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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The fact is the Aussies have an Olympic trials meet to pick the team. It is the end of the line if you don't make it. Going into the meet everyone knew it including Thorpe, the officials, judges and fans. If they didn't want to take the change of having Thorpe miss the team they should've never put him on the blocks. You get up there with the rest of the mortals and take your chance and live with the results. Everything would've gone on just fine without Thorpe in the 400. Now a popularity contest is deciding who swims. I don't want to hear how he's the best and the 400 will be tainted or scarred without him. That's a load of crap. The 400 will do just fine without him and more people will applaud the courage of the officials and Craig Stevens then those that will be upset.
How many people would've thought Nat Coughlin would've gotten 3rd in the 200 back at the NCAA meet? We and the Aussies swim the races on a particular day to pick the team. It's fine to argue that's wrong but that's a different topic entirely. He could've gotten third that day but it seems that doesn't matter. Others had to do it right to try to make the team. He didn't have to perform at all because there is no way he could've finished out of the top 2. Right. Upsets never happen. The best always win.
They can pick the team any way they want because it's their team and they can interpret the rules any way they want. No argument. It still smells.
The fact is the Aussies have an Olympic trials meet to pick the team. It is the end of the line if you don't make it. Going into the meet everyone knew it including Thorpe, the officials, judges and fans. If they didn't want to take the change of having Thorpe miss the team they should've never put him on the blocks. You get up there with the rest of the mortals and take your chance and live with the results. Everything would've gone on just fine without Thorpe in the 400. Now a popularity contest is deciding who swims. I don't want to hear how he's the best and the 400 will be tainted or scarred without him. That's a load of crap. The 400 will do just fine without him and more people will applaud the courage of the officials and Craig Stevens then those that will be upset.
How many people would've thought Nat Coughlin would've gotten 3rd in the 200 back at the NCAA meet? We and the Aussies swim the races on a particular day to pick the team. It's fine to argue that's wrong but that's a different topic entirely. He could've gotten third that day but it seems that doesn't matter. Others had to do it right to try to make the team. He didn't have to perform at all because there is no way he could've finished out of the top 2. Right. Upsets never happen. The best always win.
They can pick the team any way they want because it's their team and they can interpret the rules any way they want. No argument. It still smells.
