Hackett tips defeat in 1500m at worlds

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Olympic and world champion Grant Hackett says he does not expect to dominate the 1500m at this year’s world championships.

Hackett has not been beaten over the distance in eight years, having won three world titles and two Olympic gold medals in the period as well as holding the fastest time in history.

But having taken 10 weeks off after shrugging off a collapsed lung to win the event at the Athens Olympics last August, Hackett told The Daily Telegraph from the Queensland championships that his focus is longer term than the world titles in Montreal.

“Those guys only had a week off after the Olympics and I had a 2½ month break,” Hackett said of the likes of American Larsen Jensen and Briton David Davies, who took silver and bronze behind him in Greece.

“You have to think that those guys are the favourites. They have got straight back into it. They’re keen, they’re eager, whereas I have had more of a break and am in a different part of my career. My focus is Beijing. I’m thinking long term.”

Hackett’s coach Denis Cotterell supported the view that the 2008 Olympics are more important.

“You have to understand that others in the event have moved ahead,” said Cotterell. “But I also think he is being very pragmatic. In a sense, it makes it easier for him to deal with.”