Elite swim squads converge on Thanyapura

Although 2013 is just six weeks old, the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) has already welcomed a galaxy of swimming stars from the Dutch, Hungarian and British national swim teams.

Hero of the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games and one of the greatest swimmers of all time, Pieter van den Hoogenband, headed an all-star elite group from the Dutch national team for a high performance training camp at TSLC on 13th January, along with fellow Olympic gold medalists Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Femke Heemskerk, with Dutch national team coach Jacco Verhaeren and Royal Dutch Swimming Federation Elite Swimming Team Manager Aad van Groningen.

Two Italian 'rock stars' of the pool, Filippo Magnini and Federica Pellegrini, along with coach Matteo Guinta, also dropped in to 'jam' with their fellow Olympic gold medallists. The Olympic gold medallists and former world record holders, the Italian pair caused a stir when they posed naked for the cover of Vanity Fair in 2012.

TSLC hosted two media sessions on 17th January, during the swim training session where Coach Verhaeren and Pieter van den Hoogenband will be available, and also during lunch at DiVine, where all athletes and coaches will be available for media interviews and photography.

Van den Hoogenband's credentials as one of the greats of the pool are unquestioned: the 2000 World Swimmer of the Year began his gold rush at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where he faced world record holder Ian Thorpe in the 200 metre freestyle and beat the home crowd favourite in a world record time, while in the 100 metre freestyle he set a world record in the semi-finals before beating the great Alexander Popov to win the gold medal.

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he again won gold in the 100 metre freestyle while by finishing ahead of Michael Phelps in the 200 metre freestyle for the silver and also in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, he became the only swimmer ever to beat Phelps twice in Olympic competition.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo, whose exotic name attests to her Dutch-Javanese-Surinamese heritage was a triple Olympic champion with gold medals in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in the 50 metre freestyle and 100 metre freestyle at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Femke Heemskerk is another freestyle specialist who also excels in backstroke and medley, and is part of the world record-holding Dutch 4x100 metre freestyle relay team, as well as part of the Dutch team that holds the 4x200 metre freestyle relay world record.

Federica Pellegrini, meantime, is a former world record holder in the 200 metre and 400 metre freestyle, 200 metre freestyle gold medallist at the 2008 Olympics, as well as the first female to break the four minute barrier for the 400 metre freestyle and Italy's first female swimming gold medallist. Filippo Magnani is a four times World Champion, twice in the 100 metre freestyle, and in the 100 metre and 200 metre freestyle relays. He is also an Olympic bronze medallist from the 2004 games.

Following the Dutch team's high performance sessions, next out of the blocks was the Hungarian national team training camp from 22nd January, followed by the Liaoning Swim Team from China from 27th January for an intensive coaching camp with Australian legend Stephan Widmer, and then the British national team's elite arrived at Thanyapura for a high performance training camp from 4th February.

TSLC Director of Sports Academies Craig Johns said the stellar line up was a brilliant start to 2013 and continuing evidence of Thanyapura assuming its place as one of the world's leading venues for elite athletes seeking an extra edge in performance.

Johns explained "it's such a thrill to see great champions like Pieter van den Hoogenband lined up to visit us here and train, as well as more recent stars like the Dutch women.

"So far, every elite athlete who has trained here at TSLC has come away wowed with the facilities and the entire project. The next two months will cement our place as a serious force in the sport and we expect the stars of world swimming will continue to shine at Thanyapura."

The Aquatics Academy, where the Dutch and other elite swimmers trained, is the jewel in the crown of the TSLC megaplex. It includes a 50 metre Olympic-standard outdoor swimming pool with electronic timing system, coaches' observation window and a 600-seater shaded grandstand, plus state-of-the-art ozone filtration system and anti-turbulence lane ropes. There is also an adjacent 25 metre outdoor swimming pool with its own coaching platform.

Thanyapura President Robert Hauck said TSLC was in high gear now, concluding "it was always envisioned that Thanyapura would become a training retreat or even a base for elite sports teams from all over the world.

"Swimming is leading the way, but other sports will follow." 

For more information go to www.thanyapura.com

Images: The 50 metre pool at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (top) and Jacco Verhaeren (below).

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