Streamlined News

PHOENIX, Arizona, November 3. LATER today, two of swimming’s biggest names in history will make their comebacks official when they compete in prelims at the Singapore stop of the FINA world cup.

The world will be watching Ian Thorpe and Libby Trickett as they race toward their goals of representing Australia at next year’s Olympics. Trickett has already competed once since making her comeback public, at a time trial to try and gain a spot on the Aussie relay at the world championships. She didn’t swim fast enough to qualify, but with more work under her belt, Trickett could be a force this weekend in the 50 and 100 free and 50 and 100 fly. Thorpe is only swimming two events this weekend, the 100 fly and 100 IM, but has said he might swim other events in Tokyo next week.

The Singapore stop on the world cup looks to be showcase some major talent. Australians Jessicah Schipper, Cate Campbell, Eamon Sullivan, Brenton Rickard and Christian Sprenger are scheduled to swim. French world champion Jeremy Stravius is in the meet, as is Sweden’s Therese Alshammar and South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, the two leaders in the world cup standings. Both are likely to take home the $100,000 grand prize, which would be the second time in a row for Alshammar and the first for the 19-year-old Le Clos.

Missy Franklin, who broke the world record in the 200 backstroke in Berlin a couple of weeks ago, and Michael Phelps will not swimming here, choosing instead to race in the first leg of the USA Swimming Grand Prix in two weeks. Jasmine Tosky, who just picked Southern Cal for college, is in Singapore to gain some vital international experience.

We’ll be bringing you recaps from prelims and finals as they happen on swimmingworld.com.

Nick Brunelli broke a Masters world record last weekend in the 50 freestyle for the 30-34 age group, swimming a 21.98 in a short course meters Masters meet. Brunelli could be in the mix for a spot on the Olympic team in the 50 free, and has actually competed in Masters before. In 2005, while training at his alma mater of Arizona State University, he swam a 21.18 in a short course meters meet, a time that was faster than the existing American record, but the time wasn’t ratified because it wasn’t done in a USA Swimming sanctioned meet. Also swimming at that Masters meet this weekend was Eugene Godsoe, who posted the fastest times ever done in a Masters meet in the 100 fly and 100 back. But his times of 52.2 in the fly and 51.9 in the back won’t be Masters world records, since Godsoe is 23 years old and FINA does not recognize times done by people under 25 years old for Masters world records. Godsoe’s times will count, however, for United States Masters Swimming national records.

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