1 Apr 2010

Thorpe special guest at New Zealand swimming champs

6:11 am on 1 April 2010

Australia's greatest swimmer, Ian Thorpe will be the special guest at next week's New Zealand Championships in Waitakere City.

Thorpe will attend the final day on Friday April 9 and will be the starter for the following day's skins event which involves a number of New Zealand's swimming greats.

Included are Olympic medallists Danyon Loader, Anthony Mosse, Paul Kingsman and Jean Stewart and world championships long and short course medallists Anna Simcic-Forrest, Trent Bray and Gary Hurring.

The championships also double as the official Commonwealth Games Trials, where swimmers must better the stiff qualifying standards in the final to earn nomination for New Delhi.

The championships start on Monday at West Wave Aquatic Centre.