AUSTRALIA 
Hackett's coach says swimmer needs protecting from himself
Thursday, 24 July, 2008
Olympic swimmer Grant Hackett looks at the timer after breaking his own 800m freestyle World Record by almost two seconds in Melbourne on July 20. (AAP)
Australian Grant Hackett is so unsparing on his own body in the pursuit of an unprecedented third 1500-metre freestyle Olympic gold medal that he has to be protected from himself, his coach has said.
If Hackett, 28, secures his third Olympic gold medal in the event he will be the first man in 104 years to win the same swimming event in three consecutive Games.
RELATED: Records mean nothing without Oly medals
In sickness and in health
Hackett has had a catalogue of illnesses during his tapering process at major meets and was troubled by pneumonia in the lead-up to the 2004 Athens Olympics.
His coach Ian Pope said he has been working on ways to prevent Hackett from over-training himself.
"The thing with Grant is that he will keep driving himself and sometimes you've just got to say 'stop'," Pope told The Australian newspaper Thursday.
"You can train hard but your body needs time to recover. And he's come to realise that's how he's remained healthy, that you don't have to drive yourself into a hole and then get sick.
"You drive yourself to the edge but you don't go over the edge. It's a fine balance, a fine line."
Boy in a bubble
Hackett is taking no chances before next month's Games and revealed this month that he wears a mask over his face when he flies, shuns public areas as much as possible and avoids touching handrails and wash basins unnecessarily to keep himself free from germs.
"He's amazing. He deserves everything he gets because the number of times you set a standard and then he goes and breaks it at training because he's just so driven," Pope said.
"He'll challenge himself even more. The great thing about Grant is that he's always thinking 'next time'."
Chasing Olympic legends
Hackett is confronting something that was beyond Olympic greats Alexander Popov and Kieren Perkins.
Popov, arguably the greatest sprinter, and distance swimmer Perkins both fell agonisingly short, winning gold at their first two attempts only to be relegated to silver as they sought a hat-trick of Olympic gold.
Learn by watching
Pope said that in Hackett's relentless pursuit of perfection they have used video aids to help with his stroke technique.
Pope said he set up a time delay to a training poolside monitor so that Hackett can swim into the wall, then raise his head to check out his technique on the screen in front of him.
"This is the way Grant learns fastest, through visual images," Pope said. "I can say something about his technique day after day and he still falls back into old habits but when he sees himself he says 'Geez, is that what I'm doing'?"
Source: AFP
If Hackett, 28, secures his third Olympic gold medal in the event he will be the first man in 104 years to win the same swimming event in three consecutive Games.
RELATED: Records mean nothing without Oly medals
In sickness and in health
Hackett has had a catalogue of illnesses during his tapering process at major meets and was troubled by pneumonia in the lead-up to the 2004 Athens Olympics.
His coach Ian Pope said he has been working on ways to prevent Hackett from over-training himself.
"The thing with Grant is that he will keep driving himself and sometimes you've just got to say 'stop'," Pope told The Australian newspaper Thursday.
"You can train hard but your body needs time to recover. And he's come to realise that's how he's remained healthy, that you don't have to drive yourself into a hole and then get sick.
"You drive yourself to the edge but you don't go over the edge. It's a fine balance, a fine line."
Boy in a bubble
Hackett is taking no chances before next month's Games and revealed this month that he wears a mask over his face when he flies, shuns public areas as much as possible and avoids touching handrails and wash basins unnecessarily to keep himself free from germs.
"He's amazing. He deserves everything he gets because the number of times you set a standard and then he goes and breaks it at training because he's just so driven," Pope said.
"He'll challenge himself even more. The great thing about Grant is that he's always thinking 'next time'."
Chasing Olympic legends
Hackett is confronting something that was beyond Olympic greats Alexander Popov and Kieren Perkins.
Popov, arguably the greatest sprinter, and distance swimmer Perkins both fell agonisingly short, winning gold at their first two attempts only to be relegated to silver as they sought a hat-trick of Olympic gold.
Learn by watching
Pope said that in Hackett's relentless pursuit of perfection they have used video aids to help with his stroke technique.
Pope said he set up a time delay to a training poolside monitor so that Hackett can swim into the wall, then raise his head to check out his technique on the screen in front of him.
"This is the way Grant learns fastest, through visual images," Pope said. "I can say something about his technique day after day and he still falls back into old habits but when he sees himself he says 'Geez, is that what I'm doing'?"
Source: AFP
