mammamedley
24-03-2001, 01:36 PM
It was a little under two weeks ago, and coach Doug Frost's Aquadot squad was preparing for the second stage of a drill called "race rehearsal".
The squad does not treat the day as a training session; it is a full race-day simulator. "Heats" are swum in the morning, and the squad returns in the afternoon - complete with bodysuits, or whatever attire they would wear in race conditions - for the "finals".
The rain was tumbling down into Sydney's Sutherland pool on this particular afternoon, so nobody really expected too much from the "finals".
But as his rivals have found in the past, be prepared for the unexpected with Aquadot's star pupil, Ian Thorpe.
The triple Olympic gold medallist donned his bodysuit, charged up and down four laps of the pool, and when the clock stopped, he had not only impressed his coach and himself with his progress for this weekend's national titles in Hobart, but the 18-year-old's performance left stunned looks on the faces of the onlooking parents, and fellow teammates.
His 200 metres freestyle time was just a tick outside his personal best. His personal best is one minute 45.37 seconds - 0.02 seconds outside the world mark of Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband.
The squad does not treat the day as a training session; it is a full race-day simulator. "Heats" are swum in the morning, and the squad returns in the afternoon - complete with bodysuits, or whatever attire they would wear in race conditions - for the "finals".
The rain was tumbling down into Sydney's Sutherland pool on this particular afternoon, so nobody really expected too much from the "finals".
But as his rivals have found in the past, be prepared for the unexpected with Aquadot's star pupil, Ian Thorpe.
The triple Olympic gold medallist donned his bodysuit, charged up and down four laps of the pool, and when the clock stopped, he had not only impressed his coach and himself with his progress for this weekend's national titles in Hobart, but the 18-year-old's performance left stunned looks on the faces of the onlooking parents, and fellow teammates.
His 200 metres freestyle time was just a tick outside his personal best. His personal best is one minute 45.37 seconds - 0.02 seconds outside the world mark of Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband.