Ready to go
Australian coach: Perkins in strong form for Commonwealth Games
Posted: Friday September 04, 1998 03:34 PM
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Although Perkins has not cracked 15 minutes since his dramatic victory in the 1996 Olympics, he could not be left out of the equation in the Commonwealth Games Al Bello/Allsport |
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Olympic swimming champion Kieren
Perkins is back to the form which won him the Atlanta 1500-meter
gold medal, national coach Don Talbot said Friday.
Speaking to Australian reporters at the team's pre-Commonwealth
Games base in Singapore, Talbot said he would not attempt to pick a
winner in a race featuring Perkins, world champion Grant Hackett
and Olympic silver medalist Daniel Kowalski.
Perkins was back in full training with the rest of the 41-strong
Australian swimming team in Singapore Friday after a bout of the
flu a couple of weeks ago disrupted his preparations.
After watching the three Australians train, Talbot said only a
brave person would be willing to place a bet on the outcome in
Kuala Lumpur.
”I wouldn't gamble on that at all, not a chance in hell,”
Talbot said.
Although 25-year-old Perkins, the world record holder, has not
cracked 15 minutes since his dramatic victory from lane eight in
Atlanta two years ago, Talbot said he could not be left out of the
equation in KL.
”Kieren is the world record holder. Grant and Daniel are both
great athletes but despite what they've done they haven't been
within 10 or 12 seconds of what Kieren's best is,” Talbot said.
”Lately, there's been a question mark about Kieren because he's
been ill and he's got all these life stresses on him. He's been
married. He's got a baby. They have a cost. But the only comment I
can say about Kieren at this point is that he's swimming much
better than he was in Atlanta and he won in Atlanta.”
Perkins, whose wife is expecting their second child next
February, will go into his first major international meet since
Atlanta ranked number five in the 30-lap event behind Hackett,
Kowalski, Britain's Olympic bronze medalist Graeme Smith, and
South African Ryk Neethling.
It will be the first time Perkins and Hackett have met at a big
international and Talbot is clearly rubbing his hands in
anticipation of the contest.
”Grant won the world championship. He doesn't want to let that
go and he knows what he's going to run into with Kieren,” Talbot
said.
Hackett's gold medal chase may begin on September 10 - a day before
the games officially start with the opening ceremony.
The 18-year-old Gold Coast university student is expected to
have to swim a time trial for a place in the 4x200-meter freestyle
relay if the relays are swum as straight finals, as Talbot expects.
Talbot usually uses the morning heats to test the form of
swimmers before deciding on the final four, but if heats are not
swum in KL he will rely on time trials - two days before the
swimming starts - to pick his lineups in the freestyle relays.
The relay team is easy favorite for gold and is a chance to
break the world record held by the United States.
The swimming team will train in Singapore for another three days
before flying to Kuala Lumpur for the Games three days
before the opening ceremony.
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