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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Former Member
This is not a comment on the ethics of the situation:
Reading some Aussie newspapers the way that Thorpe gets into the race is because the alternate is chosen from the list of Olympic Team members. This is would be more clear if this happened closer to the event, but think of it this way. If Stevens made the decision at the opening ceremonies you wouldn't fly out the 3rd place finisher and have him compete.
I think this has happened in the past, Popov in 1996 dropped out of the 100 back. I don't know if the 3rd place guy swam or what they did, but it may be worth finding out. Hmm, come to think of it I think there was an empty lane so perhaps they didn't replace him.
This is not a comment on the ethics of the situation:
Reading some Aussie newspapers the way that Thorpe gets into the race is because the alternate is chosen from the list of Olympic Team members. This is would be more clear if this happened closer to the event, but think of it this way. If Stevens made the decision at the opening ceremonies you wouldn't fly out the 3rd place finisher and have him compete.
I think this has happened in the past, Popov in 1996 dropped out of the 100 back. I don't know if the 3rd place guy swam or what they did, but it may be worth finding out. Hmm, come to think of it I think there was an empty lane so perhaps they didn't replace him.
