Brendan Hansen resumes competitive swimming by participating in the Santa Clara Grand Prix
The four-time Olympic gold medallist, Brendan Hansen, has expressed his desire to resume competitive swimming by entering the 2011 Santa Clara Grand Prix in June.
The 29-year-old Hansen never officially retired from the sport of swimming but quit participating at international meets. A comeback without retirement will help Brendan to resume competitive swimming any time he wants. The American champion would not have
to face the nine-month restriction that is imposed by FINA on swimmers, who resume competing after retirement.
The former breast-stroke champion now aims to enter international meets, by making his first appearance at the seventh stop of the 2010-2011 USA Grand Prix Series at Santa Clara, this June.
Hansen won three medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, including a 4*100m medley relay gold medal, the 100m breast-stroke silver medal and the bronze medal in the 200m breast-stroke. He also competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he won a gold medal
in the 4*100m medley relay as part of the USA Swimming Team.
The American swimmer stated that he has been in the water for a while and is training hard to resume his career. He also says that during the years of non-participation at major world events, his swim timings have considerably improved. Hansen admits that
with the presence of the world’s elite swimmers, including the likes of Kosuke Kitajima, this would be impossible for him to secure a podium finish after such a long time. Nevertheless, he has the potential to achieve a podium finish in the future.
Santa Clara would be Hansen’s first appearance on the international stage after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His participation in the medley relay at the Beijing Olympics provided Phelps with his breath-taking performance of an eighth gold medal of the championship.
Hansen has been concerned about making a splash at his international appearance and has been under training for several months. He said that expecting him to participate at the 2011 World Championships would be wrong but the American breast-stroke swimmer
aims towards the 2012 London Olympic qualification by earning the titles in his events.
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