By Rizwan Rehmat
DOHA: South African pool sensation Chad le Clos has set things in motion that could help him win another gold medal at the Olympic Games next year.
The 23-year-old, who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion, yesterday confirmed he will be undergoing extensive two-week training in Doha later this month.
“Absolutely,” Le Clos said when asked if he was working on plans to win another Olympic Games medal next year in Rio de Janeiro.
“I want to win next year. I want to do my country proud.”
“I am a better all-round athlete then I was a few years ago. Back then, my endurance was better before the Olympics in London. Before, I could swim a lot of long distance races,” Le Clos added.
“Now, I feel I have become more like a sprinter, more of a specialised racer. So I want to get that back a little. I want to swim everything again. I am nearly there. I am 90 percent. I know there are changes that I need to make. We are on the right path. I am very focussed,” he added.
Here’s a brief chat with the South African swimming powerhouse at Hamad Aquatic Centre.
Question: You look fairly relaxed - smiling at the media conference. You must be confident going into this competition.
Answer: I am always pretty relaxed before coming in for a competition. I am in good shape and I have done hard training. But I don’t know how fast I can be here. It is like gauging where I am. It’s not about how fast I can go now but it is about what will happen at the beginning of next year. I am happy to be here. I always enjoy coming back here. I can do well.
Question: How do you look back at the last seven-eight months, competition-wise as well as fitness-wise?
Answer: I have been up and down. It wasn’t bad. I was able to win medals. A lot of lessons were learnt this year. Fitness-wise I would have liked to have been in a better place. My speed was good but my endurance wasn’t really as good as it normally is. So that’s what we have been working now, trying to get my pace back. Like I said I am excited to be back racing again at a high level. We will see how this week goes.
Question: You have trained here in Doha. What’s the particular reason for you to come back after next Saturday?
Answer: Look, Doha is amazing. The facilities are top-notch. You can’t get much better than this. Being here in this environment feels good. It is a professional environment. It is not like back home you have friends, girlfriend to distract you (laughs). Over here, a professional environment is really important. Swimming, sleeping and eating is what we do so why not do it real way.
Question: You have 10 months to go for the Games. It is a very important period of time for you.
Answer: Absolutely. I mean training hard and the next 12 days after Dubai event (next Saturday) is very important to me. I have to step my game up. Many things can happen in sport. You have to worry about injury, sickness so I have to be in good shape. But I have to look at things I can control.
Question: Are you looking at a particular number of competitions before the Olympic Games?
Answer: Right now we got these two events. Then I go home for a while and then I might go to Amsterdam. We will be training for two to three months. The circuit only starts in the middle of the year, closer to the Games. So we will be going to be based at home and training. My coach decides where we go.
Question: You think you are a much better swimmer now compared to how you were going into the 2012 Olympic Games?
Answer: Absolutely. I am a better all-round athlete than I was a few years ago. Back then, my endurance was better before the Olympics in London. Before I could swim a lot of long distance races. Now I feel I have become more like a sprinter, more of a specialised racer. So I want to get that back a little. I want to swim everything again. I am nearly there. I am 90 percent. I know there are changes that I need to make. We are on the right path. I am very focussed. I want to win next year. I want to do my country proud.
Question: The best of Chad is yet to come?
Answer: Absolutely! You ain’t seen nothing yet (laughs).
Question: Did you tune into the rugby World Cup final (on Saturday)?
Answer: It was great. I tuned into the final from my computer. It was a great game. Well done All Blacks. South Africa did us proud. There’s no shame to losing to the world champions by two points. Overall England did a great job with the tournament.
The Peninsula
