Morning Olympic finals no problem for Phelps gold quest

BEIJING, Apr 9 (Reuters) If Michael Phelps fails to win an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics next year, he will not be blaming the controversial decision to hold the swimming finals in the morning.

The 21-year-old, who won six golds in Athens in 2004 and seven at the recent world championships in Melbourne, said the decision to switch the finals would make absolutely no difference to him.

''It's the Olympics, if you're not ready to swim at that time, don't come ... stay at home and watch TV,'' the American told reporters on Monday.

''I have no preference ... I'm going to step up and swim as fast as I can, whether it's in the morning or at night.'' Phelps also set five world records in Melbourne and only a team mate's error in the medley relay heats deprived him of a crack at an eighth gold.

The prospect of eclipsing his compatriot Mark Spitz's seven golds in Munich in 1972 will now have to wait until next August and Phelps said he was likely to swim a programme that gave him every chance.

''I would like to try that kind of event programme next year,'' he said. ''That's the goal. Going into the (Melbourne) meet, I wanted to be able to compete at that level with that event programme.

''I hadn't tried (it) since Athens ... so being ... as successful as I was, I'd really love to have the opportunity to do it again.'' Certainly the premature retirement of Ian Thorpe, whose record of six golds at a world championships he surpassed in Melbourne, will help Phelps in Beijing.

Phelps said Thorpe's retirement was ''disappointing'' and said his ''support'' was with his friend as he battled to clear his name after a leaked report said the Australian was under investigation over a doping test.

The American also said that he would not be surprised if Thorpe, still only 24, were to change his mind and return to the pool.

REMARKABLE ATHLETE ''He really is a remarkable athlete and the amount of talent he has for the sport of swimming, he can do anything he wants -- he's proven that,'' he said.

''If he wants to train to start training now for the Olympics next year, I wouldn't put it past him. I think he still has a lot in him and you can definitely still see him swimming fast again.'' Despite China's poor performance at the worlds, where they failed to win a swimming gold, Phelps said he was convinced all of China's athletes would be strong next year.

He and his team mates, some of whom were with him in Beijing on a goodwill trip to back the 2007 Special Olympics, will therefore have to work hard to make sure the U.S. remained top of the medals table.

''Wherever the Olympics is, that home country is always at their best because they want to show their country how good they are,'' he said. ''It's our job to defend our title at the top of the medals table ...'' Despite the huge expectations placed on him, Phelps said that if he was swimming at his very best, a single gold medal would satisfy him.

''Not many people have won Olympic gold medals and to put your name in that group is pretty special,'' he said.

Reuters SSC GC1750