Polish National Swimming Team Trains at Wesleyan
Olivia Drake| Posted 07/12/05 Updated 07.25.05 |
| Olympic Champion Otylia Jedrzejczak, who also holds the world record in the 200-meter butterfly (2:05.78), was one of 17 athletes on the Polish National Swimming Team who trained at Wesleyan July 15 through July 21. The Polish squad was preparing for the World Championships to be held in Montreal, Quebec from July 24-31.
It is customary for international teams to do time-zone acclimation training, according to Brad Flood, head women’s swimming coach at the University of Bridgeport. Flood has been working with the Polish National team for more than a dozen years and recruited a number of their talented performers for both the University of Iowa and Central Connecticut State University. “Athletes usually need one day of training for each hour of time-zone difference and there is a six hour time difference between here and Poland,” Flood says. In addition to eight two-hour practice sessions in Wesleyan University’s Natatorium the Polish squad practiced at the Cheshire YMCA outdoor facilities, since the World Championships in Montreal will be held outdoors. While 2004 Olympic gold medalist Jedrzejczak, currently ranked first in the world in the 200 butterfly by FINA, is the headliner of the Polish squad, a number of other swimmers are among the world’s elite in their events. This includes Pawel Korzeniowski who is ranked among the top 10 men in the world in both the 200-meter butterfly (third) and the 400-meter freestyle (10th). The practice sessions at Wesleyan were open to the public. |
| By Brian Katten, sports information director |
Andrew Chatfield
Mike Mavredakis