Barcelona (Spain), July 19: Australian multiple world record holder Ian Thorpe said yesterday he doubted very much that the World Swimming Championships here would be drug free.
The 20-year-old 'Thorpedo' said to think that all those competing in the championships which get underway Sunday were clean was just wishful thinking.

"Of course there's going to be individuals. There are thousands of swimmers here and to think that all swimmers are clean is just naive," said Thorpe, who is hoping to surpass his six gold medals of two years ago. "It won't be as simple as that. It's unfortunate in sport where so much has been done to eradicate drugs."
And the triple Olympic champion said the cheats were ruining the sport for future generations.
"When I was a kid I used to look up to swimmers, now when you go out there and an athlete wins something it doesn't really inspire people like it inspired us when we were young."



But the Australian, who opens his challenge with a bid to become the first person to win three consecutive world titles when he competes in Sunday's 400m freestyle, dismissed that some people could try to cheat by using illegal all-body swimming suits which give them an added advantage.



"Every swimming suit has been tested prior to the championships, they have to be prepared weeks in advance, so it would be hard to slip in with an illegal one," he said. "I think that drugs in the sport is a bigger issue than that. As for the swimming pool you can always improve the conditions but it will be the same for everyone."


Bureau Report