Relaxed Trickett shuns talk of a five-gold haul

Lisbeth Trickett, 100 and 50 meter freestyle world record holder, acknowledges the audience at Australian swimming Olympic team trials for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, in Sydney March 29, 2008.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Having failed to live up to high expectations at her last Olympics, the world's top female sprint swimmer Libby Trickett is trying to take things in her stride this time around.

The Australian, known then as Libby Lenton, went into the 2004 Athens Games as 100 meters freestyle world record holder, but crumbled under pressure and failed to make the final.

A relay gold and 50 freestyle bronze was of little consolation.

She is entered in five events in Beijing -- the 50 and 100 meters freestyle, 100 meters butterfly and two relays -- and after dominating world sprinting since Athens, has a genuine chance of gold medals in all of them.

Trickett, however, prefers not to talk about that.

The 23-year-old has decided to steer clear of distractions and ignore all hype surrounding the possibility of a five-gold haul.

"At my first Olympics, I hadn't had much media exposure and Athens was a pressure cooker of attention," Trickett told reporters on Thursday.

"I had no idea how to deal with it. Now, I don't read any newspapers and I don't read things on the internet. Coming into it now, there's more attention but I'm able deal with it a lot better. It's a huge difference. I just try to ignore distractions."

Since Athens, she has achieved the astonishing feat of winning five golds in a major meet on three separate occasions -- the Commonwealth Games, the 2006 world short course championships and at last year's world championships.

"I'm enjoying myself a lot more now, it wasn't so easy-going back then, a bit too serious," she said. "I know everyone now, it makes it light-hearted, it's not serious. Athens was a huge learning experience."

Sidestepping questions about the prospect of winning five golds in Beijing, Trickett claimed one will be enough this time.

"I'd be so happy with one, every athlete dreams about winning an Olympic gold medal. "For me it's about doing better than in the past. If I could equal that (relay gold), I couldn't possibly ask for more."

(Editing by Alastair Himmer)

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