Australian ladies, U.S. misters to dominate pool

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BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhuanet by Zhang Wei) — The swimming pool has been the intriguing duel place for the Aussies and Americans for long. As the star-studded U.S. men’s team is charging towards the 2005 World Swimming Championships spearheaded by wunderkind Michael Phelps, the Australian ladies are looking forward to a bumper harvest in Montreal from July 24th to 31st.

Following brilliant feats at 2004 Athens Olympics with eight medals including six golds hanging on his neck, 20-year-old Phelpsis supposed to make another sweep in Montreal. Instead of trying to notch up his third consecutive world title in the 200m fly or to win the 400m individual medley world champion twice in a row, the all-round swimmer is determined to show his pace in the freestyle events this time.

Besides the 100m fly and the 200m IM, the prodigy is slated to compete in 100m, 200m and 400m frees. Although the prolific winner’s only individual free medal is a 200m bronze at Athens Olympics, no one will doubt the Baltimore boy’s potential and dedication to prevail.

Among Phelps’ masculine teammates, Aaron Peirsol and Brendan Hansen are particularly in shape. As the title holder, Olympic champion and world record holder in both 100m and 200m backstroke,Peisol showed his sensational form by smashing his own 100m world record at national trials in post-Olympic year. As for Hansen, whoholds the world records of 100m and 200m breaststroke, world titles of the two events is in his range.

Moreover, 100m fly world record holder Ian Crocker, veteran free sprinter Jason Lezak and newly-budded distance swimmer JensenLarsen could not be looked down.

Despite of being in the shade of the U.S. male swimmers’ preeminence as a whole, Australian captain Grant Hackett is looking forward to make history for his green and gold team.

First, the 1,500m free is Hackett’s event. Being crowned as thedistance king, Hackett has not lost a race over the distance since1996. This time, the world record holder will attempt to become the first swimmer to win the same FINA World Championship event four times.

What’s more, when “the Thorpedo” is enjoying his sabbatical year, Hackett is going to stroke the solemn mission to combat against American phenomenon Phelps. The two will possibly collide in 200m and 400m freestyles. The 25-year-old Aussie takes up the top spots of this year’s rankings of both events.

In Barcelona, all the six golds of the Australian team were acquired by the men’s team while four out of the American contingent’s 11 golds were credited to their ladies. Therefore, when the United States sends a “girl scout” with an average age under 20 to Montreal, the comparatively seasoned Australian femaleswimmers won’t surrender the chances to reign.

With the absence of title holder, Olympic champion and world record holder Inge de Bruijn from the Netherlands in the 50m free,the favorites will now be Australian duo Alice Mills and Libby Lenton who were second and third respectively at the 2003 swimmingworlds.

Besides, Mills and Jodie Henry are prone to give the Aussies a lock on the gold in the 100m free. The former has the fastest timeof the year and the latter is the Olympic champion and world recordholder.

In women’s breaststrokes, as the runner-up in Barcelona, Australian Brook Hanson will square off against Chinese world champion Luo Xuejuan in the 50m, and the 100m will be a re-run of the Olympic final with medalists Luo, Hanson and another Aussie Leisel Jones, who holds the world record.

Furthermore, since the 200m breaststroke world record holder Amanda Beard of America will not swim in Montreal, the event looks Jones for the taking. The teenage prodigy, who finished withthe silver in both Barcelona and Athens, is due to win her first major individual international gold medal.

When the Aussie-American rivalry intrigues the swimming worlds,swimmers from other nations and districts will strive in the total40 events for making the podiums more colorful.

In the Chinese swimming contingent, 21-year-old Luo undoubtedlybears the upmost expectations. by earning five gold medals in two World Championships and rushing to an Olympic title in Athens, Luohas triumphantly proved herself as one of the best female breaststrokers in the world.

Although people always put a question mark on her fitness afterher collapse at Athens, the winner of 50m and 100m breaststrokes in last two World Championships is still looking forward to a “hattrick” in Montreal.

“I will try my best at this year’s swimming worlds. As long as I go for competitions, I am aiming at the gold, ” Luo said while preparing in Beijing.

Since retired Russia “Tzar” Alexander Popov and recuperating “Flying Dutchman” Pieter vd Hoogenband, as well as Thorpe are unavailable in Montreal, the men’s sprint free events are wide open. Besides Phelps, South Afrian duo Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling, Italian Filippo Magnini and Australian Michael Klim areall in contention.

Defending champion James Gibson of Great Britain and Ukrainian world record holder Oleg Lisogor are heavy contenders in men’s 50mbreaststroke. Meanwhile, Olympic and World champion Kosuke Kitajima has to pull out all the stops in the 100m breaststroke, as the Japanese star surprisingly failed to qualify for the 200m in national trials, not to speak defending his title.

As Phelps bypassing the 400 IM, Hungarian Laszlo Cseh and Italian Alessio Boggiatto are capable of Furthermore, the Americangiant chose to relinquish the 200m fly, leaving a very open field headed perhaps by Olympic finalists Pawel Korzenioski (Poland), WuPeng (China) and Nikolay Skvortsov (Russia).

In women’s backstrokes, German Janine Pietsch must be the favourite for the 50m after setting a new world record at her national championships in May. When the 100m looks like a lock forAmerican world record holder Natalie Coughlin, Kirsty Coventry, who secured the first ever swimming gold at the Olympics for Zimbabwe, will show her competitiveness in the 200m again at the upcoming World Championships.

Actually, there are still more swimmers worth of noticing: French girl Laure Manaudou, the top finisher in women’s 400m free final in Athens. Ukraine’s individual medley queen Yana Klochkova,the first swimmer ever to win both IMs in back-to-back Olympics. German Thomas Rupprath, who holds the world record of men’s 50m backstroke. Enditem.