Swimming: Thorpe out of Asia World Cup series

TOKYO: Australia star Ian Thorpe’s Asia World Cup series ended in the morning heats in Tokyo when he finished 26th overall in the men’s 100-metre butterfly. The five-time Olympic gold medallist clocked 53.59 seconds, far behind top finisher Takeshi Matsuda of Japan in 51.39, failing to qualify for the final. The Japanese duo of Ryo Takayasu and Kazuya Kaneda followed Matsuda in 51.40 and 51.63, respectively. “This week has been challenging, but has been very good,” said Thorpe. “I wish I could’ve done it with no one watching but that’s unfortunately not the case. I’m very comfortable with where I’m at.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th,  2011.