PARIS, Feb 19: The Australian Olympic squad are to prepare for their summer test in the southern French resort of Canet-en-Roussillon, it emerged on Monday.

The Aussies, whose squad includes double Olympic champion Grant Hackett and new 50m freestyle world record holder Eamon Sullivan, will arrive on April 14 with six team-mates for a two-week stint, according to Jean-Marie Portes, director of Canet’s tourist authority and responsible for swimming infrastructure at the Europa baths complex.

Sullivan, fresh from smashing Alexander Popov’s world mark, will also be among a 30-strong group of Olympic swimmers who will return to the Pyrenees region in late May for a training camp of around 10 days ahead of the Mare Nostrum circuit starting on June 7.

The Aussies regularly come to Canet ahead of the Mare Nostrum, as do other stars including Popov and Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband. South Africa are also mulling a warm-up camp at Canet.

—AFP