Ahead of this weekend’s New South Wales meet, Australian triple-gold-medalist Stephanie Rice is moving towards making a decision on her schedule for the 2012 Olympic Trials (and she hopes the ensuing Olympic Games).
As we speculated last week, it looks as though her main focus individually will be the 200 and 400 IM, where she’s the defending champion, according to quotes given by coach Michael Bohl to the Australian media Wednesday. Then, she will race the 200 free with eyes on a relay spot (that’s where her third gold in Beijing came from) and consider the 100 fly, depending on how she feels.
The tough part of the 100 fly is that its semi-finals come in the same evening session as the 400 IM final. While that double is doable, the risk comes at the expense of her shoulder that she’s had so many painful challenges with in the last 18 months (including two rounds of surgery).
These recent comments make it sound like the 200 fly, where she ranked 6th in the world in 2011 with a 2:06, are effectively eliminated from consideration.
My favorite party girl, i am rooting for her and Belmonte in IM´s at London.