Kitajima wants to win in style

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-05 09:03

Japanese swimming ace Kosuke Kitajima relishes the role of the challenger, but he will have to adopt that of the favorite when he defends his 100m and 200m Olympic breaststroke titles in Beijing.

It was as a challenger that Kitajima won the double gold haul in Athens four years ago when his American rival Brendan Hansen had smashed his world records in both distances on the eve of the Games.

Now, however, it is the 25-year-old butcher's son who is in the ascendancy, after beating Hansen's 200m world record by 0.99 seconds and setting a new one of 2:07.51 at a domestic meet in June.

He told the Japan Times recently that he would prefer not to be seen as favorite. "People may think of me that way, though. I'd like to go as a challenger. I'd like to go with a mind-set that I want to be the best, not with a mind-set that I'm the best," he said.

Kitajima, however, does have a lot to prove. He has not beaten Hansen head to head since 2005 while the American, who will be 27 in August, has kept breaking records.

And he is already applying the pressure on himself. "I only have the gold medals on my mind. I won't come home if I don't get them," he said.

Kitajima, who will be wearing his now trademark Speedo's blockbuster LZR Racer swimsuit in Beijing after being given the go ahead by the Japanese Swimming Federation, first came to prominence when he finished fourth in the 100m at the 2000 Sydney Games, then the best ever finish for a Japanese male swimmer in a country with little tradition in the sport.

His first world-class victory came at the 2002 Pan-Pacific championships when he won the 100m, followed by double gold medals at the 2002 Asian Games where he set his first world record of 2:09.97 in the 200m.

Relatively small at 1.77m and 72kg, Kitajima is known for his efficient swimming style, compared to Hansen's powerful strokes.

After building up his muscles, Kitajima has expanded the length of his strokes by 1.5 times this year to match his big kicks, in what his coach Norimasa Hirai calls "four-wheel-drive swimming."

Kitajima, who arrived in Beijing looking like David Beckham with his hair cut short and sporting a fashionable beard, says that shopping is one of his big outside interests.

"I love fashion," he said. "One of the ways I can relax is by going shopping and buy things that will change the way I feel."

He also likes driving but has little opportunity to do so. "I'm always overseas, so I just drive the car we have at home."

Kitajima tends to keep any fear he has to himself, unlike his American rival who is prone to display nerves.

"I don't know his personality, though, I wouldn't say it's reverse (of mine). I think he's such a serious person, however. He'll come in the Olympics being so nervous," he said.

He is determined to rise to the challenge at Beijing.

"I'd like to give everything I have so I won't have any regrets. The Olympics are so special to me. If I'm asked if I was perfect in Sydney and Athens, I wasn't. I think that this time I won't be able to win if I don't swim perfectly. But I've got confidence now," he said.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/05/2008 page5)