Hackett machine keeps rolling on

original link

DUAL Olympic 1500m freestyle champion Grant Hackett has vowed not to curb his legendary work ethic as a record third gold medal in Beijing beckons.

Despite being plagued with heath problems last year, which culminated in a partially collapsed lung in Athens, Hackett said he would continue to push himself in the pool.

Hackett, nicknamed “The Machine” for his commitment to training, admitted his chest and lung problems this year had made him pay more attention to his health.

But having defied the odds to win a second Olympic 1500m gold, Hackett said he wanted to see what he had left in him.

“A leopard never changes its spots, so I’ll always train very hard,” the 24-year-old said.

“If I’m going to do it, I might as well do it 100 per cent. I don’t think there’s any halfway in swimming.

“I am a lot more conscious of my health this time, I don’t want to be in that situation again. But I’m going to keep training as hard as I can.

“I’m more at the back-end than the front-end of my swimming career and I want to make the most of it and see what’s left in the tank.”

After taking an extended break from the pool after the Olympics, Hackett returned to training two weeks ago with a clean bill of health.

“At one stage I was thinking I might have to miss next season because of the severity of the illness,” Hackett said.

“Fortunately, after being on the right drugs and having the right amount of rest, it did clear up.

“My lungs are now 100 per cent back to what they were before the illness. Now I know I can train as hard as I want and still improve, which is very important to me.”

But Hackett does plan to trim his program for international competition by scrapping the 200m freestyle.

Hackett plans to focus on the 1500m, 800m and 400m freestyle for next year’s world championships in Montreal, Canada, but still wants to be a part of the 4×200m freestyle relay.

That is good news for the Australian relay team, which faces the prospect of a rematch with the Americans without anchorman Ian Thorpe, who is considering taking a year off from competition.

While Hackett said the Australians were eager to turn the tables on the US, which touched out the Olympic champion for gold in Athens, he would support Thorpe’s plans should he decide to take a break.

“We’d prefer to have him at the world championships here and in Beijing rather than just the world championships in Canada,” Hackett said.

“Ian has trained very hard from a very young age. So it probably feels like he needs a bit of a break and that’s in the best interests for his career.

“But in terms of the relay team for next year, of course it’s going to be highly detrimental. He’s been the fastest leg, he’s the world record holder and Olympic champion, so he’s going to be missed a lot. We’ll still have a strong team, but whether we can challenge the Americans, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Hackett plans a return to competition at the world championship trials in March, but said he may consider a hitout at the Queensland state titles in the New Year.

Hackett quickly in the swim

original link

Olympic gold medallist Grant Hackett made a spectacular entry into racehorse ownership at Sandown when the aptly-named two-year-old Freestyle impressed with a winning debut in the $75,000 Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m).

The dual Olympic 1500-metre swimming champion looks set for many more exciting times with the well-bred sprinting filly who he races with three syndicates, including John Messara’s Arrowfield Pastoral Pty Ltd Syndicate.

Trainer Phillip Stokes spoke to Messara immediately after the win and confirmed that the $400,000 Adelaide Magic Millions (1200m) at Morphettville on February 23 was her medium-term mission.

She will also target the $40,000 Listed Queen Adelaide Stakes (1000m) at Victoria Park on January 22.

Bred by Arrowfield Stud, Freestyle, by 1988 Oakleigh Plate winner Snippets, is the first foal from dual stakeswinning sprinter Stella Artois and was passed in at $145,000 at this year’s Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale.

Ridden by Luke Nolen, she lived up to a quick trial win eight days ago at Morphettville by leading all the way to score by a length from Simply Rossa with Redoute’s Choice debutant Owzat fading off the pace to finish two lengths away third.

Freestyle was Stokes’ second Merson Cooper Stakes winner after he landed the race last year with Lunaspur.

Stokes wasn’t at Sandown but gave Freestyle a strong winning chance after she broke 46 seconds when winning her 800-metre trial at Morphettville.

“She was the right horse at the right time for this whereas last year we set Lunaspur for the race,” said Stokes who was in Adelaide.

“Her trial was great and she ran a top time so we thought she could win.”

Stokes said that Freestyle was also paid up for the $1 million Gold Coast Magic Millions (1200m) on January 8 but ruled it out as “geographically challenging” to win from Adelaide.

Nolen likened Freestyle’s high speed to her dam Stella Artois who he rode twice five years five years ago for a second at Caulfield and fourth at Moonee Valley.

“She is just like her mum,” he said.

Stella Artois raced 19 times for seven wins, including victories in the Quezette Stakes and Cockram Stakes.

Freestyle ran a class record 57.5 seconds after increasing her lead with a brilliant burst at the top of the straight.

Davies keen to make a big splash

original link

David Davies will attempt to add another medal to the Olympic bronze he won in Athens when he competes in the European Short Course Championships next month.

But whatever happens in Vienna, the Welsh teenager has already been tipped for a golden future by Australian swimming great Grant Hackett.

“He can possibly be the best swimmer that’s ever come out of Britain,” said Hackett.

“He is a very talented athlete and works very, very hard.”

Davies shot to prominence by finishing third behind Hackett in Athens.

The 19-year-old from Cardiff slashed 12 seconds off his personal best to win what turned out to be Britain’s second and last medal in the pool.

“It was the greatest day of my life and I’ll never forget it,” Davies told BBC Sport.

“I surprised myself. I didn’t think I’d do anything like that. It was a great feeling and I’d like to re-live that day again.

“But I’ve had to put it behind me and not live off that one performance. It’s back to the work and grind.”

Davies swims 80,000 metres - or 50 miles - a week in his pursuit of success and admits the life of a long-distance swimmer is a lonely one.

But he is dedicated to the cause and says the challenge of taking on Hackett keeps his motivation levels high.

“He was the legend of my event when I was young,” said Davies.

“I remember watching him and thinking I’m never going to get anywhere near him.

“So to swim against him in an Olympic final was something I always wanted to do. It was a surreal experience.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He’s one of the world’s greatest swimmers in any discipline, so for him to be complimentary about me means a lot.

“I’ll do anything I can to beat him. I’ll work hard every day. I want to be the best.

“But I’ve got a really, really hard task. He’s got one of the best world records around.

“It will be a much easier event when he’s retired.”

Unfortunately for Davies, Hackett has no plans to quit just yet and intends to chase a third successive Olympic title at the 2008 Games.

But the Welshman is still relishing another battle with the Australian in Beijing.

“I’d love to go again,” said Davies. “It was one of the greatest dreams of my life.

“It wasn’t just the two weeks I enjoyed; it was the whole build-up to it. It was so exciting training every day.

Winning a medal was great and I feel very fortunate, so I’d love to go to Beijing
David Davies

“Winning a medal was great and I feel very fortunate, so I’d love to go to Beijing.”

First, though, is a trip to Vienna.

Hackett will not be Austria for obvious reasons but standing in the way of Davies and a major title will be Yuri Prilukov.

The Russian finished behind Davies in Athens but won gold at the World Short Course Championships just a few weeks later.

“It will be tough,” said Davies, who won 1500m silver at the 2002 championships.

“There are a lot of good swimmers in Europe. I’ll have stiff competition but I’ll be really up for it.”

I won Athens gold with collapsed lung: Hackett

original link

Australian swimming great Grant Hackett has revealed he defended his Olympic 1,500 metres freestyle title in Athens with a collapsed lung.

Hackett initially told reporters at the Games that he had battled a bronchial infection, but has since admitted its full extent after having a promotional swim in Beijing as part of an Australian Olympic Committee delegation.

“My lungs were so blocked and stuffed for so long that it was partially deflated and there was fluid in there - it was fairly serious,” he told Channel 7.

“It was thought once it cleared up there could be scar tissue on the lungs but I had a cat scan about two weeks ago and found it was all clear.”

Hackett’s coach Denis Cotterell said his star swimmer had lost up to “25 per cent” of his lung capacity while competing in Athens.

However, they did not tell Olympic team medical staff for fear that he may be denied the right to defend his 1,500m Olympic title.

“He told me that it was something like 25 per cent of his lungs had collapsed because they were filled with muck,” Cotterell said.

“There was fluid on the lining and spots on the lungs - it was pretty ugly.

“The concern was that there would be scar tissue as a result, but he’s had a scan since and it has showed it has cleared.”

Hackett has battled bronchial problems throughout his career and was hospitalised earlier this year.

Cotterell said Hackett would be fit for the national titles - which double as world titles selection trials - from March 12-19, and might even contest February’s Queensland championships.

Is Phelps starting to fade?

original link

Michael Phelps could be handed a short prison sentence after being charged with drink driving just two months after winning eight medals - six of them gold - at the 2004 Olympics.

For someone who coped admirably well with the intense scrutiny that accompanied every stroke of his amazing feat in Athens, it is a surprising fall from grace.

Aged just 19, he handled the media spotlight in the Greek capital like a seasoned professional.

Not once did he show any sign of frustration - publicly at least - at the constant questioning about his assault on Mark Spitz’s record tally of seven golds, achieved at the Montreal Games in 1976.

Nor was he fazed by the media fuelling his burgeoning rivalry with Australian great Ian Thorpe.

Having survived such an ordeal, the last thing anyone expected was Phelps to fall foul of the law.

The decision to drive drunk has tarnished the teenager’s status as a model superstar and no doubt angered his many sponsors, who were hoping to exploit his all-American boy image for many years to come.

Phelps may well recover from the self-inflicted damage - his open and honest admission of guilt and stupidity has helped in that respect - but there is another threat to his swimming future, one that cannot be negated by words.

A back injury forced him to withdraw from last month’s World Short-Course Championships in Indianapolis, leading to speculation that his body may be breaking down under the constant battering it is being subjected to.

Double Olympic champion Grant Hackett, a close friend of Phelps, certainly believes the world may have seen the best of the ‘Baltimore Bullet’.

“Yes, perhaps, when you are at that level and pushing your body that much,” said the Australian, who won 1500m gold in both Sydney and Athens.

“That back issue is something that could be long-term. Hopefully it’s not for him.

“If he can get over the injury, then great, but it could be something that hangs around because of the amount of stress he is putting on his body.”

Phelps is blessed with enormous talent.

He swam all four strokes in Athens, winning gold in the 200m and 400m individual medleys, the 100m and 200m butterfly, 4×200 freestyle relay and 4×100m medley relay.

He also went home with a bronze in the 200m freestyle and 4×100m freestyle relay.

But Hackett believes such a workload is bound to take its toll, even on someone as brilliant as Phelps.

Phelps may boast such a flexible body that he can manoeuvre it into positions most other swimmers would find intolerable, but Hackett says it is time for him to start cutting back.

“He’s a phenomenal athlete and he was right on his game at the Olympic Games,” Hackett told BBC Sport.

“But it is going to be very difficult to compete in seven or eight events every time.

“I remember when Ian (Thorpe) and I were competing in four, five or sometimes six events. That’s a huge workload and just too tough to do and too tough to continue in.

“It is going to be hard for Michael to focus across such a broad spectrum.

“He’s certainly going to have to narrow down his programme, in my opinion, and focus on a few things and specialise.”

That may present Phelps with another conundrum. When you are as good as he is, just which events do you drop?

Australia seeks sporting ties with China

original link

HAMISH ROBERTSON: With the roar of the crowd in Athens still a recent memory, China’s preparations for its Olympics in Beijing in 2008 are already well under way.

And it seems that other nations are eager to grab a share of success in four years’ time, and want China’s help.

As John Taylor reports, Australia, the fourth medal place team, is among a number of countries trying to establish closer athletic ties with China in the name of Olympic glory.

JOHN TAYLOR: In the world of sport, officials are always looking to the next competition. The next Olympics always loom large. Now that the Athens Games are over, attention has turned to China’s capital, Beijing, which in 2008 provides the Olympic stage.

The Chinese national team had its best ever performance at Athens this year, coming second in the national gold medal count with 32 among its 63 medals.

Britain, on the other hand, was lacklustre – Just nine gold amongst 30 medals.

But Britain is now looking east for a boost at Beijing.

It’s signed a memorandum of understanding with China which provides for closer cooperation, and could involve the exchange of coaches and experts prior to the Beijing Games.

Many nations are rushing to sign similar agreements, even Australia.

This week the Australian Olympic Committee signed it’s own cooperation agreement, which allows for athletic exchanges, participation in bilateral and multilateral competitions, and the exchange of training expertise.

Olympic 1500 metre swimming champion Grant Hackett was present in Beijing for the signing, and gives it his backing.

GRANT HACKETT: I certainly think it’s a good move.

I mean, you’re talking about the country that finished second on the medal and we finished fourth, so it’s definitely an advantage to us. And I think a lot of the sports that we perhaps aren’t as talented as the Chinese, we’re certainly going to learn a lot and move forward and, you know, take our gold medal count and our overall medal tally to a higher level in doing something like this.

So I think it’s a very positive move from the AOC, and the fact that, you know, China’s just got so much to offer and that the Games are here over the next four years, it gives us an opportunity to come here, to train here, to get familiar with the culture and the environment, which is very, very important, because it’s obviously a very different place from Australia.

JOHN TAYLOR: Is it less important for athletes like yourselves in a sport like swimming, where you’re a champion and Australia is a far more dominant swimming nation than China?

GRANT HACKETT: Yeah, it certainly is.

I mean, it’s… you know, for swimming I don’t think there’s going to be too many Chinese swimmers coming over and train with me. They might, you know, at some stages. But I mean, for us we’re very, very dominant obviously in swimming, and I don’t think there’ll be any problems there.

But at the same time still there are certain things that we can learn off the Chinese, even in that area, and you know, we’ve seen how much in gymnastics or… and particularly diving, that we’ve moved forward, and that was learning from the Chinese, because they’ve just been so dominant in that sport over the last, you know, few decades.

JOHN TAYLOR: For China, the Olympics transcend sport. A good showing at any time, let alone in Beijing, is a political statement. It shows the nation’s emergence over the last 25 years, and its desire to become a great world power.

That was probably one reason behind the nation’s chequered doping history in the 1990s, when it had a reputation as one of the world’s worst drug cheating nations. But in recent years the country has cracked down, and its Athens performance was untarnished.

Grant Hackett believes it will be a pleasure to compete in China at the next Olympics, in part because the doping days have past.

GRANT HACKETT: Yeah, well I like to think so.

You know, you might call me a little bit naïve. But after seeing what we have today, going through the drug laboratory and the fact that no Chinese swimmer has tested positive in recent years and, you know, we have to give them the benefit of the doubt, they’re moving forward, they’re trying to do everything they can to eradicate cheats, not only from China but all over the world.

And you know, there’s always going to be cheaters in every sport, regardless of what country they’re from, and I think it’s a little bit harsh to always think that it’s going to be the Chinese. Just ’cause of the fact that they’ve had a little bit of a reputation in the past doesn’t mean that that’s the current situation.

HAMISH ROBERTSON: Australian Olympic champion Grant Hackett speaking to John Taylor in Beijing.

Life bans for drug cheats: Hackett

original link

Olympic 1500-metre champion Grant Hackett says sportspeople who test positive to drugs should be banned from competition for life.

The Athens Gold medallist made the comments while visiting China’s national anti-doping laboratory.

Hackett said he was impressed by China’s drug testing preparations in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

However, he said sporting bodies might need to reconsider their strict liability policies related to drug use.

“If it’s someone whose taken a headache tablet and it’s a mistake and its not actually something that’s going to improve your performance, I think penalties shouldn’t be imposed to the degree of somebody whose taken a steroid,” he said.

Ban drug cheats for life, says Hackett

original link

OLYMPIC 1500m champion Grant Hackett clashed twice yesterday with Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper after the swimmer called for lifetime bans for drug cheats.

In Beijing for the signing of a co-operation agreement between the Olympic committees of Australia and China, Hackett got personal about the issue, saying he may have lost swimming titles to drug cheats.

“If they have taken a steroid they should be banned for life,” Hackett said after a tour of the China Drug Control Centre. “If you are going to cheat in sport you should be banned for life.”

Centre deputy director Xu Youxuan said there would be 1000 more tests conducted at the Beijing 2008 Olympics than at the Athens Games.

Hackett said: “You must remember at this stage the drug cheaters are ahead of the drug tests.

“That is why we are really pushing to eradicate as many as we can.”

Mr Gosper immediately disagreed that lifetime bans were necessary.

He said the existing penalties were about right, and the Athens Games, at which 23 positive drug tests were recorded, showed the gap between the cheats and the tests was narrowing.

Hackett defended his hard line, saying he was coming from the perspective of someone who might have been in a situation where they raced against a drug cheat, which was hard to handle.

“Sometimes you can be deprived of a result because somebody else is cheating,” he said. Asked whether that had happened to him, Hackett said: “I can’t say because I don’t know. That is actually the hard thing.”

Mr Xu said that China conducted about 6000 drug tests a year, of which about 10 last year had returned positive for banned substances.

Hackett said the Chinese needed to be given the benefit of the doubt on drugs in sport. Earlier problems with drugs in swimming had earned the Chinese a bad reputation, but it was wrong to assume things had not changed.

The co-operation agreement between the committees provides for athlete exchanges and information swapping on anti-doping, among other issues.

Hackett’s gold a nation’s favourite

original link

GRANT Hackett’s hard fought 1500m gold medal swim was Australia’s most memorable highlight of the Athens Olympic games.

Australia’s swimmers dominated a survey of viewer preferences during the Athens Games, with Hackett’s second consecutive Olympic gold topping the list of sporting moments in Greece.

“It’s wonderful to hear something like that, the fact that the public responds so well to my swim,” Hackett said.

“I’m just out there doing my best and that’s as simple as it is, competing in something I love.

“The fact that so many people were able to enjoy that moment with me is an awesome experience, it’s very humbling and I’m very taken aback by it to be honest.”

Hackett’s swim finished ahead of the women’s 4×100m medley relay gold medal swim and the men’s hockey team’s long sought trip to the top of the podium.

Swimming Australia CEO Glenn Tasker said Hackett’s swim was so popular because he was forced to overcome a serious chest problem.

“Anybody who saw Grant’s heat swim in the 1500m knew that Grant had a problem … so when he came out still ill for the final, to watch him win that race under those circumstances was very, very special indeed.”

Forty seven per cent of those surveyed said swimming was their No.1 Olympic sport, lengths ahead of the next best, gymnastics, at eight per cent.

Athletics came in at seven per cent, diving at six, while cycling registered four per cent of the vote of 750 people, aged between 16 and 65. The survey was conducted by Sweeny Sports in Australia’s capital cities.

“The reasons those sort of percentages come through is one, obviously that we’re winning events, but two the public knows our swimmers,” Swimming Australia CEO Glenn Tasker said.

“It’s not just the athletic performance that people are looking at, I think they understand our swimmers are good human beings.”

Six of the top eight choices for the favourite Australian individual competitor or team were swimmers.

Dual gold medallist Ian Thorpe led the field, with teammates Hackett, Petria Thomas and Jodie Henry close behind.

The men’s hockey team, the women’s 4×100m medley team, the entire swim team and shooter Suzanne Balogh all finished in the top 10.

Meanwhile, Gymnastics Australia is doing flips over the survey result.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” CEO Jane Allen said.

“The skill and difficulty of gymnastics fascinates the sports lover in Australia, I think they look at the sport and say `that is just fantastic’.”

Allen said she hopes the sport’s television popularity will convert into bums on seats when Melbourne hosts the gymnastics world championships in November 2005 and the Commonwealth Games in March 2006.

Martin Hirons, director of Sweeny Sports, said there were no real surprises in the survey, with swimming’s success due to three key ingredients.

“It’s been the one sport over the last four Olympics that we’ve been able to have success at,” he said.

“It’s now on mainstream tv through the year … so it’s well packaged … and the fact that it occupies the first week (of the Olympics), which is realistically the time when interest is going to be the highest.”

Hackett admits to Athens injury

original link

Olympic 1500m freestyle champion Grant Hackett has revealed that he defended his title in Athens despite suffering from a collapsed lung.

During the Games the Australian said he had a bronchial infection but now he has admitted: “It was fairly serious.

“My lungs were blocked and stuffed for so long that it was partially deflated.

“I had a CAT scan and found it was all clear.” Coach Denis Cotterell said Hackett lost 25% lung capacity then but would be fit for the national trials.

Cotterell added that he did not tell Olympic medical staff for fear that Hackett may have been prevented from defending his title.

“It’s just something he raced with all the time but it was the worst that it had been.

“He trained and raced through this for the last nine months, there was fluid on the lining and spots on the lungs, it was pretty ugly.”

Fitness concerns for Hackett
Hackett has been plagued by bronchial problems throughout his career, and was hospitalised earlier this year.

The national trials take place from 12-19 March and double as selection trials for the world championships.

Cotterell also hinted that Hackett might compete in the Queensland championships in February.