Henry, Thorpe urged to return from retirement before London Olympics

SYDNEY - To galvanise the the Australian swimming squad for London Olympics, retired stars like Jodie Henry, Matt Welsh and Ian Thorpe have been urged to come out of retirement and follow Geoff Huegill and Libby Trickett.

Munich Olympian Graham Windeatt asked Swimming Australia to lure recently retired stars ahead of the the London Games.

Australia has dominated the Commonwealth Games pool, but there is a feeling that the nation’s younger swimmers, who will spearhead the assault on London in two years time and Rio in 2016, need mentoring.

The reintroduction of some proven, veterans such as Henry, Huegill and Trickett are seen as one way of passing on advice and developing self confidence.

“At major meets when people are swimming well there’s a tide people get carried along with and it’s self confidence, and when you get to the very elite level I think it’s the self confidence that can make the difference, that’s why I think Jodie should be encouraged,” said Windeatt.

However, Windeatt said the sport’s hierarchy should go a step further and do what it could to convince Ian Thorpe to focus on the 100m event.

“Jodie Henry, she’s been the world’s best. I think Geoff Huegill, and a few others, have proven stepping out of swimming for a while can be good for people,” said Windeatt.

“Thorpe is definitely one who should come back. I’ve been watching 100m freestyle Olympic finals for 10 Olympics and nearly always it’s the big guys who win. Eamon Sullivan, as great as he is, is light- framed and there’s a lot of turbulence in the second lap,” he added. (ANI)