Australian Olympic Trials Race Highlights

Thanks to Youtube user 101stutube we have videos from some of the races from Adelaide.

Women's 100m Freestyle Final



Women's 200m Breaststroke Final



Men's 100m Freestyle Final

Ian Thorpe's 2012 Olympic Dream Is Over

This morning's heats in Adelaide marked the end of the 2012 Olympic dream for Ian Thorpe. He finished 21st in the 100m Free heats with a time of 50.35. Splitting 24.24 and 26.11, his inability to bring his races home strongly enough struck once again.

Thorpe's comeback will now be heavily scrutinised, but the Australian legend should be commended for his bravery in making this competitive comeback. It has also sparked a reinvigorated interest in swimming, both in Australia and the rest of the world, that no other swimmer alive could manage. It's a huge shame that he won't be swimming in London (although I'm sure the BBC will offer him enough incentives to come over as a TV pundit for the competition).

The big question now is 'what's next?'

Thorpe seems to be enjoying his life in Switzerland and mentioned prior to the championships that this comeback was not just for the short term, but that idea may be challenged after not making the Olympic team. It was seeing the Olympic site in London that originally inspired this comeback.

Hopefully this won't be the last time we see Ian Thorpe swim. Watching the first 100m of his 200m Free semi final brought home just how great a middle distance freestyler he was... and hopefully will be again.

I for one want to see these incredible times Milorad Cavic talks about:

@hsuswim @speed_endurance I figured it was just a front,but I heard about some incredible times he was doing in workouts from an insider
— Milorad Cavic (@Milorad_Cavic) March 16, 2012

Ian Thorpe Will Swim 400m Free This Weekend

This weekend in Zurich will see the return of Ian Thorpe to an event he dominated for the best part of a generation, the 400m Freestyle. In his last competition before the Australian Olympic Trials, Thorpedo will compete in both the 100m and 400m Freestyle.

RESULTS

While this development is being put forward as simply an experiment for racing, it does raise some interesting questions.

Could Thorpe make the Australia team on the 400m Free?

As strange as it sounds given his focus on sprinting, the 400m Free might turn out to offer Thorpe a slim remote surprise chance at making it to London 2012. Australia's top two last year were Ryan Napoleon (3:45.16, 6th in the world last year) and Thomas Fraser-Holmes (3:46.54, 10th in the world last year). To get down to 3:45 will likely prove too much for Thorpe, but it should be remembered that those times are over 5 seconds down on his best time.


It is also worth mentioning that Leigh Nugent didn't 100% rule out the move up to 400m. "The 400m is more about experimenting with his racing, not so much about what he would be intending to do at trials... It's pretty much off the agenda (for the trials). But he's been going pretty well. He has been pretty happy with his progress."


'Pretty much off the agenda' does not equal 'Off the agenda'.




Would Thorpe have a chance to win the 400m Free in London?


No.


Sun Yang, Park Tae-Hwan, Yannick Agnel and Paul Biedermann are too good for that to happen.



What will the 400 Free tell us about his 200 Free?

So far Thorpe has been struggling at the end of his races, whether they be over 100m or 200m. Seeing him race a 400m Free should give us some clues to his conditioning in his last competition before Olympic Trials.

Unless the entire comeback has been a smoke and mirror show, Thorpe needs to show increased endurance at the end of his races. Chances are if he struggles in the 400m Free in Zurich, he is going to struggle in the 200m Free at Trials, his best chance at making the Olympic team.

What should we make of Leigh Nugent's optimism?

The last time we saw a story about Thorpe and Nugent, it focused on Thorpedo's lack of fitness, motivation and confidence. Now, less than four weeks on, everything is smelling of roses?

Thorpe's been going 'pretty well, he has been pretty happy with his progress'.

Well, I will still be pretty surprised if he makes the Aussie Olympic team. I hope I'm wrong there though.


Why hasn't there been a vote on this blog for such a long time?

Good point. New vote launched. Will Ian Thorpe make the Australian Olympic Team. Yes/No? You decide.


(Hat tip to The Swimmers Daily for the Thorpe story)

Ian Thorpe's Comeback Continues In Luxembourg, Makes Late Change to Training Regime

This weekend Ian Thorpe competed at the Euro Meet in Luxembourg. His efforts of 50.82 (heats) and 50.79 (7th in the final)  were both post-comeback bests in the 100m Free. 


His 200m Free time (1:51.51) was down on his swim from Melbourne two weeks ago, although showed some positives by recording a faster 100m split of 53.5. The second 100m, unfortunately, was a battle (splits below).

Melbourne 1:50.79 - 25.6 / 28.1 / 28.3 / 28.5
Luxembourg 1:51.51 - 25.7 / 27.7 / 28.8 / 29.1

The real news regarding Thorpe's comeback came not so much from his times in Luxembourg, but the last minute change to his training regime in the lead up to trials, less than 7 weeks away.

According to Nicole Jeffrey in The Australian, Thorpe together with Gennadi Touretski, Leigh Nugent and performance scientist Bernard Savage have come up with the following late changes to try and save his attempt to make London 2012:

Fitness - Thorpe is lacking cardiovascular fitness and needs to get leaner. For the first time during his comeback, Thorpe will turn to dry land training. This means a lot of skipping, cycling and treadmill work as there is not enough time to get this fitness back simply from pool work.

Evaluating Ian Thorpe's Return

Ian Thorpe's first attempt back in the world of competitive swimming is in the books. As the dust settles, let's evaluate how it went.

Positives

- Thorpe was considerably faster in the Tokyo World Cup leg than he was in Singapore and Beijing.
- In Tokyo he was able to hold on much better in the second half of races showing that his 'race fitness' was improving. In theory, the more competitions he does, the better this will become.
- Thorpe, his coach Gennadi Touretski and Australian head coach Leigh Nugent were making all the right noises at each world cup stop, stating that the comeback was still on course.
- His freestyle stroke still looks more suited to the 200m Free, which we are yet to see. At this stage his best bet at Olympic qualification looks to be the 4 x 200m Free relay.
- We've just seen Thorpe at his rustiest and he was still only half a second down on established guys like Alain Bernard in heats. For all we know, Thorpe could have dropped another second in the 100m Free final had he qualified.
- Thorpe still has 4 long months of training ahead of him before Australian Trials.

Negatives

- Thorpe only has 4 short months of training ahead of him before Australian Trials.
- Thorpe still has A LONG way to go. He failed to final in his two best swims, Tokyo's 100m Free and 100m Fly. In the 100m Free he was a full 2 seconds behind the eventual winner Kyle Richardson's time.
- Richardson sums up his problem. There might not be a more difficult relay team to make than the reigning world champion Aussie 4 x 100m Free team.
- He's going to need to work even harder on his starts and turns. 4 months might will not be long enough to catch up on these technical aspects. All he can do now is mitigate his losses in these areas. Nugent believes that he is trying to stay under water too long on his turns.
- One comment that Thorpe made stuck out like a sore thumb - "This week has been challenging, I wish I could have done it with no-one watching - but that's unfortunately not the case." This is the same guy that retired from the sport because of the intense media scrutiny he was under. Hopefully the same demons that haunted him in previous years aren't resurfacing before the comeback has really taken shape.

Thorpedo's Times (best times and splits in bold)

Singapore

100m IM (Heat) - 56.74 (26.14 / 30.60)
100m IM (Final) - 56.33 (25.14 / 31.19)
100m Fly (Heat) - 54.09 (25.27 / 28.82)

Beijing

100m Free (Heat) - 50.21 (24.00 / 26.21)
100m IM (Heat) - 56.70 (26.22 / 30.48)
100m Fly (Heat) -54.35 (25.29 / 29.06)

Tokyo

100m Free (Heat) - 49.45 (24.08 / 25.37)
100m Fly (Heats) - 53.59 (25.11 / 28.48)

Ian Thorpe Down To Race 100m Freestyle In Beijing

After a less than stellar comeback meet in Singapore (and some outrageously ambitious predictions), Ian Thorpe is down to race a more familiar race in Beijing, the 100m Freestyle (entry time 49.41).

His participation is not 100% confirmed as he may still scratch the race, but his entry means he is a step closer than he was in Singapore to racing freestyle again.

Side note : It will be good to see the Water Cube in action again.

UPDATE -  Thorpe finished 15th after the heats of the 100m Freestyle in a time of 50.21. Splits of 24.00 / 26.21.

Ian Thorpe's Return Imminent: 5 Things to Watch & Predictions

Australian legend Ian Thorpe will return to the competition pool on Friday for the first time since 2006. Choosing to swim the 100m Fly and 100m IM, Thorpe will give us just 25 tantalising metres to judge his Freestyle in Singapore.

5 Things to Watch Out For

1) New Freestyle technique - Watch out for a new technique with higher elbows and increased hip rotation.
2) Butterfly speed - Geoff Huegill is nervous about racing Thorpe in the 100 Fly, highlighting Gennadi Touretski's love of training his swimmers with an emphasis on butterfly.  For more, read David Rieder's article.
3) Physique - Thorpe has never had a typical swimmers physique and always had a big frame, not that you could ever see it in his black suit. In Singapore we will see what kind of physical shape Thorpe is in.
4) Technical aspects - Potentially the X Factor that will determine if his comeback will be a success. The world has moved on since 2006 on starts, turns and underwaters. Thorpe will need to catch up quickly to be competitive on the biggest stage.
5) Mentality - Thorpe fell out of love with swimming but has recently spoke of his love for the sport returning. Touretski wants him swimming with freedom in Singapore, so look for Thorpe to be enjoying racing again.

Predictions

100m Fly - 51.95
100m IM - 53.50

Heats starts at 9am Singapore time (1am London time). Finals begin at 5:30pm Singapore time (9:30am London time).

Live Video Here or Here

Start Lists & Results

Ian Thorpe Aiming To Improve His 'Perfect Stroke'

It's been a while since the last Ian Thorpe update, so here is your Thorpedo fix. The Aussie superstar and his coach Gennadi Touretski have changed his 'perfect' technique, according to The Australian's Nicole Jeffrey.

Key points:

• Touretski is changing Thorpe's technique to that of a sprinter as opposed to his previous style, which was "perfect for the 400m" according to the Russian coach.

• His technique now looks like a hybrid of his old stroke and that of god the sprint tsar Alex Popov (see below).



• The technical changes - more hip rotation, higher elbows.

• Thorpe is swimming 50km a week as well as doing dry land sessions for strength and conditioning. In a new development, Thorpe will also play tennis twice a week to help Australia's shaky tennis team improve his co-ordination.

• He will swim at November's world cup meets in Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo. He will swim Freestyle races in Singapore and then experiment with other events in Bejing and Tokyo. The move away from Freestyle in Beijing in Tokyo is aimed at racing with freedom and also not to show all his cards too early.

• According to Touretski "I think potentially, with his power and talent, there's no limit on how fast he can swim."

Ian Thorpe Talks About His Comeback

Ian Thorpe is currently in the UK helping the BBC and British Swimming promote their Big Splash initiative. While over here, Thorpe has been training in Manchester, home to his 3:40.08 400m Free time, arguably his greatest ever swim. He has also written his most in-depth account of his comeback so far. Here it is in its entirity:

From BBC Sport

By Ian Thorpe

We have a rule of thumb in swimming: for every month you have off it takes about three months of training to get back to your previous condition.

I'm not sure what the time frame is when you've been out of action for five years like me, but it can't be too good!

Latest Score: Ian Thorpe 1 - Michael Phelps 0

Ian Thorpe has struck first in his renewed rivalry with Michael Phelps. The score as it stands now:-

Royal Wedding Attendances: Ian Thorpe 1 - Michael Phelps 0

PS. He looks in much better shape than when he announced his comeback in early February (below). This appearance seems to back up recent reports coming out of Switzerland that the comeback is going well.

UPDATE with video of Thorpe arriving.

Thorpe, Phelps & Lochte

For anyone that thinks that London 2012 will be all about Ian Thorpe vs Michael Phelps. Take Notice...

Whilst Ian Thorpe is doing this...

And Michael Phelps is doing this...

Ryan Lochte is doing this...

Ian Thorpe Comeback - Winners and Losers

Winners

The Sport Of Swimming - When was the last time swimming garnered this much attention? It certainly didn't happen in 2010. 2009? Possibly with the new suits and multitude of world records, however I don't recall Paul Biedermann generating this much attention when he was winning in Rome. The last time swimming had this much attention was Beijing and Michael Phelps winning his 8 gold medals.

Swimming Australia - This is the best thing that could have happened to Swimming Australia. Their prodigal son has returned and he will inject life into an Australian team that has suffered over the last few years. Geoff Huegill got the 'positivity' ball rolling, Libby Trickett furthered the momentum and Thorpedo will hit it out of the park. Swimming is front page news again in Australia.

Michael Phelps - The news of Thorpe's return should come at the perfect time for Phelps. We continue to hear about the need for Phelps to increase his training and to be more motivated. If the threat of getting beaten by your childhood idol who has spent the last 4 years out of the water doesn't motivate Phelps, I don't know what will. Thorpe's return will give Phelps even more exposure than he receives currently as the media hype up the Phelps vs Thorpe matchup.

Paul Biedermann - For those blinkered enough to believe that Biedermann, personally, has damaged the sport with his suit-aided success, he will have a great chance at taking Thorpe down in the 200m Free on a level playing field, and in doing so presumably improving his reputation within the sport. Additionally, Thorpe won't be a threat to his WR... Park Tae Hwan Park and Sun Yang on the other hand will be.

Men's 4 x 100m Free - Whilst the addition of Thorpe won't turn the Australian's into favourites for the relay, it has certainly boosted their hopes. Australia has a deep group of sprint freestylers, I'm betting they push a bit harder in training today knowing that Thorpedo could be taking their spot. The race itself will be one of the marquee events in London. USA, France, Russia, Australia, South Africa and Brazil will all battle it out in a real humdinger of a relay.

Losers

Ryan Lochte - After a stellar 2010, Lochte has emerged as the world's best swimmer. His rivalry with Phelps and his supreme talent were all set to be the main swimming stories heading into the Olympics. However, if today's press is anything to go by, Lochte has become an afterthought. In the BBC's article where Steve Parry, Karen Pickering and Mark Foster discuss Thorpe's comeback, Phelps was mentioned 14 times, Lochte 0 times. As it stand now, swimming at the next Olympics will all be about Thorpe vs Phelps, despite the fact you could argue neither of them are favourites in the 100m or 200m Free.

Milorad Cavic - Milorad who? The public's memory can be painfully short. After an injury plagued 2010 he needed to re-establish his fierce rivalry with Phelps this year. Ofcourse he can still do that, but in a similar way to Lochte, it risks being turned into a sub-plot in London rather than the headline event.

One Australian Sprinter - Assuming Thorpe makes the team, it stands to reason that the Olympic dreams of one would-be Australian relay member will be over (atleast for another 4 years). That list could include the likes of Cameron Prosser, Matt Targett, Tommaso D'Orsagna and Matt Abood.


Women's Swimming - The likes of Katie Hoff, Steph Rice and Rebecca Adlington garnered plenty of attention prior, during and after Beijing 2008 giving women's swimming a real shot in the arm. Ahead of London they are going to be competing with swimming's two biggest ever stars for column inches.

Ian Thorpe Comeback Announcement Imminent

No more bodysuits. Thorpe will have to get his swim on in Jammers.

Ian Thorpe's press conference, where he is expected to announce his comeback to competitive swimming, is scheduled for Midday Sydney time.

Set your clocks!

1am in London
2am in Paris/Berlin
5pm in California
8pm in New York

Previous Ian Thorpe Comeback Coverage

May 2010 - Ian Thorpe - Considering a Comeback in 2012? - Predictions from last May still look on-track
.
Dec 2010 - Comeback Vote Results - Vote Maker, Swim Blogger... Prophet?

Jan 2011 - More Ian Thorpe Comeback Rumours - Interesting discussion in the comments about his return

More Ian Thorpe Comeback Rumours

Typical Thorpe, no-one even close to him

Ah, nothing like some fresh Ian Thorpe comeback rumours to kick off 2011 in style. 
Speed Endurance readers rejoice. You asked for it, and it looks like you're going to get it. Last month 138 of you voted for Ian Thorpe as the swimmer you wanted to see comeback the most. I guess Thorpe reads the blog too...


Here are the Thorpe comeback facts to come out today:-

• Thorpedo has been swimming four or five times a week 'for fitness' with former training partner Craig Stevens.

• According to Stevens, "the technique was there, the stroke was there and everything was going really well."

•  Australian national head coach Leigh Nugent has been providing him with training programs.

• He is doing more swimming now than ever since retiring in 2006 and has lost 10kg.

Back in May last year I looked at what form a Thorpe comeback could take. Not too much has really changed since then.

• I still don't think Thorpe will be able to comeback in the 400m Free, the sheer volume of training he would need to do would be too much after 4 years out of the water.

•  Thorpe would only swim the individual 200m Free if he had a realistic shot at a medal (ie. managing to get back down to 1:44 or 1:45). There is no way he would want to damage his legacy in the sport by finishing 8th in the 200m Free final in London. 

•  The most likely events for him will be the 4 x 100m Free and 4 x 200m Free relays, with a possible individual 200m Free thrown in if all goes to plan. To make the Aussie team he probably needs to get down to a low/mid-48 on the 100m (his best time is 48.56 from the Athens Olympics) and around 1:46 or 1:47-low to make the 200m Free team (his best time 1:44.06 from Worlds in 2001).

• Even with Thorpe back to his best, the chances of Australia winning either relay are remote at best, however, he would certainly make Australia strong medal contenders, especially in the 4 x 200m Free. In both relays the US men are still favourites. In the 4 x 100m Free they will face strong challenges from France and Russia, whilst in the 4 x 200m Free it will likely come down to a head to head between USA and Russia.

The top 4 Aussies in each event last year.

100m Free

Eamon Sullivan - 48.52 (9th in the world)
Kyle Richardson - 48.69 (15th in the world)
Matthew Abood - 48.91 (25th in the world)
James Magnussen - 48.93 (27th in the world)

200m Free

Thomas Fraser-Holmes - 1:47.04 (11th in the world)
Kenrick Monk - 1:47.37 (16th in the world)
Nicholas Ffrost - 1:47.48 (19th in the world)
Patrick Murphy - 1:48.30 (36th in the world)

2010 - The Year of the Comeback

What is it with comebacks in 2010? There are still two months of the year left, and already there have been a number of high profile returns to the sport. Why is it happening this year? Is it linked to the new suit laws? Increased professionalism in the sport? Burning desire to get back into competition in time for London 2012?

Here's a rundown of the major comebacks so far this year...

Janet Evans - Easily the biggest shock comeback so far. Many doubts still remain as to the level Evans can come back to, but it has certainly captured the swimming world's imagination. Some people think her comeback will be more Mark Spitz than Dara Torres (I'm sitting comfortably on the fence). Like Torres, she is starting with Masters competitions and seeing where it goes from there.

Geoff Huegill - Janet Evans can try all she wants, Geoff Huegill still takes the prize for swimming's best comeback of 2010. In fact, you'd do well to convince me that its not the greatest swimming comeback of all-time. His 100m Fly victory in Delhi was the feel-good swim of the year.

Libby Trickett - Staying in Australia, Trickett recently announced that she was making a comeback after a year out of the water. It has come at a good time for the Australian women's relays.

Laure Manaudou - Another recent comeback. Although Manaudou hasn't been out of competition all that long (competed in Beijing), mentally she seemed to check out years ago. The swimming world hopes to see the form she showed earlier in her career when it looked like she would go down as one of the all-time greats of the sport. If the comeback is a success, she still might...

Ed Moses - Spurred on by the lack of top American breaststrokers, Moses confirmed to Swimming World's Garrett McCaffrey that he was gearing up for a comeback. He's got a big money bet with Ryan Lochte about what time/rankings he can get back too. I, for one, would definitely like to know more details of that bet. The comeback could see him training alongside Kitajima with Dave Salo in California. Moses was an excellent LC Breaststroker (silver at 2000 Olympics), but was on a different planet when it came to SCM. If you don't remember Moses, check out his performances from the 2002 SC World Cup Series.

Natalie Coughlin - Less of a comeback than the others on the list after only short time out of the water, but she came straight back at world leading level this year.

Amanda Beard - Beard's silver at US Nationals was sensational. Few gave Beard much chance, she was coming out of retirement and less than a year after giving birth. But she showed her class at US Nationals and then again at Pan Pacs (5th in the final). She's currently tied for 7th in the world this year on 2:24.30. London calling.

Dara Torres - I've lost count of which comeback this is, but Torres confirmed that she is back in training for London 2012, and will probably make it.


Vote above on who you would like to see announce a comeback in time for 2012. Ian Thorpe is streaking away with the vote currently (I still stick by my earlier comments, Thorpe's coming back). If there is anyone else not on the list that you think should be, add your suggestion in the comments section.

Thoughts from Commonwealth Games Swimming - Day Two

Much better day for the home nations, much needed after a quiet first day... Lets bullet...
. Fran Halsall is going to have a monster meet. The 50m Fly was on paper her toughest individual event, and she took down the best Australia had to offer. Pre-competition I picked Yolane Kukla to win, with Marieke Guehrer picking up silver and Halsall taking Bronze. Pre-race I had bumped Guehrer and Halsall up a spot. In the end Halsall showed once again that she is a tremendous 'racer' (lazy cliche again, apologies) and had a tremendous last 5m and finish.

Finishing a 50m sprint so strongly bodes extremely well for her 100m Free and Fly.

- I was also impressed with Halsall's 100m Free semi. She was clear of the field at 50m and although Alicia Coutts looked strong on the back 50m (and had a tremendous turn), I don't expect anyone to challenge Halsall when she gets up to full speed and effort in the final. It's now a very real possibility that she will win 4 individual Golds (I can't see England winning any relay golds).

. The Aussies will be a little sore after losing the 50m Fly. Kukla, Guehrer and Seebohm have all been faster than Halsall's winning time this year.

Kukla in particular seems to be struggling. She is ranked 8th in the world this year in the 100m Free but ended up missing the final. Her time will come, but from the evidence so far, that won't be in Delhi.

Update -  According to InfostradaLive - "Halsall (ENG) became the first woman from outside Australia in 20 years to win gold in an individual Women's Butterfly event at Commonwealth Games."

. Liam Tancock was dominant in his 50m Backstroke. Winning by 0.46 in a 50m is a real achievement.

However, you know in the back of Tancock's mind will be the memory of the 24.07 from Camille Lacourt at Europeans. The 100m Back is still to come, and I think Tancock can improve upon his 52.85 this year, but its looking like Lacourt will end the year head and shoulders above the rest of the world.

Lacourt, head and shoulders above Tancock... in every sense.

.  Robbie Renwick had a nice swim to win the 200m Freestyle. Ross Davenport went for an outside smoke show but got reeled in on the last 25m. Good result for Renwick, but to put it in some perspective, his winning time of 1:47.88 would have finished 7th at Pan Pacs. On the flipside he did beat the 4th (Fraser-Holmes), 5th (Monk) and 6th (Basson) placed finishers on that day.

Leads me to the question, which was the better swim... Thomas Fraser-Holmes coming 4th at Pan Pacs in 1:47.23, or Robbie Renwick winning Commonwealths in 1:47.88?

. The BBC have nailed it this year with their in-studio team. Clare Balding admits that she doesn't know a great deal about swimming, but has a genuine enthusiasm for the sport and a willingness to learn more (hopefully a sentiment echoed by the viewers). Mark Foster is on good form and is able to give a good insight into the British swimmers thoughts and personalities as he has competed on the same team as most of them.

However, the real star is Ian Thorpe. This guy really knows how to talk about swimming. Not too technical to put off casual fans, whilst not oversimplifying his explanations either. Such a shame that he won't be working for the BBC in 2012 as he'll be busy competing...

... Out of interest what are the views on BBC commentators Adrian Moorhouse and Andy Jameson?

Paul Biedermann - 1:45.84 - Wins German Nationals

A week after Yannick Agnel made all the headlines in the men's 200m Free at the Paris Open, Paul Biedermann responded in his own way at German Nationals today.

Biedermann took over from Agnel at the top of the world rankings with a superb time of 1:45.84. Biedermann took the race out hard turning in 24.96 at 50m and 51.26 at the 100m turn. (During his 1:42.00 swim Biedermann split 24.23 and 50.12).

To be recognised in the same company as 200m Free greats Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps, Biedermann will need to get down to their textile best times. Thorpe's best is 1:44.06 from the 2001 World Champs, Phelp's best (and the best time ever in a 100% textile suit) is 1:43.86 from the 2007 World Champs. Whether this is a 100% fair comparison is open to debate considering that Thorpe wore his trademark black all body suit and Phelps was wearing a suit covering his chest and legs.

Biedermann was actually faster than Thorpe's 2001 split at 100m (51.26 to 51.45). At 150m Thorpe edged slightly ahead on 1:18.26 to Biedermann's 1:18.49. Before Thorpe 'dropped the hammer' on the last 50m.

Even more interesting is the comparison between Biedermann's effort today and 2001's 2nd placed finisher Pieter van den Hoogenband. Biedermann swam 24.96, 26.30, 27.23, 27.35 to finish in 1:45.84. VDH swam 24.67, 26.76, 27.03, 27.35 to finish in 1:45.81. Just 0.03 split the two swims and they had an identical final 50m. The big difference between the swims was the fact that VDH was swimming in 2001's most hyped race, Biedermann was at his national championships without any competition. At European's vs. Agnel and/or next year's World Champs vs. Phelps we will surely see even more from Biedermann.

Add your thoughts on Biedermann below. Let's work this out together.

Poll Results - Will Ian Thorpe return for 2012?

The swimming community has spoken (well, 123 members of it atleast) and the general consensus is that... Ian Thorpe will not be returning to London 2012.

91 voted for No, a whopping percentage of 74%. Myself and 31 others voted for Yes, a minuscule 26%.

Back in early May I looked at the situation and my opinions haven't changed despite a rejection of the rumours by Thorpe. There's no way Thorpe announces his return before he can be sure that he can get down to the times required in the 100m Free and that will require some intensive training. We might need to wait until mid-2011 for more news, but IF Thorpe can get into the right shape by then I fully expect him to announce a return in the 4 x 100 Free Relay and 200m Free.

Ian, if you're reading, go to 2:32 in this video, then get yourself to the pool.

Ian Thorpe - Considering comeback for 2012?

The Herald Sun reports today that Ian Thorpe, 27, is considering a surprise comeback in time for London 2012.

It's understood Thorpe, 27, discussed his plans with Australia's current batch of crack male sprinters - Eamon Sullivan, Andrew Lauterstein, Ashley Callus and Matt Targett - at the Commonwealth Games trials in Sydney last month, allegedly saying: "Let's get the 4x100 in London."

I say this happens... Just three days ago at a sports convention in Dubai Thorpe revealed “I’ve walked away, not retired”. Thorpedo is media-savvy enough to know how this will have been taken and to have the story break so soon afterwards tells me that we'll get the welcome return of this century's first global swimming star.

Assuming it does happen, several questions remain:-

A) Will he get back into the kind of shape he needs to be to make the Australian team?

- Look at Geoff Huegill. Thorpe might not even be the biggest surprise comeback Olympian on the 2012 team.

B) Will he focus only on the 4 x 100 Free relay?

- If Thorpe can get down to a mid-48 on the 100 Free (what it will probably take to qualify comfortably for the Aussie team) then I'm guessing he could also swim a pretty mean 200m Free. You can add the 4 x 200 Free relay to his list. When it comes to individual events I think Thorpe needs to be in with a real shot at a medal (probably Gold) for him to consider it. The individual 200m Free would probably be the most suitable event for him and as a result his participation might depend on what Phelps/Biedermann/Agnel/Isotov etc. are producing. The endurance needed for the 400m Free might be a step too far even for Thorpe. I don't see him being able to match Cielo/Bernard/Sullivan for speed in the individual 100 Free.

C) Will Thorpe's presence be enough to win Gold for Australia in the 4 x 100 Free relay in 2012?

- It will certainly give the team a boost and should help Australia but it still might not be enough to claim gold.

France have to be considered favourites with the USA a close second. So far this year the fastest 4 French 100m Freestylers are:-

A Bernard - 48.32 (World Rank 1)
F Gilot - 48.52 (W.r. =2)
W Meynard - 48.79 (W.r 5)
Y Agnel - 48.99 (W.r 8)

This doesn't even include the seriously talented A Leveaux, F Bousquet, B Steimetz and G Mallet.

Australia's top 4 in comparison:-

E Sullivan - 48.52 (W.r =2)
T D'Orsagna - 49.35 (W.r 18)
J Magnussen - 49.43 (W.r 19)
K Richardson- 49.47 (W.r 25)

The US team will always challenge and have a wealth of talent available. (Phelps, Adrian, Walters, Grevers, Weber-Gale, Jones, new guys coming through... Lezak!)

D) If Thorpe does comeback, is it the best news in 2010 for the sport of swimming?

Yes.