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Thorpe considers Britain for 2012 warmup

Ian Thorpe could race in Britain ahead of London 2012 © PA Photos

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Olympic legend Ian Thorpe could be set to compete in a warm-up event for London 2012 in Britain next year, as he searches for competitive practice after his comeback got off to an unspectacular start.

On his return to the pool for a first meeting in over five years at the weekend, the five-time Olympic champion finished seventh in the 100 metre individual medley final at the World Cup short-course meeting in Singapore, but failed to reach the final of 100m butterfly.

Australia head coach Leigh Nugent subsequently confirmed that Thorpe's team feel he needs at least four long-course events to get up to speed before the Australian trials in March - and one of those could take place in Britain, although not at the 2012 Aquatic Centre.

"The plans are for the Italian Winter Open in Riccione [Dec 16-17] and the Victorian championships [Jan 13-15]," Nugent said, according to the Daily Telegraph. "Then before the trials in Adelaide, they're looking at two European meets, Holland and maybe the UK, [but] not at the [Olympic] venue."

Thorpe's development is being carefully handled by experienced coach Gennadi Touretski, who turned Alex Popov into an Olympic star. Touretski put a positive spin on Thorpe's performance in Singapore, believing he will be up to the speed he needs to be by next summer.

"We're short of time but it's enough time," Touretski said. "I'm really happy with what we found with his racing attitude. It was important for him to make the final of the individual medley in an international competition and that he was able to improve in the final."

Thorpe, however, acknowledges that things must improve further - otherwise he will have to think about changing his training methods, a risky move at this juncture.

"The next competitions have to be faster," Thorpe said. "If I get to the end of Tokyo and I'm not swimming faster, I'm going to be very frustrated and quite annoyed.

"Because I expect this of myself, it's what needs to happen and if not, I have to reconsider what I'm doing in training."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.