Hackett juiced up for world champs

The Gold Coast’s Grant Hackett says he is happy with his preparation for the world swimming championships in Montreal in July.

The Olympic 1,500 metre freestyle champion will captain a new-look Australian team which includes 14 rookies.

Hackett is planning to also contest the shorter races like the 400m freestyle, but he says Ian Thorpe’s absence will not make it any easier to win.

“I mean, I’ve got Michael Phelps in the 400, I guess you could say replacing Ian Thorpe as the main sort of threat in that particular race,” he said.

“But it’s going to be very exciting and I’m looking forward to getting up and racing against the guys that were so close in Athens in that 1,500 metre freestyle, of course, and seeing how it evolves.”