Coughlin Visits Down Under, Set to Compete at AIS Meet

By Stephen J. Thomas

SYDNEY, Australia, November 2. FIVE-time Athens Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin has been training in Sydney alongside Ian Thorpe with his coach Tracey Menzies for the past week to provide some variety to her training program in preparation for the World Championships in Melbourne in March next year. The world record-holder over 100 backstroke, who has dominated this event in recent years with the nine fastest times in history over the distance, will travel to Canberra Friday to compete in a three-day swim meet to be held at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) over the weekend. Coughlin will then head to Melbourne to help promote the World Championships before heading home.

Coughlin will compete alongside a host of Australia's leading swimmers including the AIS-based Olympic gold medalists Jodie Henry and Alice Mills, backstrokers Sophie Edington and Tay Zimmer, 50 breaststroke world record-holder Jade Edmistone, as well as middle-distance freestylers Linda McKenzie and promisig teen Angie Bainbridge.

The men's events will showcase breastrokers Brenton Rickard and Jim Piper, along with Olympians Adam Lucas and Craig Stevens. However, Ian Thorpe is not expected to swim at this stage of his preparation.

British stars Caitlin McClatchey, Jo Jackson and Liam Tancock are also slated to compete.

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