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Key:

• Sydney: 2000 Olympic Games
• Fukuoka: 2001 Long Course World Championships
• Moscow: 2002 Short Course World Championships

men's freestyle

It would be hard to preview the men's freestyle without talking about one man, but it is altogether conceivable that just three swimmers could walk away with all of the golds in this category. Of course the name at the top of that list is Ian Thorpe, who starts as favourite for the 100, 200 and 400m events.

Few would bet against him winning the two longer events, as he is world record holder and reigning world champion in both, but teammate Grant Hackett should push him hard in both races, but particularly the 400m. It is hard to see where other realistic challenges will come from. England's Jamie Salter will fancy his chances of a medal in the 200 and maybe the 400, whilst Graeme Smith of Scotland, dropping down from the 1500 may pick up a medal. Canda's Mark Johnston and Rick Say will provide the doemstic swimmers biggest challenge for medals. Either way Thorpe and Hackett remain the swimmers to beat.

In the 100, the talk down under has been that Aussie team-mate Ashley Callus might have enough firepower to prevent the thorpedo form taking the 100m title. The raw statistics would indicate otherwise, with Thorpe having recorded several times under 49s, whereas Callus' lifetime best is just a shade over that mark, but there is no doubt that Callus has shown he is the man for the big occasion. He won the world short course title in Moscow earlier this year with a fantastically gutsy swim, which saw him take the lead with less than 5m remaining and become one of the few simmers to record a time under 47s in the 25m pool. It is likely though that Thorpe will take this title to complete a golden hat trick. Domestic hopes are slim, with Matt Kidd the only Briton ever to have swum under 50s, the only likely medal winner, and then he represents only an outside hope of bronze. More realistic must be the hope he can improve his own British Record and his standing on the world stage still further.

The distance freestyle event in these games, just the 1500 with no 800 being contested, will go to another sure-fire favourite, world record holder Hackett. HE is head and shoulders above the rest of the world in this event, but his nearest global challenger, Graeme Smith, will be in the field in Manchester, and will expect to pick up Commonwealth silver to go with eth silver he won in Fukuoka. England's Adam Faulkner will be a likely bronze medal winner.

Which brings us to the one length dash - the 50m This represents England's best chance of a gold in this section. Mark Foster is after n unprecedented 3rd consecutive title, but will be pushed hard by Australian Brett Hawke. It's hard to see who else might pressure him, but South African Ryk Neethling will be there or thereabouts in the final. It would, however, be a surprise, barring misfortune, not to see Foster atop the podium.