****thorpie****, page-31

I do not think the joke is one false start and you are out, if this is the rule all international swim meets operate by including the Olympics then fair enough.

What the joke is IMO is because Thorpe has failed in ONE trial event then he is out of that event for the olympics. What would have happened if 1/2 of the top swimmers of the Australian swimming squad all came down with a virus over the days of the trials resulting in all these top swimmers performing poorly in this event and being beaten.

Who would we be sending to the Olympics then????

Yes the same thing could happen during the actual Olympics but surely the selection for the Olympics should be based the performance over a number of trials not a single knock out competition