World renowned and Olympic gold medal winners such as
Australia's Stephanie Rice and Leisel Jones and French Freestyle specialist
Alain Bernard and Frederick Bousquet were in Singapore last month, making their
final training preparations en route to the 14th FINA World Championships,
held in Shanghai, China from 16 to 31 July 2011.
Joining them were more than 300 other swimmers, divers, and
water polo players from 24 countries, including powerhouses Canada (swimming),
Sweden (diving) and Hungary (water polo).
For some athletes, the World Championships will be
their first ever taste of competition in Asia. Singapore, sharing the same time
zone as Shanghai, having similar climates and urban landscape, and being a mere
five and a hour flight away, makes it an ideal pit-stop for teams travelling
from Africa, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
Since 2006, Singapore has been the preferred training
destination, having hosted over 1500 world-class athletes from over 30
countries including famous stars like Ronaldhino and Michael Phelps.
Triple Olympic gold medallist Jones believes that the stint
in Singapore will go a long way in helping the team prepare for the
weather conditions in Shanghai.
“Dealing with humidity is a very difficult thing,” she
said.
“We came from Melbourne where it is very cold and very dry,
so it is essential to come to a place like Singapore.
“We are lucky to have come to Singapore. We have got great
facilities here. There are so many 50m pools to choose from and Singapore has
really looked after us.”
“We picked it perfect as the United States is in the Gold Coast
for their training camp and it’s a long way away from Shanghai.
“We are lucky. We did it well to come here.”
Echoing her sentiments was Australia head coach Leigh
Nugent.
“Singapore is an excellent place to start our preparations
for the World Championships.
“We have a very nice relationship with the Singapore Sports
Council and the various coaches here in Singapore.
“To be able to prepare in these pools is very pleasant. The
environment is a pleasure for us to work in. We planned this a year ago and it
has been nice. The weather hasn’t been too hot or humid and the pool
temperatures have been controlled well.”
Australia were ranked fourth at the last world swimming
championships in Rome in 2009, but Nugent insists they are not fixated on dislodging
China or even the US.
"We need to maintain a top-four position at the World Championship, and
higher than that at the London Olympics," he said. "We have a better
team now than last year; 2011 is going to be a re-positioning for everyone and
the platform to launch into the Olympics.
“The mood in the team is very good. There has been a good
preparation for this World Championships. Not everyone from the team is here
with some of them training in high altitudes in Mexico and Spain.
“The World Championships in Shanghai will be very
significant and we hope to do our best there,” he added.
Expressing the value-add visiting teams bring when they
come to train in Singapore, Bob Gambardella, Chief of Sports Development and
Singapore Sports Institute, Singapore Sports Councils, commented, “Singapore
also has a lot to gain from hosting these world-class teams. They bring with
them experience, and knowledge that we will be able to tap into and share with
the local sports fraternity.”
“Local coaches, officials, and athletes will get a chance
to learn and share best practices and ideas from the best in their field. In
addition, these sporting superstars will also be a source of inspiration and
encouragement to aspiring young athletes in Singapore. This certainly
contributes to the advancement of Sporting Singapore."