Australian Thorpe Scheduled to Swim

Australian swim star Ian Thorpe will use the Janet Evans Invitational in Long Beach as one of his last tuneup events for the upcoming Olympics in Athens, meet organizers said.

Thorpe, a three-time gold medalist in the 2000 Games at Sydney, Australia, will be accompanied by his 12 teammates on the Australian Olympic team. This includes Craig Stevens, who has been involved in a monthlong national controversy regarding the 400-meter freestyle event and Thorpe.

The Evans meet is June 10-13, and by then, the Thorpe-Stevens issue should have been long decided. Stevens is scheduled to announce on national television in Australia on Monday whether he will step aside in favor of Thorpe in that event.

It all started when Thorpe tumbled off the blocks, false-starting in the heats of the 400 at the Olympic trials in Australia in late March, leading to his disqualification. Stevens earned an Olympic berth in the 400, finishing second to Grant Hackett.

Since then, Stevens has faced unrelenting pressure from almost everyone, with the exception of Thorpe, to step aside in favor of the world-record holder in the event.

Stevens has also qualified in the 1,500 freestyle. For now, Thorpe will be competing in Athens in the 100 and 200 freestyles, as well as relays. But the 400 remains his signature event, and he is the defending Olympic champion at that distance.

Other notable Australian swimmers scheduled to make the trip to Long Beach include Michael Klim, Petria Thomas and Sarah Ryan.

The Janet Evans meet, which will be relocating to Long Beach from USC for this year only, serves as the first event of the Long Beach Aquatic Festival.

It will also be a test event for the new swim stadium, which will be constructed next to the Long Beach Arena, and is the stage for the U.S. Olympic swimming trials July 7-14.