/ 12 October 2004

Now it’s six titles for Aussie swimming hero

Australia’s Brooke Hanson captured her record-setting sixth world title at the World Short-Course Swim Championships, completing a stunning effort on Monday with a 200m breaststroke crown.

The 26-year-old from Melbourne joined fellow Aussie Ian Thorpe, Americans Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps and East German Kristin Otto as the only swimmers to claim six crowns at a world or Olympic meet.

”To be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys for what I accomplished at this meet is amazing,” Hanson said.

Hanson won the 200m breaststroke in 2:21,68, 0,85 seconds ahead of American runner-up Amanda Beard, for her fifth individual title.

”I was relaxed,” Hanson said. ”I just got in there and said, ‘Let’s celebrate what you have done and swim the best you can.’ I was just shocked when I touched the wall.”

Hanson won the 50m breaststroke on Friday in 30,20 seconds and won the 100m individual medley in 1:00,01 on Saturday before joining Lisbeth Lenton, Sophie Edington and Jessica Schipper in setting a 4x100m medley relay world record of 3:54,95.

The Olympic 100m breaststroke silver medallist returned on Sunday to win the 100m breaststroke in 1:05,36 and took the 200m individual medley in 2:09,81.

”It was fantastic,” Beard said. ”She’s a very strong short-course swimmer. Her times have been fantastic. Good for her.”

Despite the week’s tremendous toll and a long flight from Australia, Hanson thrived under pressure even after a sleepless night contemplating her success.

”I’ve been telling my dad all day how bad I feel. It was hard,” Hanson said. ”This 26-year-old body is fading. I had the physios working overtime.”

Hanson surpassed the previous short-course one-meet title haul of five set by China’s Jing-yi Le in 1993. Her five individual titles beat the old mark of three by American Jenny Thompson and Slovakian Martina Moravcova in 1999.

”I just got out there and wanted to show the world I deserved to be regarded and make history,” Hanson said. ”I felt pretty rotten but I was glad to get lane three.”

After winning from the same lane as she used to take 50m and 100m breaststroke titles, Hanson shook her head in amazement when asked if she could have taken a run at seven titles.

”I can’t even think of one,” she said. ”To think of that, it’s amazing.”

What occupies Hanson’s mind now is buying a pink dress with her share of world-record prize money and taking a vacation with boyfriend Jared Clarke, whom she credited with helping motivate her to train.

”We pull each other out of bed at 4.30am in the morning and say, ‘Let’s swim 6k,”’ she said. ”It means a lot to have someone there with you.”

Hanson has been rewarded after she missed the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and settled for silver at Athens.

”The journey so far the last 10 years has been a roller-coaster,” Hanson said. ”What has happened at this meet and also the Olympics has been the icing on the cake for all of those hard years or work and those ups and downs.

”Obviously it has made me a tougher and stronger swimmer and that’s why I have competed so well here. I’m really enjoying my swimming at the moment and that’s why I have gotten the best results.”

Claiming Olympic gold at age 30 in Beijing is not an impossible quest for Hanson, even though she has not committed to staying in the pool that long.

”I’m taking it one meet at a time,” she said. ”I would love to go to Beijing and go one better and win a gold medal.”

Hanson is already looking forward to the world long-course championship in Montreal next July. And the Commonwealth Games in her hometown, Melbourne, are just nine months after that.

”There are a lot of goals to keep me going, a lot of meets to keep me motivated,” said Hanson, who smiled when she pondered the path to Beijing. ”After that, you might as well keep going.”

”I think Brooke Hanson is going to retire when she doesn’t enjoy swimming any more. That might never come.” — Sapa-AFP