Grant Hackett believes Ian Thorpe should focus on 200m freestyle

Grant Hackett believes Ian Thorpe should focus on 200m freestyle

Three-time Olympic champion, Grant Hackett believed that the Australian comeback king, Ian Thorpe should focus on the 200m freestyle instead of the 100m freestyle to attain his 2012 London Olympics qualification dream.

The 29-year-old Thorpe, who made a comeback to his beloved sport in February 2011, declared that he would prepare for the 100m freestyle to ensure his berth in the Australian team to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Thorpe is the five-time Olympic champion, which is the maximum won by any Australian swimmer. The Australian veteran, who excelled in the 200m and 400m freestyle disciplines at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic Games, has returned to competitive swimming
after five years of retirement.

Thorpe retired from swimming in 2006, where he claimed that he has got all he wanted to accomplish, but now, he proclaimed that he retired too early from the sport and there is still much to achieve.

The Australian freestyle specialist has participated in a number of competitions since last October but his performance is not up to the mark and he is considerably away from the Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) ‘A’ Time Qualification
Standard.

He has tried too hard and has shown consistent improvement in his timing but he has still much to cut off from his current pace.

Earlier, Thorpe told that he would try to book his spot in the Australian team through the 4*100m freestyle relay rather than going for the individual 100m event.

Nevertheless, Hackett advised Thorpe that it would be more suitable for him, if he shifts his focus to the 200m freestyle, an event where the Swimming Australia usually selects top six finishers for the relay event.

He articulated that with his current performance, Thorpe has a good chance to qualify for the 200m freestyle, as the competition is very tough in the 100m freestyle.

The 100m event is dominated by James Magnussen, who is the current world champion, while other prominent swimmers of the event include former Australian and world champion, Eamon Sullivan.

The Australian trials for the Olympics are starting from March 15 and Thorpe has very little time left to make a significant improvement in his pace.

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Posted by Mursil Mehmood Butt on Feb 27 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry