ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Ian Thorpe won’t be swimming the 200-meter freestyle at the London Olympics after failing to make the final at the Australian selection trials on Friday night.
The five-time Olympic champion was 12th fastest among the 16 semifinalists. His time of 1 minute, 49.91 seconds in the semis was considerably slower than his encouraging swim in the heats earlier Friday.
The 29-year-old Thorpe, who came out of retirement last year in a bid to qualify for London 2012, says he’s “terribly disappointed with that … I thought I could and thought I would swim a lot quicker — much quicker.”
Thorpe will attempt to qualify for the 100 freestyle, with heats starting Sunday.
