Thorpe likely to drop 400 at Melbourne

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Olympic and world champion Ian Thorpe is likely to drop the 400 metres freestyle from his Commonwealth Games itinerary as he shifted his focus to taking on the sprinting world, coach Tracey Menzies said yesterday.

Menzies said Thorpe, who was aiming to return to competition in December, felt mentally burnt out with the 400 freestyle, especially after the dramatic lead-up to last year’s Athens Olympics, and he wanted a break from the event he has dominated since the 1998 world championships.

She said Thorpe, who will compete in the 200 freestyle, could even consider replacing the 400 with the 50 freestyle in Melbourne next year.

However Menzies said the decision, if Thorpe did cut the event, would not necessarily mean the end of his participation in an event in which he has won three world championships and his second Olympic gold last year.

“He just wants a bit of a break from it. Everyone knows the pressure he had as far as the 400 (last year). I just think you need to find new stimulants and a new love in what you are doing and the break has probably been a good thing for him,” she said.
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Menzies said Thorpe had been eyeing the challenge of the 100 freestyle. It would also be one of the genuine world-class events at the Commonwealth Games with the field including South African world championship silver and bronze medallists Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling.

Menzies conceded Thorpe could find it difficult to return to the 400 freestyle — an event that required different training to the sprints — especially if his times in the 100, in which he won a Commonwealth Games gold and Olympic and world bronze, substantially improve.

“That’s something you have got to be committed to do … you can facilitate all the training programs but whether they … take it on board as mature and elite athletes, it’s got to be self-ownership, too,” she said.

Menzies said Thorpe was back in training, which has included some medley work, although he was unlikely to compete in the 200 individual medley at the Commonwealth Games, and was aiming to resume at the NSW titles.

Menzies felt the success of the women’s team and Grant Hackett’s performances would ease the expectations and pressure on Thorpe.

“He is part of the team and that’s the way he sees himself,” she said.