via www.couriermail.com.au: A STREAMLINED Ian Thorpe says he can be the best in the world again as the swim superstar prepares to return to the pool for the first time since 2006.
GMM: Thorps looks and lean and mean, and thanks to the Courier Mail we get an exclusive glimpse inside Thorpe's brain.
Thorpe's nervous about his comeback performance in Singapore this Friday. Like an A-list swim star, however, he has logged altitude training in the Swiss Alps. Very posh! While pampered, he has worked hard and is upbeat about showing some speed.
On a very positive note, Thorpe's 4kg lighter than he was in Athens...although, I believe, this is less about body-fat and more a result of overall muscle loss. (A lot of swimmers lose a tremendous amount of bulk when they stop the daily grind for a year or more. You shrink considerably through the chest, shoulders, lats, often dropping two jacket sizes.)
Thorpe's swimming 100 butterfly and the 200 IM this weekend, creating buzz about whether he's toying with these events instead of 100 and 200 free for his Olympic effort.
I call B.S., but I don't blame Thorpe for swimming events outside his standard lineup. He's clearly testing his speed and feel for the water. That's it. Swimming fly and IM takes a little pressure off his first racing attempts after such a long dry-spell.
BOTTOM-LINE: Thorpe will be a threat at the Aussie Olympic Trials and at the London Olympics. His contribution will be on the relays, and it will be celebrated. Thorpe's a winner with a base of training and racing behind him that would make 99% of the world's best quake in their briefs......I mean jammers.
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