At Victoria Championships, Ian Thorpe clocked freestyle times of 1:51.08 (5th and inside the cut for London 2012 trials in March) over 200m and 51.05 (13th and outside the cut) over 100m.

Some context to add to the context of Thorpe being a big bloke with limited time and therefore highly unlikely to be close to full potential until he tapers: at the Austin GP, neither Michael Phelps nor Ryan Lochte made the final of the 100m, their respective times of 50.52 and 50.53 a reflection of where they are in their training phase not where they will be come the hour.

Over 200m, world champion Lochte put in a 1:50.45 effort at the GP, a touch quicker than Thorpe. Both men will look very different at some stage down the flow this year.

National head coach Leigh Nugent summed Thorpe's times up: "It won't be until he really rests properly that we'll see what he's really capable of doing, and that won't be until trials." 

For himself, Thorpe had his eye on performance not time: "Technique-wise I wasn't very good tonight. I was a little bit rushed. I think the most important thing was to be able to swim faster than I did in the morning, and I was able to do that."

In the 100m, the money is on the established new force of Aussie sprinting. At state titles Matt Targett cracked out a 48.71 to win with 17-year-old Cameron McEvoy on 49.66, 20-year-old James Roberts on 49.77, leaving the likes of Cameron Prosser and comeback trailer Michael Klim back in 7th on 50.46.

Impossible to tell who is where in training. Suffice it to say that rumours of swimmers racing even slightly rested at this stage in the game are highly likely to be misleading. 

Take Britain’s Ellen Gandy, on a best of 26.54 in the 50 'fly but likely to be a touch cooler when it comes to the 200m as preparations continue for the moment she meets Jemma Lowe, Jess Dickons, both fellow smart trackers who have grown up together in the sport, and others at the British trials early March.

Elsewhere, Melanie Schlanger clocked a swift 53.87 in the 100m freestyle, Brenton Rickard took the 50 breaststroke in 28.28, Sarah Katsoulis laid down a 1:08.18 marker in the 100m breaststroke, while Christopher Wright showed signs of a good season ahead with a 1:57.97 win in the 200m butterfly.