Riley in tears on missing out on home Olympics

SYDNEY, MAY 18. It all ended in tears for Samantha Riley after she missed her last chance at the selection trials to swim for Australia at the Sydney Olympics in four months' time.

The former world 100/200m champion and two-time Olympic medallist was always up against it in her quest to make the star-studded team with health problems and formidable opposition in both breaststroke events.

Her last chance was in Thursday night's 200m breaststroke final and after being up in the first two places to halfway, she faded to finish fifth (2:32.02) in the final behind Caroline Hildreth.

Riley, 27, who won bronze medals in the 100m event at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics, is now likely to retire from swimming. Hildreth won the final in two minutes 27.69 seconds from former world record holder Rebecca Brown (2:28.98). Both are off to the Olympics.

Brown's return to the podium represents one of the great comebacks in swimming. The 23-year-old broke the world 200m breaststroke as a 16-year-old at the Commonwealth Games trials in 1994 but was never able to reach the same heights again.

Just six months later she was left in tears after Riley won the 100 and 200m golden double at the Victoria Commonwealth Games followed by another golden double and a world record at the Rome World Championships.

The disappointment left Brown shattered. She watched the 1996 Olympics from home and retired after failing to make the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

Elsewhere on the sixth night of the trials, Matthew Dunn clinched a place in his third Olympics with a tenacious 0.19s victory over Robert van der Zant in the 200m individual medley.

Dunn, who will be 27 at the September Olympics and coached by Russian Gennadi Touretski, clocked 2:01.28.

Sarah Ryan won the women's 100m freestyle in the absence of Susie O'Neill in 55.46 from Giaan Rooney (56.19).

Matt Welsh wrapped up the backstroke double with victory in the 200m final in 1:59.22 from Cameron Delaney (2:00.68), both of them under the Olympic qualification time.

- AFP

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Lack of ethics is business as usual
Next     : Claycourt nightmares return to haunt Sampras