Australia Leaking Info That James Magnussen May Swim Prelims of 400 Free Relay

LONDON, England, July 18. ACCORDING to an article in the Courier-Mail, the Australians are being pretty public about a potential preliminary heat swim from sprint star James Magnussen in the men's 400 free relay at the 2012 London Games.

Australian coach John Fowlie confirmed with the Courier-Mail that Magnussen may swim prelims on the relay just to get the nerves out, and that this had originally been the plan in 2011 before Magnussen came down with an illness prior to Shanghai. Fowlie is also pretty confident that Australia will win gold.

“We've got to look at how to get the fastest team possible in the final and it may be letting guys go and make a mistake, be a bit nervous on the first 50, get the nerves out and absorb the atmosphere in a morning heat so they are coming in that night to get the job done,” Fowlie said. “I really do believe if we do our job and swim to our potential the gold medal is ours. It's a matter of making sure we don't do something stupid and screw it up.

“Planning for the relay has been meticulous over four years and three recent training camps right down to (Olympic swimmer Matt) Targett becoming an extra changeovers coach because of his vast US college background and expertise in relay skills,” Fowlie continued. “We're having our first relay meeting (today), we'll go through strategy and orders with other coaches and start giving the guys the plan so they have 10 days to process whatever their role is. I'll keep that in the back pocket for now.”

Courier-Mail Article

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use