As Thorpe leapt off the blocks the dash to London 2012 kicked up a notch. The ripples were felt across the sporting globe and our papers were awash with news of more sporting comebacks throughout February. With additional Government funding flooding into 10 Olympic sports and a successful AOC Team Management Meeting, the Australian Olympic Team is set to make a big splash in 2012.

Australia’s most successful Olympian, Ian Thorpe, was the first athlete to announce his comeback in February. Oarsome Foursome legend Drew Ginn, with a strike rate of three gold medals from three Olympic appearances, let the rowing do the talking as he blitzed the NSW and VIC titles to set his sights on “a fairytale finish in the sport in 2012”.

Capping off a growing list of comeback kids for February, Michael Klim also returned to the pool. The triple-Olympian now joins Leisel Jones and Ashley Callusin the mission to become the first swimmers to conquer four Olympic Games.

Klim’s return also means the infamous “smashing guitars” gold medallists from Sydney 2000 (Klim, Thorpe, Callus and Chris Fydler in the 4x100m freestyle) could be reunited in London 2012, with Fydler guaranteed to stay dry in his role as Deputy Chef de Mission of the London Team. It was also announced that Kieren Perkins will join the Australian Team as an Athlete Liaison Officer.

The AOC hosted a successful two-day Team Management Meeting involving key officials, Section Managers, medical and logistical teams and Media Liaison Officers to ensure planning for the Australian 2012 Team is, according to Chef de Mission Nick Green, “absolutely”.

Preparations were boosted by two formal announcements in February - the Green and Gold Project which committed $2.5 million across 10 key Olympic sports; and the renewal of the Australian Institute of Sport as an Olympic Training Centre. AOC President John Coates is confident the Australians can scale the medal tally in London - “a top five position is still very achievable”. 

The AOC will now begin traversing the country, conducting seven Team Processing Sessions throughout March with London hopefuls. Over 1000 prospective athletes will attend AOC presentations, interviews and uniform fittings throughout the year.

On the other side of the world, LOCOG opened its first new Olympic venue- the velodrome. Buoyed by the challenge of beating their rivals in the UK, the Australian cycling team is relentlessly sending ominous signs to the Brits. 2008 Olympian Jack Bobridge created history, stealing the “unbeatable” individual pursuit world record set by Britian's Chris Boardman in 1996. 2004 Olympian Mark Renshaw won his first Road Title in the Tour of Qatar.

At the 2011 National Track Championships Shane Perkins took out the sprint double, Anna Meares won her 27th National Title and young stars Scott Law and Annette Edmondson won the exciting new London event, Omnium. The Australian cycling team is now gearing up for the Track World Championships in the Netherlands (23-27 March).

Anna Segal continued the trend of Aussies winning Winter World Championships, taking out the slopestyle title at the Freestyle World Championships. Segal is the fourth Australian Winter World Champion this year. In coming months Jacques Rogge and the IOC will decide on whether the innovative slopestyle event will become an Olympic discipline.

Back to summer sports, a new-look Hockeyroos side had a remarkable victory in the Four Nations Tournament in Argentina. The young team defeated home side and world champions, Argentina in dramatic circumstances to win the final.

Days after Valentine’s Day, Beijing Olympic couples Brad Kahlefeldt and Emma Moffatt claimed the first stage of the national triathlon series, with husband/ wife duo Jared and Claire Tallent winning the Australian 20km Race Walking Championship titles as well.

Singapore Youth Olympian Jessica Fox placed second in the women’s C1 at the Canoe Slalom Australian Open, with Rosalyn Lawrence winning the women’s event and William Forsyth claiming the men’s K1. Fellow Youth Olympian Nick Hough had a remarkable win in the second leg of the 5-stage Australian Athletics Tour in Hobart, claiming his first major meet victory in the 200m.

If February is anything to go by, this undercurrent of strong results suggests an Australian tidal wave is set to be unleashed on London in 2012.

And the stream of sporting events continues throughout March. World Cup events will be held on home soil in shooting (Sydney, 21 March- 1 April) and triathlon (Mooloolaba, March 26-27), while Shepparton, Victoria will host the Oceania Road and Mountain Bike Championships from 17-20 March.

National Championships will be held in boxing (Melbourne, 3-6 March) open water swimming (Sydney, 5-6 March), rowing (West Lakes, 7-13 March) and beach volleyball (Adelaide, 11-13 March).

The star-studded Australian Athletics Tour will travel to Melbourne on 3 March and Sydney on 19 March. Sally Pearson is eyeing Melinda Gainsford-Taylor’s 1994 100m Australian Record, while Dani “stronger than ever” Samuels and Craig Mottram are looking for strong performances in the lead up to the World Championships in Korea in August. The World Cross Country Championships will also be held on March 20 in Spain.

Winter World Championships for the month include the World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships (Germany, 10-13 March), Short Track World Championships (Sheffield, 11-13 March) and Figure Skating (Tokyo 21-27 March).

Australian athletes continue to excel and the team behind the Team is working hard to give them the best chance to take on the world at the London Games and topple Great Britain. As John Coates has always said, come 2012 Australia will be ready to “rain on their parade”.

Taya Conomos
AOC