www.swimming.org.au/.../results_details.cfm
I hope this link works..........but if not Ian Thorpe was DQed in prelims of the 400 Free at the Australian Olympic Trials!!!!!!!
Australia's selection policy is as strict as the US one.........Thorpe will not contest the 400 Free at the Olympics!
I wish all meet management softwares were required to show the reason for the DQ...........it could have been a false start or a no show due to illness or injury or bizare circumstance.........i hate not knowing!
Former Member
www.smh.com.au/.../1079939853908.html
An article by Kieran Perkins about how strict Australia's qualifying standards are and how even he (the world record holder at the time) wasn't selected for the team. I would safely say that Thorpe is out...
"Falling" off the blocks often happened before the no false start rule was adopted -- not as much since. That's the way swimmers would try to break the other competitors' concentration. So I think the rule makers actually had that in mind -- the rule doesn't specify that the false start be close to the actual start.
I saw this on NBC I think. He didn't even come close to DQing in the normal sense. He fell off the blocks when he went to take his start. He actually "egg rolled" off the blocks. To me, though I don't make the rules, he fell and wasn't close to starting. This is going to make for an interesting Olympics.
Pretty amazing and ranks right up near the top in terms of bone-headed moves...to get DQ'd in the PRELIMS of the OT!! I've seen guys false start during the 1500 or 1000 swim the entire race and then learn that they were out (most recently Eric Vendt at Spring Nationals) but not at Olympic Trials.
I did see some relays get DQ'd in college championships when everyone jumped into the water to celebrate before the lagging teams finished their race.
Thorpe's obviously "recovered' and will no doubt qualify in the other events. Re the 1500...I don't think you can enter an event "during the meet" then again some swimmers will enter every event they qualify in just to keep their competitors off guard and keep their options open. Bowman has already indicated that Phelps will be "entered" in every event where he has a qualifying time. Hopefully, Thorpe has similar forethought...then again I have my doubts based on his behavior earlier at the Trials. Too bad because I'd love to see Hackett beat him at the Olympics.
Back when I swam High School we used to watch and see if someone false started, once they did, we would try and draw them off by using our one false start and get them DQ'd. It actually used to be used as a strategy to eliminate competition. Fair? No! Did it work? Yep! Did make for rather long meets sometimes!;)
