Injured Hackett still leading light

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GRANT HACKETT will be the national swimming team’s first Davis Cup-style non-playing captain at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, national head coach Alan Thompson confirmed yesterday.

Hackett’s shoulder surgery has ruled him out of competing at the Games, but Thompson said he could still play an important role in preparing the team for the competition.

“I am very happy he can go on with it because he did a great job as captain last year,” Thompson said.

Hackett was appointed as the first official captain of the Dolphins after last year’s national trials and proved to be an inspirational leader at the world championships in Montreal last July, where he won three individual gold medals and led the team to a record medal tally.

Thompson spoke to Hackett at the Gold Coast on Thursday to reach an agreement which would allow him to combine his captaincy duties and media commitments for the Games.

Under Commonwealth Games rules, an athlete cannot be both a team member and work in the media.

However, Thompson said Hackett would serve in the leadership role at both the national team orientation camp directly after the Commonwealth Games trials which finish in Melbourne on February 4 and at the pre-Games camp from March 5-12 in Melbourne.

He will combine the captaincy with the athlete liaison role that fellow 1500m champion Daniel Kowalski was forced to give up after taking a job with the Melbourne 2007 world championships organising committee.

“Once we go into the (Games) village, Grant will assume his role with the media but he will still be available to work with the athletes as needed,” Thompson said.

“But once the meet starts the team leadership role takes a backseat because everyone is very focused on their own performance.”

Thompson also revealed that the national selectors could leave potential Commonwealth gold medallists on the shelf in Melbourne, because they will favour athletes with the highest world rankings.

In the weaker Commonwealth events, athletes who do not have high world rankings may well be the top-ranked athlete for the Games.

However, Thompson said Swimming Australia’s aim was not to maximise its Games medal tally but to prepare the best athletes for the 2008 Olympic Games.

“Our aim is the Olympic Games and we are looking to have our best possible team at the Olympic Games in 2008, so we will give the opportunities to those people in the lead-up to that,” Thompson explained.

He said athletes competing in Olympic events would also be preferred to those in non-Olympic events, like the 50m form strokes.

“It may mean that we may sacrifice one or two medals, to get the absolutely best team we have on the paddock,” he said.

Hackett to remain leader

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Australian head swimming coach Alan Thompson said the injured Grant Hackett would take on a role of non-playing captain at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

With Hackett allowed to undertake such a role, he will be allowed to fulfil his duties with sponsor Channel Seven, despite Channel Nine having the television rights to the Games.

Team rules prohibit exclusive individual sponsor or media commitments for competitors, but Hackett’s management and Thompson have reached an agreement on the matter during the week.

Thompson is delighted to retain the leadership of Hackett for the March event, citing the reigning Olympic 1500m gold medalist’s influence at the world championships in Montreal last year as an example of his importance to the team.

“I am very happy that Grant is able to continue on with us and maintain his position because I think he did a great job last year,” Thompson told AAP.

Hackett’s manager, Chris White, said he was still working out the finer details of the agreement as to exactly what Hackett’s schedule will be during the Games.

The champion swimmer has been training following last year’s shoulder surgery which forced him out of the Games, but is likely to be out of action for most of 2006.

Hackett back in training

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Grant Hackett will not rush back to competitive swimming despite making a quick recovery from a shoulder injury, his coach Denis Cotterell said today.

The 1,500 metre freestyle champion ruled himself out of March’s Commonwealth Games in Melbourne late last year, electing to undergo shoulder surgery.

Cotterell said Hackett had been training strongly since having the surgery, but was unlikely to race again until much later this year.

“He’s probably ahead of what I thought he’d be doing. I really just wanted to kick over slowly, and he is, but the volume’s picking up, even if it’s slow volume,” he Cotterell.

“I’m not even considering anything for six months at least, but it’ll go entirely on how he adapts to his training and how he builds up.

Hackett not rushing

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Champion Australian swimmer Grant Hackett will not come back into competition too early despite his speedy recovery from shoulder surgery.

Hackett’s manager Denis Cotterell said that while the reigning 1500m Olympic champion has been training strongly, he will not race until much later this year.

“He’s probably ahead of what I thought he’d be doing. I really just wanted to kick over slowly, and he is, but the volume’s picking up, even if it’s slow volume,” Cotterell told ABC Sport.

“I’m not even considering anything for six months at least, but it’ll go entirely on how he adapts to his training and how he builds up.”

Hackett ruled himself out of March’s Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in November last year, opting for surgery with his long term career in mind.