No predictions of gold medal hauls from swim team

 

By Terry OConnor, 24 Apr 2008 Terry OConnor is a Roar Rookie

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Australia’s Olympic swimming team may include a swag of world record holders, but with the Games still three months away nobody is willing to make gold medal predictions just yet.

“I don’t think anyone can be placed as the favourite, because really that is what an Olympics is all about – people come out from the woodwork, people perform out of their (comfort zone),” world 50m and 100m freestyle record holder Libby Trickett said today.

Eamon Sullivan, who broke the 50m freestyle record twice in two days during the Game selection trials in March, agreed an Olympic year was likely to produce outstanding results.

“It’s one of those magical years and there’s going to be a lot more fast times to come,” he said.

National head coach Alan Thompson refused to be drawn on predictions, despite having seven long course world record holders in his Olympic squad.

“All my predictions are inside my head. Undoubtedly the most successful Olympic trials we’ve ever had have put us on a great footing, but we’ve had the French, Japanese trials over the last few weeks, and probably the main trials everyone will be looking at is the US trials in late June,” Thompson said.

“Once they’re over, the swimmers will have a good idea of where they stand.

“Anything before (the Americans) finish their trials would be mere speculation.”

Trickett shrugged off the tag of favourite hung round her neck overnight by her closest current rival, Britta Steffen, after the German swam the second fastest time ever at her own national selection trials in Berlin.

“I’ve gone into Olympic Games as the favourite before, and didn’t handle it so well then,” Trickett said.

“I’m in a different place in my swimming now, I don’t really tend to feel much pressure in terms of being the favourite.

“Obviously I have to focus on my preparation and make sure I’m in the best shape possible come the Olympics.”

The entire Olympic swim squad, except captain Grant Hackett, is in Canberra for a week-long training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport and will swim in a short-course competition this weekend.

Hackett is in France preparing for next month’s 10km open-water swimming championships in Seville.

Despite repeated questioning today, team members stuck firmly to the official line that preparations for Beijing had not been affected by Nick D’Arcy’s expulsion from the team for an alleged assault.

D’Arcy will appeal his expulsion at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“There’s nothing we can do, it’s all in the courts. The team is focussed on preparations. It’s no more distracting than the pressure of expectations of 20 gold medals,” Sullivan said.

Thompson said the D’Arcy issue had been discussed in team meetings but had not been a distraction for swimmers during training.

“We’ve certainly brought it up in team meetings and talked about it,” Thompson said.

“There is no point sweeping an issue like this under the carpet, it needs to be discussed.”