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'Thorpedo' Australian sets yet another record at trials
Posted: Monday May 15, 2000 10:19 PM
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Ian Thorpe continued his record-shattering stretch at the Australian Olympic selection trials Monday, bettering the world record for 200 meters freestyle for the second time in 24 hours. It was his third world record in three days at the Sydney Aquatic Center, swimming venue for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and his 10th overall. Thorpe clocked 1 minute 45.51 seconds in the final of the 200 freestyle to improve by 0.18 the world record of 1:45.69 he set in the semifinals on Sunday night. The 17-year-old Thorpe has been unstoppable since shaving a half second off the 400 freestyle world record Saturday on the opening night of the Australian trials. Thorpe has now improved the 200 record four times in his last two major championships. He also set and broke the world mark on successive days at the Pan Pacs in Sydney last August. After breaking the 400 record, Thorpe said he was happier knowing he would be making his Olympic debut than he was breaking a world record he already owned. His mood hasn't changed. The first two finishers in each event at the May 13-20 trials will earn a berth on the Australian team. Thorpe walked out onto the pool deck Monday draped in an overcoat brandishing his nickname "Thorpedo" and looking more like a prize fighter than a champion swimmer. But dropping the coat, he revealed the sleek black, full-length adidas bodysuit, which created a stir before the trials and has carried him to all three records. Starting in lane 4 between Michael Klim and Grant Hackett, Thorpe was second off the blocks and turned behind Klim at the first 50. Both Klim and Thorpe were inside world record splits at 100 and 150 turns before Thorpe powered away over the final 50 to touch almost a body-length in front. Klim placed second in 1:46.89 and Hackett was third in 1:47.81. Despite his unbeatable run, Thorpe is still concerned about the opposition. "I couldn't see [Klim], my goggles were full of water," he said. "It was pretty much myself and hoping that nobody was in front." But he's not finding it hard to get motivated. "It's not too hard to refocus when Olympic positions are at stake," he said. "There's a lot of incentive out there." Klim's appraisal of Thorpe summed up the general opinion: "He's just awesome." And Klim, the current world champion at both 100 freestyle and butterfly, expected more to come from his younger rival. "Every day he's just getting better." Thorpe is also scheduled to race the 100 freestyle and is toying with the idea of contesting the 1,500, saying he's curious to see how fast he can go. But his coach, Doug Frost, and Australian national coach Don Talbot have advised him against competing in the 30-lap event. Frost said challenging dual Olympic gold medalist Kieren Perkins and world champion Hackett over 1,500 would dull Thorpe's speed for the 200 and 400 and could shorten his career. Later Monday, the crowd was brought to its feet when 14-year-old Leisel Jones edged a world-class field in the final of the women's 100-meters breaststroke to qualify for her first Olympics. "I'm absolutely amazed," she said. "First Olympics at 14 ... amazing." Jones overhauled former world record-holder and dual Olympic medalist Sam Riley over the first 50 and then held off the late challengers to win in 1:08.71. "Olympics was in the back of my mind. The times I was doing, it was quite possible," said Jones, who burst onto the scene six weeks ago at the Australian age championships. Susie O'Neill edged to within one race of a record for most titles at Australian championships when she won her 200 freestyle semifinal in a Commonwealth record 1:57.47. Going into the meet, the 26-year-old had a record-equaling 33 national championships and now has another chance to break the record with a victory in Tuesday's 200 freestyle final. O'Neill, 200 butterfly gold medalist at Atlanta, recorded the fifth-fastest women's time ever over the distance behind Franziska van Almsick of Germany, who set the record 1:56.78 at Rome in '94.
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