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.
This was not a technicality for crying out loud!
It's starting to come across like Stevens has done something wrong for making the team when THORPE FALSE STARTED! The only thing Stevens has done is make the team in a fair competition. The only thing the AOC has done is change the rules, I'm sorry "interpret" the rules, because THORPE FALSE STARTED.
Again, would I like to see Thorpe swim? Absolutely. But this absolutely, unequivocally stinks for Stevens.
I really have no other opinion than that- I've said it in earlier posts... I just don't want Stevens to look like he's doing something wrong ("he should step down") when he probably had the swim of his life, had his dreams come true, and then get scr#$!@ because THORPE FALSE STARTED!
If it were me (and I know it isn't!) no amount of money would make this situation right. And who wants to be remembered in Aussie swimming history for this?
Did I mention THORPE FALSE STARTED? :p
This was not a technicality for crying out loud!
It's starting to come across like Stevens has done something wrong for making the team when THORPE FALSE STARTED! The only thing Stevens has done is make the team in a fair competition. The only thing the AOC has done is change the rules, I'm sorry "interpret" the rules, because THORPE FALSE STARTED.
Again, would I like to see Thorpe swim? Absolutely. But this absolutely, unequivocally stinks for Stevens.
I really have no other opinion than that- I've said it in earlier posts... I just don't want Stevens to look like he's doing something wrong ("he should step down") when he probably had the swim of his life, had his dreams come true, and then get scr#$!@ because THORPE FALSE STARTED!
If it were me (and I know it isn't!) no amount of money would make this situation right. And who wants to be remembered in Aussie swimming history for this?
Did I mention THORPE FALSE STARTED? :p
