Thorpe unbowed by Aussie pool flop
Five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe said yesterday Australia’s poor showing at the London Games had not dampened his comeback hopes and he expected his homeland to quickly return to form. Thorpe, 29, failed to qualify for London at March’s...
Five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe said yesterday Australia’s poor showing at the London Games had not dampened his comeback hopes and he expected his homeland to quickly return to form.
Thorpe, 29, failed to qualify for London at March’s Olympic trials, little more than a year after announcing ambitious plans to come out of retirement, and has been commentating on the Olympic swimming for the BBC.
He vowed to continue swimming despite the London setback and told Australia’s ABC Television his compatriots’ lacklustre Olympic campaign in the face of deep and fierce competition had not dimmed his enthusiasm for the pool.
“I’m still keen. This competition has changed swimming, and this has been coming for quite some time,” Thorpe said.
“I’m more enthusiastic about it now because of watching those results, I love that the medals are going out (widely), that there’s been a renaissance of performance in Europe as well.
“At the same time China’s emerging as a swimming nation and they’re being consistent with performances.”
London 2012 Results
Basketball
Bronze medal: Australia vs Russia 83-74.
Final: US vs France 86-50.
Handball
Bronze medal: South Korea vs Spain 29-31.
Final: Norway vs Montenegro 26-23.
Hockey
Bronze medal: Australia vs Great Britain 3-1.
Final: Germany vs Netherlands 2-1.
Volleyball
Bronze medal: Japan vs South Korea 3-0.
Final: Brazil vs United States 3-1.
Medals table
| Country | G | S | B | Tot. |
| United States | 44 | 29 | 29 | 101 |
| China | 38 | 27 | 22 | 87 |
| Great Britain | 28 | 15 | 19 | 62 |
| Russia | 21 | 25 | 32 | 78 |
| South Korea | 13 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| Germany | 11 | 19 | 14 | 44 |
| France | 10 | 10 | 12 | 31 |
| Italy | 8 | 7 | 8 | 21 |
| Hungary | 8 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| Australia | 7 | 16 | 13 | 35 |
| Japan | 6 | 14 | 17 | 37 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 6 | 8 | 20 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| New Zealand | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| Iran | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| Ukraine | 4 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| Jamaica | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Cuba | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| North Korea | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Spain | 3 | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| Brazil | 3 | 4 | 8 | 15 |
| Belarus | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Ethiopia | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Romania | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| Denmark | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Kenya | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Poland | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Azerbaijan | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Turkey | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Croatia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Norway | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Canada | 1 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
| Colombia | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Mexico | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Sweden | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Georgia | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Tunisia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Dominican Rep. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Trinidad | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Latvia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Algeria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bahamas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grenada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Thailand | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Egypt | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| India | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Armenia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Belgium | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Finland | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Bulgaria | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Estonia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Indonesia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Malaysia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Serbia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Taipei | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Botswana | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cyprus | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Gabon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Guatemala | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Montenegro | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Portugal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Greece | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Moldova | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Qatar | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Singapore | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bahrain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kuwait | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Morocco | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tajikistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Today’s finals
Athletics
Men’s Marathon
Basketball
Third place play-off – Argentina vs Russia.
Men’s final – USA vs Spain.
Boxing
Finals 52kg, 60kg, 69kg, 81kg, +91kg.
Mountain Bike
Men’s cross-country
Gymnastics
Group All-Around final
Handball
Third place play-off – Hungary vs Croatia.
Final – Sweden vs France.
Wrestling
Men’s 66kg, 96kg
Modern Pentathlon
Women’s combined
Volleyball
Third place play-off – Bulgaria vs Italy
Final – Russia v Brazil
Waterpolo
Third place play-off – Montenegro vs Serbia.
Final – Croatia v Italy.