The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Thorpe looked surprised to see a throng of media awaiting his arrival in Adelaide, and quotes him for saying he is nervous. But The Daily Telegraph has this interesting article speculating that it might be all part of a plan, too keep expectation as low as possible, to minimize pressure.
Training in Switzerland was not just a way of avoiding media attention, it was the perfect hideout from spies trying to catch of glimpse of how hard he was training and what times he was posting.
The easiest thing to do in swimming is to disguise good form with a bad race.
Thorpe is incensed at claims he has been foxing in his comeback, but what is known is that at no stage during his training has he had the time to freshen up before a meet.
Only he and coach Gennadi Touretski know what times he is capable of swimming and whether his previous performances have been under duress from a heavy training load.
