Ian Pope

As a Brit looking on it's easy to either get caught up in the enthusiasm surrounding last week's Australian Olympic trials or to dismiss them as having peaked too soon, without really getting a grasp on what was achieved at the Sydney Aquatic Centre. What's needed then, is an Australian view from someone a little closer to the action. So with that thought in mind we sought out Ian Pope, head coach at the Melbourne Vicentre club and coach to Olympic team members Giaan Rooney, Matt Welsh, Brett Hawke and Michael Klim. Ian is one of the most respected coaches down under and we were keen to get his view on the week's events.

How good did you think the trials were for Australian swimming?
Well I think it's the best team I've seen Australian Swimming put together. I think that the female swimmers especially have lifted up to another level. In particular in the women's freestyle where in the 100 we have the top three ranked swimmers in the world, four girls under 25 seconds in the 50 and of course in the 200 there were about five swimmers under two minutes so things are looking quite positive. In the men's team I think there's a bit of a weakness in the butterfly, but the backstroke and freestyle events are looking very positive at this point.

And from a Melbourne Vicentre perspective, you must take a great deal of satisfaction from the meet - 4 swimmers on the Olympic team, 3 to the Paralympics and a overwhelming victory in the club points championship.
It was very satisfying, it's the only time our club has ever won a points score at a national championships and especially with it being Olympic year that makes it even more special. We also had a lot of swimmers step up and make finals who will now make other national teams off the back of that, so it was a good feeling amongst the team.

It would be impossible to talk about the trials without mentioning what happened to Ian Thorpe and the furore that surrounded his disqualification in the 400m free. What's your take on that?
Well, you know that's the ruling that Australian swimming has, whether that's the right ruling or not everyone has different opinions. but I feel it's a shame that he doesn't get to swim it, but that's the strict criteria that you have to do it at the trials and there are no exceptions. Further down the track we will have to look at something that gives another opportunity in these cases. I think it's a shame that we're not using Ian, but looking at the way he finished in the 200, maybe he's focussing a little bit more on sprint events now and I think Grant is looking very good for the 400m freestyle at this point.

You aren't one who wants to see Craig Stevens step aside for the Thorpedo then?
Definitely not. I think that Craig has the right to swim, he's trained all his life just as much as anyone else on the team and he might yet decide to withdraw; he's obviously still up in the air and is going to make a decision this week, so we'll just have to wait up. It's entirely up to him; but he has few swims now with the 1500 and the 4x200 relay so he may decide to give it to Ian. I'm not really sure which way it will go.

You've mentioned the women's 100 free already, but it must have been a bit out of the blue when Libby Lenton put that time up in the semi of the 100 free.
It was incredible. Libby last year in the Australian short course championships went a 52 and blew everyone away then but she just keeps on improving and is a terrific sprinter. She was absolutely amazed and couldn't believe it.

I don't think she was alone! What about another of the big successes of the meet, the form of Petria Thomas?
Ah well, you have to look at all of the women's events and Australia has taken major steps forward. I think Petria's 200 and 100 fly times were fantastic and she's a lovely person and a great role model for the rest of the team. I really admire her continued pursuit of gold after what she has been through with her shoulders and the problems she has had in that area. Let's hope she can get up and get a gold as she's always been a bit of a bridesmaid behind Susie O'Neill and now things are looking very positive for her.

Former Australian Head coach Don Talbot was quoted in the press as saying that Matt Welsh is carrying some excess weight and needs to slim down a little; what do you make of that?
Matt looks fit to me. We've been monitoring Matt's condition for the last four years and it's never got as bad as was made out. He raced fast with a 53.78 Commonwealth record in the 100 back and he did a good 200 swim when we haven't really prepared for that event, so Matt's looking fine; there are no problems there.

Australia is the first major swimming nation to have completed their trials; do you see that as an advantage or a disadvantage as you've now set a benchmark for the rest of the world to beat.
I think from a personal perspective I'd like to have the trials closer to the games themselves, but I think it certainly has woken up people and said 'look out, Australia's back up there' and we've made major shifts. And this is the first time I've ever been involved with the Australian team where I've thought 'we can win this meet'. As I've said our girls particularly are looking good, and are probably stronger than our guys at the moment, so it looks pretty positive

Finally, Britain starts its trials tomorrow; are there any events you'll have an eye on there?
Well for me I'll be looking at the backstroke events, I look after Giaan Rooney who's a backstroker and I know that Britain has some good backstrokers, so that's mainly what I'll be looking at and also the strength in the girls for relays. But we'll certainly be keeping an eye on the times that come out of the meet.