Hackett machine keeps rolling on

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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.