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72-Year-Wait: Cochrane Defeats Napoleon
Oct 4, 2010 - Craig Lord
Commonwealth Games, Delhi, day 1 finals:
Men 400m freestyle
Ryan Cochrane became the first Canadian Commonwealth 400m free champion since Bob Pirie in 1938 when he stopped the march of Ryan Napoleon (AUS) in what came down to a last-lap gut-buster for gold. The argument was settled 3:48.48 to 3:48.59, with bronze going to defending champion David Carry (SCO), on 3:50.06, an effort that locked out Welsh 1,500m and marathon ace David Davies, on 3:50.52.
The first 100m produced six in a line, with lanes 1 and 2 falling away a touch, before Cochrane started to apply pressure, taking the lead on 1:24.34 at the third turn. Either side of him, Napoleon and Renwick were not about to let the Canadian go, and at the half-way mark, the Scot had the edge on 1:53.91, 0.02sec ahead of his matched rivals.
Napoleon claimed the lead by the last turn, with Cochrane chasing and Renwick struggling. The homeward sprint saw Cochrane, coached by Randy Bennett of Victoria, and Napoleon plough on into a pool apart, as Carry and Davies swept past an exhausted Renwick.
The result:
The race marked the second successive Games at which Australia (and they are not alone, of course) has struggled to find anyone capable of coming close to the magnitude of Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett.
A delighted Cochrane said: "The 400 is a tough race and I am still learning it. I just wanted to stay close and then go hard." For his effort's impact on Canada, he added: "I'd like to set a positive tone to start the week."
Napoleon, who won a CAS appeal last month that allowed him to race in Delhi after a short suspension for a positive asthma drug test after a chemist had mislabelled a medication intended for the swimmer's father, said: "Ryan is a great swimmer and he just got me in the end. That's the way the race goes. I am happy to come away with silver."
History in the making:
Top 3 comparisons
Gold-medal leader board: AUS: 15/19 (since 1930)
Records:
Rankings
Impact on 2010 world rankings:
Impact on all-time world top 10: 0
From The Archive:
When Ian Thorpe (AUS) clocked 3:40.17 to win the Olympic crown at a home Sydney 2000 Games, many thought things could hardly get better. They did. Beyond a stunning six-gold-medals performance at 2001 world titles in Fukuoka, Thorpe arrived at Manchester 2002 in fine form. He had visited the northern English city previously and he and coach Doug Frost had counted the number of steps up and down from the subterranean warm-down pool and the steps needed to walk to and from each race and to and from each medal ceremony. After many a training set back home, Thorpe would pace out that journey, in order to get his legs and mind ready for a seven-event programme at Manchester 2002. The best of six golds and one silver (100m backstroke) was his 3:40.08 world mark. Soon after returning home, Thorpe announced a switch of coach to Tracey Menzies, Frost's assistant, a move he said was needed in order for him to survive the journey to Athens 2004. Those would be the last Games - and the last appearances at world-class level of Ian Thorpe, his 200m victory and successful 400m defense turning out to be an almighty swansong. Some years later, when the dust of a 2006 retirement and a 2007 ordeal with a doping accusation that turned out to be bear no weight, he was asked to look back on his career and said: "I've been able to take more pride in my accomplishments [since retiring]. At the time I was moving from one to the next, and didn't have a chance to reflect back on them. I am more proud of all those achievements now that I've stepped away from the sport and am not prioritising it."
