Japan Open: Aussie Breaststrokers Diving Into The Deep End Against Japanese Guns
A select group of 13 Australian breaststrokers, under the guidance of two-time Olympic head coach Leigh Nugent, have dived head-first into one of the swimming’s hottest melting pots in Japan this week.
Their aim: “To lift Australia’s standards in breaststroke swimming and to prepare swimmers to perform under pressure” and to further bolster the depth of a National team that topped the gold medal tally at this year’s World Aquatics Championship – winning six of the 12 freestyle gold medals on offer.
In the six breaststroke finals Australia finished with one medal – silver to Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook in the 200; fourth to Sam Williamson in the men’s 50m and seventh to Abbey Harkin in the women’s 200m.
This squad, without Stubblety-Cook, Harkin and Olympian Jenna Strauch, includes Tokyo Olympic relay gold medallist Chelsea Hodges, who is on her way back from hip surgery, former world record holder over 200m breaststroke Matthew Wilson; four-time Commonwealth Games medallist Williamson and World Short Course gold medallist in the medley relay, Joshua Yong.
Chelsea Hodges in action. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)
The full National Breaststroke squad in Japan is:
MEN
Samuel Williamson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC), Coach: Craig Jackson*
Joshua Yong (UWA West Coast, WA) Coach: Ben Higson *
Matthew Wilson (SOPAC, NSW), Adam Kable
Haig Buckingham (SOPAC, NSW), Adam Kable
Bailey Lello (Chandler, QLD) Coach Vince Raleigh*
Nash Wilkes (Southport, QLD) Coach: Sean Eels*
Joshua Collett (Bond, QLD) Coach: Chris Mooney
William Petric (Nunawading, VIC) Coach: Jol Finck and;
Angus Menzies (Knox Pymble, NSW) Nick Dobson*
WOMEN:
Chelsea Hodges (Southport, QLD) Coach: Sean EelsCHEL
Matilda Smith (Miami, QLD) Coach: Richard Scarce
Talara-Jade Dixon (St Hildas, WA) Coach: Zoe Baker, and;
Tara Kinder (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) Coach: Craig Jackson
*Designates coaches on tour
And for breaststrokers – especially male – Japan has produced some off the greatest of all time.
The Australian contingent arrived into Tokyo’s Institute of Sport last Friday and after six days of training under a collaboration between Japanese and Australian coaches, the athletes will line up for two pre-Christmas meets, starting in Tokyo at the four-day Japan Open from Thursday and the Queensland State Championships from December 9-15.
Leigh Nugent – Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia
“We have set up a combined initiative with the Japanese to train together and work together with their coaches – a collaboration between us (Swimming Australia) and the Japanese coaches,” said Nugent, who has vast experience in developing successful breaststrokers and staging successful camps programs.
“The Australian contingent has had training sessions and coaching discussions, with five Japanese coaches working alongside our six Australian coaches with invaluable conversations around the non-negotiables of swimming breaststroke and (highlighting) underwater skills and it’s been very good.
“It’s fantastic when you get a group of breaststrokers together as we so often have large groups of freestylers in Australia working together but breaststrokers so often train in isolation in their programs.
“But when you get them all together sometimes you’ve got to hold them back a bit because it becomes a bit more competitive.
“We are starting to get them ready to race so we are holding fire right now until racing starts on Thursday but there are some good signs in the group and they look pretty good actually.
“Although they are all trying to produce their best at the Queensland State Championships, I think we are going to see some reasonable swimming out of some of them.”
Nugent knows they are going to be challenged when racing gets underway in Tokyo, up against the Japanese who are traditionally the strongest breaststroke swimming nation in the world.
“That’s why we’ve come here; to lift our standards and prepare our swimmers to perform under a lot of pressure,” said Nugent.
“To make the A finals here is going to be tough…especially for our men…you are going to have to swim 2:10 or better to make the final of the 200m and perhaps around 59 high to make the final of the 100m breaststroke.
“It’s not going to be easy, and the IMs are always tough as is the fly and backstroke.
“The freestyle is where our strength is and our weakness are in the form strokes and this trip to Japan is part of trying to address that.”
Swimming Australia will also continue its “Next Generation Camps” after Queensland States – small groups attending focused camps on strokes at the AIS.
Nunawading head coach Finck will spearhead an IM group while Olympic gold medal coach Shannon Rollason will be at the helm of an emerging breaststroke group from December 17-23.
They will be followed by, butterfly, backstroke, and a women’s freestyle relay camp next February.