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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Originally posted by tjburk
I say again!
Can someone argue with this?
Yes, read "guidelines" on the dictionary....
You guys are amazing: you fail to realize that there are NO RULES to choosing an Olympic Team. And if the AOC decided to change their GUIDELINES even after a swim meet they call "Olympic Trials", in order to have their best athlete in the O's that is their prerogative. Like it or not.
I'm convinced that had Stevens not qualified in the 1500 the AOC would have had a harder time justifying the change. But the fact is that Stevens already has his spot on the team and he has a better shot at a medal in the 1500 than in the 400 (go check his times vs. last year's world rankings to see for yourself). He knows this and he already knows that he's not swimming the 400. For this reason I don't believe he is overly distraught over the issue. He is now just trying to do what anyone else in his position would do: create as much publicity around himself and cash in as much as he can.
Originally posted by tjburk
I say again!
Can someone argue with this?
Yes, read "guidelines" on the dictionary....
You guys are amazing: you fail to realize that there are NO RULES to choosing an Olympic Team. And if the AOC decided to change their GUIDELINES even after a swim meet they call "Olympic Trials", in order to have their best athlete in the O's that is their prerogative. Like it or not.
I'm convinced that had Stevens not qualified in the 1500 the AOC would have had a harder time justifying the change. But the fact is that Stevens already has his spot on the team and he has a better shot at a medal in the 1500 than in the 400 (go check his times vs. last year's world rankings to see for yourself). He knows this and he already knows that he's not swimming the 400. For this reason I don't believe he is overly distraught over the issue. He is now just trying to do what anyone else in his position would do: create as much publicity around himself and cash in as much as he can.
