Stevens Contemplating Swimming 1,500 Free at Aussie Commonwealth Games Trials -- January 22, 2006
SYDNEY, Australia, January 22. BY now, Craig Stevens must be used to difficult decisions. With the Australian Commonwealth Games Trials just around the corner, the freestyler must decide shortly whether to contest the 1,500-meter freestyle in Melbourne. Stevens has been urged to contest the event due to the fact that reigning Olympic and world champion Grant Hackett will miss the event while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Stevens, of course, is the man who chose to hand his berth to the Athens Olympics in the 400 freestyle to Ian Thorpe, who was disqualified at the Olympic Trials for a false start. At the time of that decision, Stevens was grilled by the Australian media and faced pressure to yield his bid. Now, he’s facing a decision of a different sort.
"He is training as well as I have ever seen him train and he probably just needs a good hit out in that event to have his confidence return, it is a challenge when you have not swum 1500 for 12 months to come and do it," said head coach Alan Thompson, in an article by the Australian Associated Press. "The door is not shut on the 1500 and I am sure Craig will have a look at how he performs in the 200 and 400 events early on and the 1500 is on the last day. "There is an opportunity for him to get everything he has got left into the race, and I am hopeful that he will swim it."
Regardless if Stevens swims the event, David Davies of Great Britain will be the favorite for gold at the Commonwealth Games. Davies won bronze in the event at the Athens Olympics and was the bronze medalist at last summer’s World Championships in Montreal.
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