Virus floors Hackett

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World and Olympic 1500m champion Grant Hackett will miss day one of the World Cup shortcourse meeting.

The Australian collapsed at a Sydney meeting on Wednesday following an asthma attack.

On the advice of coach Denis Cotterell he has pulled out of Friday’s 400m freestyle heats.

And he also looks unlikely to take part in the 200m freestyle event on Saturday, according to Cotterell.

He said: “If he can’t swim today, there’s not much point. There’s a 200 tomorrow but that’s a higher intensity.

“There’s a virus in his lung a little bit, so we’re better just to rest up, get it out of his system, get him healthy and back on deck Monday.”

Hackett underwent medical checks on Thursday, which confirmed he had suffered an asthma attack caused by a chest infection.

But he insisted he was not an asthmatic.

The 23-year-old said: “(The doctors) recommend I probably shouldn’t swim, but if I do feel OK.”

Hackett said he felt ill before the Sydney event and following his collapse, he was given oxygen by the pool and examined by the Australian team doctor.

Hackett withdraws from swim meet

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Grant Hackett’s coach has advised the ill Olympic champion to withdraw from the World Cup shortcourse meeting in Melbourne this weekend.

Hackett collapsed on the pool deck during Wednesday night’s Skins meet in Sydney after suffering an asthma attack following a race.

Hackett pulled out of the 400m freestyle heats at the World Cup this morning and is now almost certain not to take part in his other listed event - the 200m freestyle tomorrow.

His coach Denis Cotterell didn’t rule out Hackett swimming tomorrow, saying it would be left to Hackett to decide.

But Cotterell said it was unlikely Hackett would swim and he would prefer the Queenslander rested.

“If he can’t swim today, there’s not much point,” Cotterell said.

“There’s a 200 tomorrow - that’s a higher intensity.

“There’s a virus in his lung a little bit, so we’re better just to rest up, get it out of his system, get him healthy and back on deck Monday.

“I can’t say absolutely officially (he won’t swim tomorrow) but from my point I would prefer he doesn’t.”

Hackett arrived in Melbourne late yesterday after undergoing medical checks in Sydney, which revealed an asthma condition believed to have been triggered by a chest infection.

Cotterell said Hackett swam 1,500m in training last night and the decision to withdraw from today’s race was left to the swimmer, who opted for rest rather than racing.

His long-time coach admitted he was concerned at Hackett’s health scare, but was confident the 1,500m Olympic and world champion would decide not to risk racing tomorrow.

“Nowadays he’s pretty conscious of maintaining his health over an heroic, desperate race that he doesn’t really need,” Cotterell said.

“I’ve seen him train through the heaviest sessions and sustain an hour of absolute agony two, three, four, five times a week, week in, week out.

“To come off a race and see him like that - I was quite alarmed because I’ve seen him take everything.”

In today’s heats, American sensation Michael Phelps qualified comfortably for tonight’s 200m butterfly and 100m individual medley finals.

He clocked an impressive 54.58sec in the IM to be fastest qualifier and was second quickest in the 200m butterfly behind Australian Justin Norris (1min 56.01sec).

Thorpe just managed to qualify for tonight’s 100m freestyle final, sneaking into eighth (49.36) behind fellow Australians Ashley Callus (47.93) and Todd Pearson (48.43).

Petria Thomas continued her comeback from a third shoulder surgery, qualifying quickest for the women’s 50m butterfly in 26.47 and third fastest in the 100m freestyle (54.75).

Virus led to Hackett’s poolside collapse

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Grant Hackett is in doubt for the swimming World Cup meeting starting in Melbourne tomorrow after collapsing at the Qantas Skins event in Sydney last night.

World and Olympic 1500m champion Hackett underwent a full medical examination by Australian team doctor Jeni Saunders today and was diagnosed with a viral infection.

The world record holder was administered oxygen on the pool deck after last night’s collapse following a relay race at Sydney International Aquatic Centre.

Swimming Australia media manager said Ian Hanson said today Hackett only revealed after the race that he’d been unwell with a stomach upset and diarrhea.

Feeling better today, Hackett was to take a re-scheduled flight to Melbourne this afternoon.

Hanson said the swimmer’s condition would be monitored before a decision was made tomorrow on whether he raced in the three-day World Cup round.

Grant Hackett calls for more drug testing for top swimmers

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MARK COLVIN: One of Australia’s leading swimmers says drug officials should stop wasting money testing low-ranked athletes and concentrate more on the fastest swimmers.

Grant Hackett says it would be naive to think swimmers aren’t taking drugs, although he doubts that the new designer steroid, THG, would be popular in the pool. And he says that to ensure a better chance of catching cheats, authorities shouldn’t announce when they have a new test.

ROSS SOLLY: Grant Hackett is the world record holder in the 1500 metres; he’s also briefly held the world record in the 200 metres. His standing in the swimming world is unquestioned. He says he’s one of the swimmers who should be the constant focus of drug testers around the world.

GRANT HACKETT: I think it’s naïve to think that people aren’t on drugs, but it’ll be great to actually see if people would get caught. I think it’s almost too perfect to see no one get caught.

And I also think that it’s ridiculous that the same amount of money on a test is spent on someone who breaks the world record or wins a world championship or even gets a medal, or 30th or 20th. Who cares about those positions? Everyone wants to see if the top athletes are clean.

ROSS SOLLY: Make no mistake, athletes like Grant Hackett don’t like being tested all the time, but they know its a price they pay for being the best. What frustrates Hackett is it’s a price only Australians seem to pay.

GRANT HACKETT: For some athletes perhaps they receive them, you know, I think they got to do it a little bit more often, I mean, I’ve got… I’ve been tested twice in the past six days – blood and urine tests. And I don’t think other people around the world are getting tested as much as people like Ian and I.

They need to test the top athletes for more drugs. They need to spend more money testing the top athletes and the world record holders, rather than having a broad test for everybody.

And they shouldn’t be telling people what they’re testing for because if people know they’re testing for these particular drugs, well, people are going to know not to go on them. They’ve just got to keep, I think, things a little bit more quiet.

ROSS SOLLY: In recent days, swimming’s world governing body, FINA, announced it will re-test samples taken at the Barcelona World Championships this year, for the designer steroid, tetrahydrogestrinone.

Grant Hackett says FINA’s decision is fantastic, but he doesn’t expect any positives.

GRANT HACKETT: I don’t think it’s a drug that… I don’t know, from what I’ve heard, that seems to be really suited to swimmers. It seems more a track-and-field drug, a little bit more power. It seems to be steroid based, which I don’t… I think makes swimmers probably too heavy. But it’s great to see that they’re taking the initiative to test and to go back to the tests that they took in Barcelona.

ROSS SOLLY: Grant Hackett today, confirmed he’ll compete against American champion Michael Phelps at the Skins Meet in Sydney later this month, and the World Cup event in Melbourne next month.

The unusual format at both events will make it hard to get an accurate gauge of what the world will see in Athens next year. But with so few certainties in Olympic sports, Grant Hackett says for anyone to come through and beat him in the 1500 metres next year would be a major surprise.

GRANT HACKETT: It will be near impossible for someone to go 14:40 if they haven’t broken 15 minutes in the last 12 months. I mean, no one in history has ever made that jump, and particularly no one in history, besides Kieren and myself, coming under 14:50. It would be a little bit surreal someone going under 14 minutes 40, who haven’t even broken 15 minutes in the last 12 months.

MARK COLVIN: Australian swimmer Grant Hackett, talking to Ross Solly.