China’s Wu Peng, the man who ended nearly a decade of domination by Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly, said a change in his training regime and a strong season had given him the confidence to aim for a medal at next year’s London Olympics.
Wu’s good season included two victories over 14-time Olympic champion Phelps, ending the American’s 60-race winning streak in the 200m which had spanned nine years.
A repeat victory over Phelps in London would be difficult, however, Wu told Reuters in a television interview.
Photo: Reuters
“I have to say he has a stronger ability than most of the other swimmers, so it is very difficult to beat him again at the Olympic Games,” Wu said.
“But I still have confidence not just to aim to beat him, but to basically perform at the best of my ability,” he said.
Wu made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Athens Games aged 17, progressing to the final stages of the 200m butterfly. He again missed out on a medal at the Beijing Games in 2008, finishing joint fourth.
“The London Olympics might be the last time I participate in the Olympic Games. For the past two Olympics that I have participated in, I have reached the finals,” Wu said.
“So I hope to improve on that in London and be amongst the medalists. This is what I am -aiming for,” he added.
A native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Wu said leaving China to train in Michigan in the US had helped him to improve his performances.
The move also eased pressure on the swimmer who had carried China’s hopes for Olympic success in the pool at the Beijing Games.
“My overall performance has been good this year so that has reaffirmed some of the training that I have had in the United States,” Wu said.
“After I return to the US next year, I want to work harder on the details and hope for a good performance in the Olympics,” he said.
Looking beyond next year’s London Games, Wu said he planned to focus more on studying.
ROLE MODEL
He said fellow swimmers could learn lessons from Ian Thorpe’s difficult comeback attempt.
Australia’s five-time Olympic champion retired from competitive swimming in 2006, but returned this season with a string of disappointing results, dampening expectations of a fairytale comeback ahead of the Olympic Games.
“I feel that it is not easy for him,” Wu said.
“As age catches up with him and as the sport of swimming develops, I feel it has not been easy for him to make this decision. So he is someone whom a lot of us can learn from,” he said.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS