Sydney: Triple Olympic gold medallist
Stephanie Rice will lead an Australian team that is a mix of
the old and the new and even the forgiven at the Commonwealth
Games in Delhi in October.
Australia named a 48-strong squad here today after six
days of selection trials.
Rice, 21, is the highest-profile member of the squad
after her success at the Beijing Olympics, where she won the
200m and 400m individual medley, as well as being part of the
victorious 4x200m freestyle relay team.
The glamour girl of Australian sport won three national
titles during the trials, rounding out her week by winning the
400m individual medley easily on the final day of competition
today.
But there are plenty of other worthy stories in the
squad, with veterans Ashley Callus and comeback king Geoff
Huegill both earning spots in Delhi against the odds.
Callus, 31, will compete at his fourth Commonwealth Games
after winning the 50m freestyle today.
Huegill, who won individual bronze at the 2000 Olympics
in the 100m butterfly, retired after the 2004 Olympics, but
came back in 2007, dropping a staggering 50kg on his way to
Commonwealth Games selection.
He earned his spot by winning the 50m butterfly.
At the other end of the scale, 14-year-old sensation
Yolane Kukla is bound for Delhi after winning two national
titles, the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly.
Kukla also touched the wall first in the 100m freestyle,
but was disqualified for a false start.
Troubled swimmer Nick D'Arcy, thrown off the Beijing
Olympic team after assaulting a fellow swimmer, went close to
a personal best to win the 200m butterfly title and will
compete at his first major championship since the 2007 world
championships.
Dual Olympic gold medallist Jessicah Schipper overcame a
testing week due to illness to earn her place at the games
with a win in the 200m butterfly today.
Former world record holder Eamon Sullivan finished third
behind Callus in the 50m freestyle, but earlier won the 100m
freestyle and is off to Delhi.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, March 21, 2010, 22:28