Andrew Lauterstein joins Ian Pope for training in Melbourne – Swimming News
Key Australian swimmer, Andrew Lauterstein has left his training camp in Sydney and has returned to Melbourne to his new coach, Ian Pope as he seeks to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Lauterstein, who earned a bronze medal in the 100m butterfly at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, failed to qualify in the 100m butterfly for the Australian squad to the 2011 World Championships.
Andrew will now train under the guidance of Ian Pope to prepare himself for the upcoming Olympic Games. He will also join Ian Thorpe in Switzerland for a 30 day spell, as he needs to find his spot for the Australian squad to the upcoming Olympics.
The 23-year-old Lauterstein was very upset about his defeat at the 2011 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships. Nevertheless, he was happy about the fact that he has come home after a long time and enjoying the precious moments of his life.
The Melbourne based Lauterstein told media, “I hadn't thought about moving at all in the lead-up to trials and then straight off the back of the race [semi-final], I knew something did have to change. I took a couple of weeks to weigh up my options
and see where I felt was the best fit.”
Andrew stressed that swimming has strongly affected his lifestyle. He moved out of his home at the age of 18 and failed to see the childhood of his sister. Lauterstein said that he enjoys everything at home but the Olympic bronze medallist also misses his
team members that he left in Sydney. While talking about his coach, Andrew said that he misses his coach and he ranks him in high regards as a real good friend.
The Australian had an unstable 2010, where he faced some health issues and failed to appear at the 2010 Dubai World Short Course Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Subsequently, the 23-year-old faced the biggest set-back of his life
by failing to dominate his way into the trials for the World Championships.
Andrew explained his decision saying that he wanted a change and he considered it mandatory for his improvement. He said that he surely misses his former coach, Grant Stoelwinder along with his fellow swimmers Eamon Sullivan, Libby Trickett, Matt Abood and
Geoff Huegill.
He also said that he will not be present at the Shanghai Aquatics Centre in July but he will make sure that this does not happen next year. Andrew said that he has learnt a lot from his defeat at the Australian Championships and now he knows what he has
to do to ensure his London qualification. He is hopeful about securing his spot for the Australian team to the Olympics 2012, saying that he will try to retain his position at the next Olympics.
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