Perfect preparation … ironman Ky Hurst is quietly confident of his chances of qualifying for the Open Water swim at the London Olympics. Source: Supplied
SURF star Ky Hurst believes a new diet and a hectic schedule of surf lifesaving and ironman racing could see him ride a wave of success all the way to the London Olympics.
Originally planning to concentrate solely on his ironman career in 2011 and 2012, Hurst is now nutting out a new schedule after his unexpected victory in the 10km open water swim at the Australian championships on the weekend put him back in the mix for Olympic selection.
“I’m quietly confident I can get this,” Hurst said of being able to qualify for the London Olympics with a top 10 result or being the first swimmer from Oceania to finish the 10km open water swim at the world titles in China mid-year.
“As I said ironman is my priority. It pays the bills. But I think they complement each other. I haven’t felt this good since 2009 when I won silver at the worlds in the 5km and that was after a heavy surf program.”
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related CoverageMcCormack’s Olympic Games dream The Daily Telegraph, 17 Feb 2011
The young gun ready to roll Thorpe The Daily Telegraph, 2 Feb 2011
Spotlight: ironman Ky Hurst The Daily Telegraph, 15 Jan 2011
Jaded and bored but still a champ Courier Mail, 9 Jan 2011
Ironman champ has lost his passion The Daily Telegraph, 9 Jan 2011
.End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
As the 29-year-old had not contested a 10km event since the Beiing Olympics where he finished 11th, Hurst, who has stripped 3kg off his body since January, had to finish a 1500m swim under 16min a fortnight ago just to be eligible to race the 10km on the weekend.
Joining Hurst and 10km second placegetter Rhys Mainstone on the team to travel to Shanghai for the word swimming titles in July are Codie and Trent Grimsey, the first brothers to gain selection in a national open water team.
Codie yesterday finished second and Trent third behind New Zealander Cain Radford at the Australian 5km open water championship to secure their selection.
It was the first time Codie, 20, has beaten his older brother in a major race with 15-year-old Bonnie McDonald beating Danielle DeFrancesco to defend her women’s crown and also book a spot in the team heading to China.
Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source