins stressed that frequent travelling will jeopardise Thorpe’s London qualification dream, as he needs
to make a substantial improvement in his time, if he wants to qualify for the mega event.
“If it was me I wouldn't be travelling so much, I'd find somewhere and stay there and take advantage of the racing that's around you, because every time you spend 24 hours on a plane getting to somewhere you've got a couple of days to recover from jetlag,”
Perkins said.
He also advised Thorpe to travel less in the upcoming months, as this would help him concentrate on his training program solely. He also blamed management of Swimming Australia for inadequate handling of the long-term careers of their star athletes.
The 29-year-old Thorpe, who made a comeback to competitive swimming in February 2011 after six years of retirement, has been putting a lot of effort to ensure his place in Australian squad to London Games.
Recently, Thorpe posted his fastest comeback time in the 100m freestyle at the 14th Luxembourg Euro-Meet 2012, where he clocked an effort of 50.76 seconds. Nevertheless, he still needs to cut his timing by almost two seconds as the Olympic-A Time
Qualification Standard is 48.84 seconds.
Nonetheless, the three-time Olympian, Perkins expressed that Thorpe’s coach, Gennadi Touretski is one of the most incredible Olympic mentors and would not do anything to jeopardise Thorpe’s Olympic qualification dream.
''He wouldn't be doing anything unnecessary, putting Ian under pressure that he didn't think he could cope with,” Perkins said about Touretski.
Furthermore, Thorpe is now left with almost one and a half month, as the Australian trials are scheduled in March. He needs to do a lot of enhancement, as his fans are eager to see him swim at the upcoming Olympics.
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