However, Clareburt and his coach have one major problem – the lack of a specialist training facility in the capital. Hollywood said Clareburt’s lung function is 15% above average, which coupled with his great speed make him world-class. I talked to Adam Allen, his strength and conditioning coach and said ‘make him stronger, but don’t make him bigger’. ”For a 400IMer, you look at a 4-minute miler. “He just did too much work in the gym, and there was too much resistance in the water. “I learnt lessons from the Australians when Eamon Sullivan as taking to the AIS, he was a 100/50m freestyler,” Hollywood said. Lewis Clareburt heads towards his third medal of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.Īffected by Covid, having his wisdom teeth removed and a stomach bug, Clareburt delivered a brave performance to finish fourth at the world champs in June and then improved his time by two seconds to win in Birmingham.Ĭlareburt is in impressive physical shape but is not an imposing figure like some swimmers and that’s how Hollywood likes it. It appeared an Olympic medal was well within reach in Tokyo last year when he was the second-fastest qualifier but couldn’t back that up, finishing seventh in the final after admitting he struggled with the unusual schedule of heats in the evening and finals in the morning. He was included two months later due to his ranking of seventh in the Commonwealth in the 400m individual medley and other sports not being able to fill their athlete quota, and showed why he deserved his spot with a bronze in the 400IM.īronze at the 2019 world champs in South Korea in the same event – which consists of two laps each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle – confirmed his top-flight ability, becoming just the fifth New Zealander to win a medal at the world championships and first male to do so since the great Danyon Loader in 1994. was: ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the best place for you right now is to stay here with me’.” Climbing the ladderĬlareburt won eight gold medals at the NZ Age Group championships in 2017 but missed out on the initial selection announcement for the 2018 Commonwealth Games three days before Christmas. I’ve always believed there was someone better that can take my athletes to the next stage. ”My best honest advice – and I had to pause, because throughout my career I’ve never backed myself. “The High Performance centre in Auckland wasn’t really working as I could see – we had a nice guy, an American, but Jan Cameron used to tell me Americans never stayed in New Zealand, and she was right. You could get a scholarship and a great education, but Americans don’t care about the Commonwealth Games, it’s about the NCAAs. “I said to him ‘really the States isn’t the place for you. ”And he asked me: ‘I’m not sure – what should I be looking to do? Where should I be looking to go? I’ve only got a couple of years left to go at school and I need to be thinking about options.’
“When he was 16, I walked through his door – at his pool in Wellington. Hollywood, who coached in the UK and Australia before landing in New Zealand, said Clareburt was pondering his future in the pool when they first met. Renowned for offering A New Game Every Day!® on Big Fish Games distributes more than two million games per day worldwide.Lewis Clareburt, right, with his bronze medal from the men's 400m Individual Medley at the 2019 world championships in Gwangju, South Korea. We offer a virtually endless selection of interactive games that you can enjoy anytime, anywhere - on your PC, Mac, mobile phone, or tablet.
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