“I think with someone like Ian, the history he’s got and knowing his competitive capabilities, you could never write him out of the equation,” said Nugent.
“I’ve been around a long time and I’ve had a lot to do with Ian and with swimming at this level for almost two-and-a-half decades and with him, you’ve got to expect for him to pull something out of the bag. He just has that sort of ability.”
Thorpe won three gold medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and two more in Athens four years later, to add to the three silvers and a bronze he collected at those Games.
He is not the only great Australian name making a comeback, with Libby Trickett, Geoff Huegill and Michael Klim among those trying to qualify for another Olympics.
Olympic 100m breaststroke champion Leisel Jones, 26, hopes to become the first Australian swimmer to compete at four Games, while triple Olympic gold medallist Trickett, 27, is trying for a third Games after retiring in 2009.
Stephanie Rice, a reigning triple Olympic champion, is fighting back from shoulder surgery to try to make the London team and will be in action in the 400m individual medley on Thursday’s opening night, with Alicia Coutts likely to provide strong opposition.
But all eyes will be on Thorpe at the 3,000-seat venue, with the swimmer himself trying play down the expectation that surrounds him.
“The most realistic outcome of this is that I will most likely fail,” he said. “I wish I had another six months to do this.”
