Henry, Thorpe urged to return from retirement before London Olympics
October 10th, 2010 - 2:03 pm ICT by ANISydney, Oct 10 (ANI): To galvanise the the Australian swimming squad for London Olympics, retired stars like Jodie Henry, Matt Welsh and Ian Thorpe have been urged to come out of retirement and follow Geoff Huegill and Libby Trickett.
Munich Olympian Graham Windeatt asked Swimming Australia to lure recently retired stars ahead of the the London Games.
Australia has dominated the Commonwealth Games pool, but there is a feeling that the nation’s younger swimmers, who will spearhead the assault on London in two years time and Rio in 2016, need mentoring.
The reintroduction of some proven, veterans such as Henry, Huegill and Trickett are seen as one way of passing on advice and developing self confidence.
“At major meets when people are swimming well there’s a tide people get carried along with and it’s self confidence, and when you get to the very elite level I think it’s the self confidence that can make the difference, that’s why I think Jodie should be encouraged,” said Windeatt.
However, Windeatt said the sport’s hierarchy should go a step further and do what it could to convince Ian Thorpe to focus on the 100m event.
“Jodie Henry, she’s been the world’s best. I think Geoff Huegill, and a few others, have proven stepping out of swimming for a while can be good for people,” said Windeatt.
“Thorpe is definitely one who should come back. I’ve been watching 100m freestyle Olympic finals for 10 Olympics and nearly always it’s the big guys who win. Eamon Sullivan, as great as he is, is light- framed and there’s a lot of turbulence in the second lap,” he added. (ANI)
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- Former Olympic star Huegill admits using drugs - Sep 25, 2011
- Phelps guns for Thorpe, wants to reverse result of 2004 Athens Games - Feb 13, 2011
- Rice, Sullivan in Australia swimming contingent for CWG - Mar 23, 2010
- Hoogenband says 'special athlete' Thorpe can win another gold in London - Feb 08, 2011
- Thorpe's comeback announcement praised and panned on Twitter - Feb 02, 2011
- Entire Oz swimming squad arrives for Delhi CWG shunning security fears - Sep 30, 2010
- Thorpe's Olympics bid fails at Australian trials - Mar 18, 2012
- Oz sprint coach says Thorpe must shed kilos for Olympics comeback - Feb 04, 2011
- Thorpe considering gold bid in London Olympics - May 03, 2010
- Champion swimmer Thorpe stays positive despite poor results - Nov 16, 2011
- Ian Thorpe to return for 2012 London Olympics - Feb 02, 2011
Tags: australian swimming, big guys, commonwealth games pool, eamon sullivan, elite level, geoff huegill, hierarchy, ian thorpe, jodie henry, libby, london games, london olympics, matt welsh, munich, olympics, olympics sydney, self confidence, swimmers, trickett, turbulence