Hackett urges Thorpeto rethink

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IF Olympic champion Ian Thorpe does not contest the 400m freestyle again at championship level, no-one will regret it more than his greatest rival Grant Hackett.

Fresh from winning the Australian swimmer of the year award, Hackett said yesterday he would love Thorpe to revisit the 400m to revive their enthralling rivalry - once the 1500m champion recovers from the shoulder surgery that has ruled him out of the Commonwealth Games.

“It was like racing Kieren (Perkins) in the 1500m over the years - I really enjoyed that and everything that was brought to the event,” Hackett said.

“I have had that with Ian in the 400m and I would like to think we could do that again.

“I enjoyed racing him and I guess we could still race in the 200m but we are getting out of my forte there.”

Hackett, 25, said he respected Thorpe’s right to decide for himself if he returned to the 400m after the Commonwealth Games, but he would rather race Thorpe than have the event to himself as he did at this year’s world titles.

“If we don’t (race again), we don’t. We have had so many races and duels over that period that I can’t really complain, and it’s not like we haven’t put on a show.”

Thorpe announced last weekend that he would not swim the 400m at the Commonwealth Games.

“Don’t believe what anyone else tells you because I’m not doing it,” Thorpe said.

He intimated that if he attained success in the 100m freestyle in Melbourne that he would stick with his new sprint-focused direction.

Hackett said he was making a quick recovery from the arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder last week and could already lift his arm over his head.

He plans to be back in the water by the New Year but has no hope of being ready for the Commonwealth Games trials in late January.

However, he said there was some chance he could be fit to compete at the world short-course championships in Shanghai in April.

“I definitely won’t be swimming the 1500m there, but maybe I could do a relay,” Hackett said.

“The priority is making a full recovery from my surgery but provided I am happy with everything, the short course is still slightly on the cards.”

Hackett said he would be looking for a long-course meet “somewhere in the world” around August so he could post a good 1500m time.

Ironically, the Australian team will be competing at the Pan Pacific championships in Vancouver then and would dearly love the Australian captain to lead the team into competition against the No.1 ranked Americans.

But the Pan Pacific team will be selected from the Commonwealth Games trials so Hackett will not have an opportunity to win selection for that event.

Hackett said he still hoped to play some role in assisting the team at the Melbourne Games.