If I am reading this right, Swiminfo.com is reporting that Craig Stevens is indeed going to back out of the 400 and leave it up to Australia Swimming to "pick another member of the Olympic Team" to swim that race in Athens. If I am ANY other country, swimmer, the 3rd place finisher at the Trials or an organization interested in ethics, then I am raising a stink on this one!!!! Thorpe DQ'd and the Aussies are going to skirt the rule and get him in anyway. They would be relegated to the status of Ben Johnson, Rosie Ruiz, and the 60+% of MLB who are on steriods! This is FREAKIN' UNBELIEVABLE. I have no respect for any of the aforementioned and if this happens, none for Ian Thorpe and the Australian swim federation (or whatever official name they hide behind) are in that seeming, stinking pile.
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Hey Sam - actually the Dan and Dave saga was Reebok I believe.
In regards to Thorpe swimming or not - for him to take the spot would be poor sportsmanship (IMHO). Sports are filled with blunders and would have, could haves (NCAA basketaball - who was it that called a timeout in the final seconds when they didn't have one, or even a referee giving an extra 4th down to a team, or how about the referee miss calling the coin flip to start OT in an NFL playoff game). The fact is these are the rules that we all agree to play by. If the Aussie swim federation does allow Thorpe to swim, they are starting down a very treacherous path - #3 will file in court to swim because Thorpe didn't qualify and will get messy. Same thing kind of happened in 2000 US track trials with Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene (Johnson then was the world record holder) if you remember neither qualified because of leg issues (muscle cramps) during the finals, both stopped their race part way in and John Capel went on to win trials yet the US didn't even win a medal in the event. True each country can designate who should go, but to arbitrarily select an athlete would make swimming more like figure skating and based upon some of the past results (Salt Lake judges scandal, Harding & Kerrigan) of skating I would rather let the clock be the judge. Human error is part of sports (the Cubs Bill Buckner letting a ground ball go pass him at first base) that's why it is so interesting because you will never know what will happen (1980 US Hockey team beating the Russian team - who saw that coming).
Hey Sam - actually the Dan and Dave saga was Reebok I believe.
In regards to Thorpe swimming or not - for him to take the spot would be poor sportsmanship (IMHO). Sports are filled with blunders and would have, could haves (NCAA basketaball - who was it that called a timeout in the final seconds when they didn't have one, or even a referee giving an extra 4th down to a team, or how about the referee miss calling the coin flip to start OT in an NFL playoff game). The fact is these are the rules that we all agree to play by. If the Aussie swim federation does allow Thorpe to swim, they are starting down a very treacherous path - #3 will file in court to swim because Thorpe didn't qualify and will get messy. Same thing kind of happened in 2000 US track trials with Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene (Johnson then was the world record holder) if you remember neither qualified because of leg issues (muscle cramps) during the finals, both stopped their race part way in and John Capel went on to win trials yet the US didn't even win a medal in the event. True each country can designate who should go, but to arbitrarily select an athlete would make swimming more like figure skating and based upon some of the past results (Salt Lake judges scandal, Harding & Kerrigan) of skating I would rather let the clock be the judge. Human error is part of sports (the Cubs Bill Buckner letting a ground ball go pass him at first base) that's why it is so interesting because you will never know what will happen (1980 US Hockey team beating the Russian team - who saw that coming).
