Hackett urged to stick with current program

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Australian swimming head coach Leigh Nugent is encouraging Grant Hackett to continue racing three individual events, despite his ill-health.

Hackett plans to have a three-month break from swimming as he is still recovering from the chest infection that affected his preparation for the Athens Olympics.

Nugent said Hackett should continue swimming the 200 and 400 metres events in addition to the 1,500m, but the final decision would rest with the double Olympic champion and his coach Dennis Cotterell.

“Grant has been going for seven years now virtually without a break and I think his immune system may be under a lot of stress, and that’s why he keeps breaking down when he gets to that state, when you’re so finely tuned,” he said.

Most of Australia’s best swimmers will return to competition at the end of the month despite just arriving home from Athens.

The Australian team’s selection trials for October’s World Shortcourse Championships in Indianapolis are being held in Brisbane from September 25-29.

Nugent said it would be logical to have the championships well after the Olympics but there was no room in the swimming calendar.

“The rationale might have been to have it close to the Olympics, so that there isn’t another major preparation and they can swim off the back of the Olympics off that preparation,” he said.

“That’s probably the thinking behind it, but they’re very close together and it will affect who goes, there’s no doubt about that.”

Ian Thorpe, Jodie Henry Leisel Jones and Hackett will not be competing at the trials.