By Ian Gordon, PA Sport, Sydney

Britain's Paul Palmer fears he will have to beat one of world sport's freaks to stand any chance of a gold medal.

Palmer believes Ian Thorpe - the 17-year-old Australian with the size 17 feet who he faces on the first day of competition on Saturday - is swimming's equivalent of golfing great Tiger Woods.

"I think we're starting to see freaks in sport," said Palmer, hoping to add a 400 metres freestyle medal to the silver he won in Atlanta four years ago.

"Tiger Woods and Ian Thorpe are redefining the boundaries of sport and I think it will continue.

"If he performs to his best then he (Thorpe) should win gold and will be a deserved Olympic champion."

But Palmer, who trains at the University of Bath, warned: "Thorpe has never been to an Olympics so I do have experience over him.

"We'll just have to see what happens. The Olympics are an eye opener. It's not just a sporting event, it's the circus that's incorporated with it.

"I'm certainly in the hunt and taking away Thorpe there are four or five other people who are sharp.

"But there is no point fearing your rivals because at the end of the day you're separated from them by lane ropes and you can't control how any one races."

Thorpe, who became the youngest ever world champion at 15 when he won the 400m freestyle title in Perth, Australia, with Palmer third, has been tipped to become the greatest swimmer there has ever been.

The teenager is as big in Sydney as striker Michael Owen is in Liverpool and is expected to confirm his swimming superstardom by winning four golds at the Games.

Thorpe is expected to shatter his own world record in the International Aquatic Centre on Saturday having broken three world marks in three days there at the Olympic trials.

"I do not want to sound monotonous but his preparation this time has been sensational," said coach Doug Frost, of Thorpe who has broken seven world records in his last two meetings at the Homebush centre.

"We can't put it in writing, but I think he is on line to do exceptionally well, much better than he did at the trials and his performance there was exceptional."

Thorpe is confident he can deal with the pressure and meet the expectations of the 17,000 fans who will pack the poolside each night.

"I have to be able to deal with all the different expectations and conditions that come with an Olympics and get the best out of myself," said Thorpe.

"That is something I am looking forward to very much. As a swim meet the excitement of the Olympics cannot be described, but it is like any other meet.

"I have always thought that winning is getting the best out of yourself, knowing you could not have tried any harder and that you could not have done anything else in your preparation.

"If you can walk away from a race knowing you are successful in that, you have won the race no matter what the result is."