DOUBLE OLYMPIC CHAMPION IN LONG-DISTANCE SWIMMING: AT THE X-BIONIC® SPHERE SHE TRAINED FOR THE LAST OLYMPICS OF HER LIFE
Dutch Sharon van Rouwendaal (31) made history this summer when she beat rival Australian Moesha Johnson in the last lap of the 10km race to swim to the trophy with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 34.2 seconds. Her repeat gold in this event is the first in the sport’s history. In an exclusive interview, the world’s best long-distance swimmer not only revealed that her participation in the Olympics was actually in jeopardy, but surprised us with her plans for the future.
After the silver at the Tokyo Olympics, you defended the gold again this year in Paris. Did you expect it?
I started this year very well, I won two gold medals at the World Championships in Doha in February. After such a result, I naturally expected gold at the Olympics as well. However, in May my beloved dog Rio (named after the Olympic gold she won at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil) died unexpectedly and I was going through a very difficult time. My emotions overwhelmed me, swimming in a sense got sidelined and the Olympics stopped mattering to me. However, at the end of June I told myself that I had to get over the difficult emotions and try to concentrate more on swimming. So about three weeks before the Olympics, I mentally set myself up to win and started believing in my strength again. I went to Paris determined to stand on the podium again with a gold medal, which I narrowly missed in Tokyo. I resolved to become a two-time Olympic champion and to give it my all.
How did you feel in Paris? Was it different from Rio or Tokyo?
I lived in France from the age of eight to sixteen and then again from twenty to twenty-seven. So I really love Paris, I felt at home during the Olympics. It was emotional because all the people I met during my life in France were watching my performances. Many of them sat in the stands, like my very first swimming coach, who I had when I was eight years old. It was great to hear the cheering of the spectators. In Rio, again, there was a crazy Brazilian atmosphere. I liked the Tokyo Olympics the least, because it was during a pandemic and it was all so strange.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement so far? Which medal do you value the most?
When I won my first gold medal in Rio, I had no idea it wouldn’t be my last. That’s why it was one of the strongest moments of my sporting career. A certain sense of satisfaction also contributed to it, as I had a difficult year during which I suffered a shoulder injury. And now I’ve won gold again at the Olympics, this time after a mentally difficult period. It is even more precious for me not only because I managed to win it again, but also because it happened in a country that I have a warm relationship with. Moreover, I did it not for myself, but for my loved ones. I always try to swim for others. So yes, in Paris those emotions were much stronger and this victory means more to me.
Are you already thinking about preparing for the next Olympics?
This was my last Olympics, I won’t go to any more. I made that decision before Paris. In the next four months I will also have to decide whether I will continue my career or just stay with coaching and training. Alongside swimming, I have been coaching people online for a year now, offering training courses and workshops for triathletes, distance swimmers and normal swimmers who want to improve. I also organise camps for people aged 16 and over. There may be kids camps coming up too, but at the moment it’s triathlon camps.
How does your current “after Olympics” period look like?
I am in Mallorca where I am doing courses for a group of swimmers and distance swimmers. I teach them techniques in the morning in a fifty meter pool and in the afternoon open water swimming in the ocean. In between, I go back home to the Netherlands and make trips to other countries to train athletes. I would also like to be in your resort again for say three or four weeks as part of a camp and train a team of athletes with you in this way. I enjoyed my time with you because you took fantastic care of me, I had a very good time training with you. It was my first time with you, but I knew it wouldn’t be the last time.
Where did you hear about the Slovak Olympic Training Centre?
I heard about the x-bionic® sphere from other athletes. If I had found out about it earlier, I would have come here more often to prepare for competitions. It was the perfect place for me to prepare because I don’t like to be surrounded by a lot of other people and I don’t like chaos and hustle. I try to shadow other Olympic athletes as much and as long as possible before the Olympics. I just like to be by myself and I like a certain home atmosphere. And the x-bionic® sphere was the place where that came true for me.
A distance swimmer has to swim large volumes in preparation. How much time did you spend in the x-bionic® aquatic sphere pool each day?
I normally train in the pool for two to two and a half hours within 1 training unit. However, when a race is coming up, the volume is reduced to about an hour and a half. If I add in a warm-up, I’m spending about 5-6 hours in the pool each day.
What did you like most about the resort?
I liked the cosy hotel room and the food. The proximity to the airport is also an advantage. In addition, there was an equestrian competition going on during my stay, so I sat in the stands, turned off my head for a while and forgot that there was an Olympics. The x-bionic® sphere had a relaxed and laid-back atmosphere, which kept me stress-free about what was ahead of me, and I only thought about the races during my training sessions. As I mentioned before, I think it would be a great location for my camps and classes as well. I hope to see you more often.
Source: x-bionic® sphere
