Athens Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan will not take part in the forthcoming short course World Cup in Australia, the second stop of the FINA 2004-2005 Series, the Chinese swimming association said.

Athens 100m breaststroke winner Luo will be focused on the winter training camp, where her teammates Qi Hui and Zhou Yafei are other big names skipping the World Cup.

Instead, a batch of less experienced athletes will compete in Melbourne from Nov. 26 to 28, spearheaded by Gao Chang, silver medalist in women's 50m backstroke at this year's short course World Cup.

On the roster also are Zhang Lin, Lin Yi, Ma Chenfei, Wu Binan, Chen Yanyan, Liu Zhen, Liu Jing and Han Tianji.

"Most of the Melbourne-bound swimmers resumed their training not long ago as they had a rest after the Olympics, so we don't expect them to achieve very good results at the World Cup," said Yao Ying, Gao's coach. "What matters is the experience they can gain through the competition."

Source: Xinhua