Australian champion Ian Thorpe claims to improve his personal best timing – Swimming News
Australian comeback king and the former world record holder, Ian Thorpe, has claimed that after six months of extensive training he will be a faster swimmer than before. Thorpe, who has just made a comeback and is training under Gennadi Touretski seems very
happy with his training schedule.
The Australian, who is the five-time Olympic gold medallist in the events of the 200m and 400m freestyle and a former world record holder for the same events retired in 2006. He has now made a comeback in February to secure a spot in the Australian swimming
team for the 2012 London Olympics.
Thorpe seemed very happy as he said that he is evident of the fact that he will be better than before, when he lowered more than ten Long Course swimming records during the period of 1999-2002. He said, “My overall goal in what I'm doing now is to be better
than what I used to be, that's it.”
He also articulated that he would not have made a comeback to competitive swimming if he was not sure that he could perform better than before.
The 28-year-old Thorpe has been the centre of attention of media since his retirement and he has been giving surprises to the world of swimming. He has also faced a lot of criticism from the world’s renowned swimming coaches regarding his comeback and training
programme, but he seems determined with what he wants to accomplish.
Thorpe recently signed a contract with his former rival Alexander Popov’s coach, Gennadi Touretski, as the Russian is recognised among the world’s best coaches who figure out the weaknesses in their pupils and turn them into their strengths to enhance their
swimming capabilities.
Thorpe, who used to compete for the titles of 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle, has now the intention to represent Australia in the individual swims of the100m and 200m freestyle and the 4*100m freestyle relay at the 2012 Olympic Games.
In the meantime, Thorpe’s only regret is that he wished to have made his comeback a little earlier, so he could train for his most favourite event, which is the 400m freestyle at the Australian Olympic Trails.
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