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
At least he is no longer a Blob.
ReplyDeleteThere are another one billion of us out here who need a big big hammer to lose the flab.
Anyway congrats to him . This is a start not an end.