Rice unfit but eager for world titles - coach

Australia's triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice is "pretty unfit" after a nine-week post-Beijing lay-off but remains confident of victory at this year's world championships in Rome, her coach said. "She went from being quite a very fit person...

Australia's triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice is "pretty unfit" after a nine-week post-Beijing lay-off but remains confident of victory at this year's world championships in Rome, her coach said.

"She went from being quite a very fit person to being pretty unfit and she struggled," Michael Bohl said of Rice, who won gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay and the 200 and 400 individual medley events in Beijing, all in world records.

"If she is concentrating on herself and keep doing what she's done in the past she'll put herself in the best position to do well," Bohl said.

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