By Ross Karl
It is hard to be the best if you are slow out of the blocks.
That is why Commonwealth Games backstroke silver medallist Gareth Kean has a new one.
The latest piece of equipment at Wellington's Freyberg Pool could help Kean make a bigger splash, when he heads to the Olympics next year.
While Kean shaved two seconds off the national record in the 200 backstroke in Delhi clocking 1:57, slow starts were a problem.
He was not helped by old fashioned training blocks. So a few months ago SPARC helped provide brand new ones.
“Just having day-to-day use of the sort of block I’m going to be using in the competition internationally is a huge start to develop over time. It won't happen immediately but being able to use it day-to-day is just a huge advantage for me,” he says.
His coach, 1978 Commonwealth 200 back gold medallist Gary Hurring, likes what he is seeing before next month's world champs.
“I believe it's going to be quite a large improvement. The proof is going to be in the pudding and we'll see what the statistical analysis at the world champs come out to look like, and that's when we really want to compare apples with apples, when he's in full racing mode.”
Hurring says Kean's speed above the water is world class but turns are another place time can be made up.
“In terms of going under the water and through the actual explosive part of the swim I’m lacking at the moment,” says Kean.
“I guess that just comes down to a lot of strength conditioning throughout my legs and core.”
The commerce student posted the world's seventh best time last year.
A repeat of his two second improvement will make waves.
“A 1:55 should be a medal at the world champs and possibly even the London Olympics so I really just want to break as quickly as I can into that group and hopefully improve on it next year,” he says.
And signal the start of big things for Gareth Kean.
3 News