Slim chances for Thorpe

Comeback kid Ian Thorpe has left his run too late and is unlikely to qualify for next year’s London Olympics, according to the former coach of Australian swimming great Grant Hackett.

Dennis Cotterell, who trained Hackett to Olympic gold in the 1,500 metres at the 2000 Sydney Games and at Athens four years later, said five-time Olympic champion Thorpe had ‘probably’ underestimated the time needed to get back up to speed.

“Thorpie really hasn’t allowed himself enough lead-in time to make the team, it’s as simple as that,” Cotterell told the Australian newspaper on Friday.