March 19, 2002

By DENNIS PASSA

Associated Press Writer

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Ian Thorpe is winning, but not in the same way he usually does.

For the second night in a row at the Australian swim championships, Thorpe failed to set a world mark, despite winning the 200-meter freestyle Tuesday.

Thorpe won six gold medals and set three world records at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last July. He won the 400-meter event here on Monday.

"I guess the expectation (of a record) is there in every race, so in that way it's disappointing," Thorpe said.

He finished more than a second slower than his Fukuoka world record time of 1 minute, 44.06 seconds in the 200.

"I came into this meet feeling very strong, very confident, and it's disappointing that it's not resulting in world records," Thorpe said. "But often I go into meets under-prepared and set world records anyway."

He came close Monday night to setting his 17th world record in his four-year career, finishing .37 seconds off his world mark in the 400. The second-place finisher in both the 200 and 400 was Grant Hackett, who holds the world record for 1,500.

Thorpe has set his world records at 200, 400 and 800 meters, but said he believed his ultimate strength will lie in the 100- and 200-meter sprint events.

He's not entered in the 800 at the Chandler Aquatic Center, but has added the 100 backstroke to his schedule.

Thorpe will be in New York on March 27 to receive the 22nd annual American-International Athlete Trophy at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

The Australian championships are also being used to select the Australian team for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, in July and the Pan-Pacific championships in Japan in August.