Crocker eyeing revenge against Phelps
BEIJING (Reuters) - American swimmer Ian Crocker is unfazed he may derail one of the stories of the Olympics by ruining Michael Phelps's bid for eight gold medals.
As Crocker himself is only too well aware, that's just the nature of elite sport.
Crocker, the favorite to win the 100 meters butterfly at Athens after entering the Games as world record holder, finished second behind Phelps by just four-hundredths of a second after misjudging his final touch.
"I'm not going to hold back so that he gets his goal," he told Reuters on Thursday. "It's not what I've trained for so if that's the way it goes then I'll be happy."
No sooner had Athens finished then Crocker went straight back to work, building a fitness base and perfecting his stroke to ensure there were no more mistakes when he got to Beijing.
The intervening years have produced mixed results. He broke his own world record and beat Phelps to win the world championships in Montreal in 2005 but lost to him at last year's world titles in Melbourne.
Crocker's disappointment was compounded when he jumped the gun and was disqualified during the heats of the medley relay in Melbourne, costing himself a gold and ruining Phelps' bid to win an unprecedented eight golds.
While Crocker had earned a consolation gold in the medley relay in Athens when Phelps gave up his spot in the final, he admitted he would never be completely satisfied unless he won the individual title.
"It would mean the one thing in my career I haven't achieved yet so I'd like to do that.
"My training's been great. I've basically been going since Athens so we're kind of winding down now.
"I'm always out a little bit faster because I'm a natural sprinter but he, being a more distance oriented swimmer, can close the end of the race well so my goal is to get out as quickly and easily as possible and still be able to come home."
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
