New Delhi: Grant Hackett is considered one of the greatest middle distance swimmers ever. He is going for history at Beijing Olympics but more than that he has another difficult task, which is to inspire the Australian swimming team to beat the Americans in the pool.
The Australian swimming team is getting ready to hit the pool in their pre-Olympic training camp at Kuala Lampur.
For the first time in a decade the spotlight will not be on Ian Thorpe who has retired but on another legend - 28-year-old Hackett.
He is aiming to break a 100-year record in Olympic history and be the first man to win three consecutive golds in 1500m freestyle.
"Yes, good. I'm feeling quite relaxed, training is going quite well. I'm just focussed on what needs to be done day to day and what we are embarking on in 10 or 11 days time. We feel quite relaxed here as a team in Kuala Lumpur, away from it all, and I think things are sailing on quite smoothly," says Hackett.
And as the attention shifts to Beijing, Hackett will have more on his mind than just his events. Australia are regarded as the only team which can challenge the mighty Americans in the pool who won 12 golds at Athens Olympics while the Australians won only seven.
"It's a really relaxed feel amongst the team. Everyone is just doing what needs to be done. We all get along really well. I guess there's really good harmony amongst the team, good morale, and I feel it's slowly building up. No one is overly-anxious. Everyone is staying relaxed and focussing on what needs to be done. There's quite a few rookies but there's a lot of experience in the team also and we'd like to be able to transfer that knowledge to one another and help each other out," he says.
Swimming is expected to be the most widely watched sport at Beijing, not just for the rivalry but also individual exploits like Hackett and American Michael Phelps who will be aiming for a record eight gold medals.
Comments
0 comment