• London Olympics 2012

Thorpe's poor form continues

ESPN staff
November 9, 2011
Ian Thorpe tasted defeat in Beijing for a third time © Getty Images
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Ian Thorpe suffered a hat-trick of disappointments at the World Cup short course event in Beijing, with the former Olympic champion failing to quality for the 100m butterfly final.

Having bombed out in the 100m individual medley and the 100m freestyle, Thorpe trailed in 13th overall as he continues his comeback to the sport he retired from five years ago.

Thorpe is looking to qualify for London 2012 and will head to Tokyo later this week, where he wants to see improvement in his performances.

"If I get to the end of Tokyo and I'm not swimming faster I am going to be very frustrated and I'll be quite annoyed, because I expect this of myself at the moment," Thorpe said.

"I guess putting yourself out there and racing like this is not good for your ego - but I'm comfortable with that.

"It was about the same time as I swam in Singapore (his comeback event) so I am happy with how I technically put the race together. This World Cup has definitely been tougher mentally than it has been physically."

Australian Olympic boss John Coates was quick to rally to Thorpe's defence.

Coates said: "They're being naive - you can't just come back and in your first outing be racing as good as you ever did. It's going to take some time and I'm a great supporter of what he's trying to do. (You have got) 37-year-old gold medallists, so it's quite possible."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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