Brett Hawke believes Cesar Cielo will be hard to overcome at the 2012 London Olympic Games
Brett Hawke, the coach of 50m and 100m freestyle world record holder, Brazil’s Cesar Cielo Filho expressed that world-class players will find Cesar untouchable at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The situation has flared up with the thrashing early-season performance of Australia’s James Magnussen in the 100m freestyle at the South Australian meet in January, but Hawke stressed that Cesar would go rampant at the Olympic stage to defend his titles of 50m and 100m freestyle.
According to Hawke, Cesar, who improved his own world records by clocking 20.91 seconds in the 50m event and 46.91 seconds in the 100m freestyle during 2009, will serve notice of his talent in a bid to protect his crowns.
The 25-year-old Cielo is the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist of the 50m freestyle whereas he captured gold medals of the 50m and 100m events at the 2009 Rome World Championships.
He did not defend his 100m freestyle title at the 2011 Shanghai World Championships, but won gold medals of the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly at the same championship.
In contrast, Magnussen, who appeared on the world level for the first time, proved his mettle in the 100m freestyle at the Shanghai world titles. He also pocketed gold medal of the 4*100m freestyle while secured a silver finish in the 4*100m medley relay at the same championships.
“I still think Cesar is the best swimmer in the world. It's going to be a great battle, but I wouldn't be handing the gold medal off to James at this point in time. Cesar has a strong second 50, it's not as strong as Magnussen's … but Cesar has death-defying speed,” Hawke said.
Withal, it should not be forgotten that Cielo set the benchmarks of 50m and 100m event in polyurethane swimsuit, which is now banned by the international aquatic sports governing body, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA).
On the other hand, Magnussen’s gold claiming effort of 47.49 seconds at the 2011 World Championships is the quickest by any swimmer, after that ban.
Magnussen, who clocked 48.05 seconds at a national meet, last month, is all set to participate at the next week’s New South Wales Open Championships in Sydney. He has also expressed his desire of trying to go under 48 seconds at the upcoming national meet.
He has also confirmed his participation in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle events at the NSW meet, meaning that the world champion is trying to qualify in three events for the upcoming Olympic Games. He will compete with the former Australian champion, Eamon Sullivan, who has also registered himself in the same three events.
While responding to Hawke’s statement, Magnussen said, “I've always known that [Cielo] would be one of my main rivals in London, and I certainly have no doubt he's a talented swimmer and one to watch. There wasn't too much in that article that wasn't true. I've definitely taken notice of what was said.”
No matter what, just few months are left in the battle royal and the intensity of competition continues to magnify, but one thing is for sure that the crowd is eager to see both stars in the 100m freestyle playoff.
Nevertheless, the situation will be clearer after the performance of Magnussen and Cielo in their respective national events, through which they will confirm their qualifications for the London Olympics.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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