Thorpe makes 200m freestyle final
Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe has finally had some success in his comeback from retirement by qualifying for the men's 200-metre freestyle final at the Victorian state championships.
The 29-year-old Thorpe, who retired in November 2006, finished third in his heat Saturday in a time of 1 minute, 51.08 seconds, about 1.2 seconds behind fastest qualifier Nic Frost and fourth fastest overall ahead of the night final.
Thorpe, who announced a comeback to swimming nearly a year ago, will have the best chance of qualifying for the London Olympics in the 200, either individually or as a member of the Australian 4x200-metre relay team. He failed to qualify for the 100 final on Friday after managing only the 13th-best time in the heats.
In his first meets back, Thorpe struggled at short-course (25-metre pool) World Cup meets in Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo in November.
Thorpe retired in November 2006 after setting 13 world records and winning 11 world championship golds. He won the 200 and 400 free at the 2004 Athens Olympics in his last major international meet.