Coutts grabs Australian title

Five-time Common wealth Games gold medallist Alicia Coutts, whose mum lives at Birkdale, has booked her ticket in the Australian swimming team with exciting wins in the 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley at Australian Swimming Championships in Sydney on the weekend.

Coutts, who used to train in Cleveland and was the 2010 Telstra Swimmer of the Year, beat Olympic champion Stephanie Rice (2.10.41) by 0.35 of a second in the final of the 200 entity medley in a time of 2.10.06.With just 0.04 of a second sorting out the pair at the final turn, Coutts, who has never won an Australian title before, said she had to dig deep to steal the win from Rice, last year's Australian title holder and the former world record holder in the event.

"I could see her there and I thought 'you're in front, just hang on, just hang on' and I dug deep," Coutts said."Having won five Common wealth gold medals you have to step up, and I think I've done that."I just really wanted to get my first national title, so I was really happy."Rice said she was dissatisfied in her show, but happy to make the Australian team. Coutts has now booked her ticket to the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai next month.

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Rice shouldering spotlight at Aussie champs

The 2011 Australian Swimming Championships began this morning, with three-time Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Rice as the main draw. Rice, who has struggled since winning the 200m IM, 400m IM and 4x200m freestyle relay in Beijing, had shoulder surgery last year after chronic pain enforced her out of the 2010 Common wealth Games in August. She arrived at the Sydney Aquatic Center fitter than she has been since the 2008 Olympics, and she is ready to prove it here.

In the first session of beginning heats, Rice competed in the 100m butterfly and the 200m IM, qualifying for tonight's semifinals in both. The finals will be Saturday night in Sydney. Australia’s team for the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai will be selected here, with the top two finishers in each event qualified for a spot on the team. But head coach Leigh Nugent has added a twist: a separate list of qualifying times based on the top 12 world rankings.

Swimmers must beat the qualifying times to be named to the team, regardless of finishing in the top two. Nugent established the harsh selection process to support contest, after a 2010 season where Australia didn't have a single swimmer ranked No. 1 in the world for the first time in 20 years.

The other big story in Australian swimming isn't developing here, but in southern Switzerland, where Ian Thorpe is training. The five-time Olympic gold medalist announced his return in February, but Thorpe can't compete until he has finished nine months on the drug-testing roster. That makes him eligible on Nov. 2, and he's expected to make his debut at the World Cup in Singapore Nov. 4-5.

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