Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe has failed to qualify for the World Cup short-course 100m butterfly final.

The five-time Olympic gold medallist finished third in his butterfly heat and could only finish eleventh overall in Singapore.

His failure to qualify comes a day after Thorpe finished seventh in the 100m individual medley final.

"I came here expecting to get absolutely hammered in races and I knew it was going to happen," said Thorpe.

"Anyone who didn't think that was going to happen didn't have this in perspective. I have to have a kind of reality check of where I am as opposed to how I feel in training."

Thorpe is making his comeback to competitive swimming after five years away from the sport.

The 29-year-old is hoping to swim for the Australian Olympic team at London 2012.