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Popov to take on Flying Dutchman in Barcelona
Moscow, July 10: Russian swimming legend and four-time Olympic gold medallist Alexander Popov will race in the next week`s world championships in Barcelona.
Moscow, July 10: Russian swimming legend and four-time Olympic gold medallist Alexander Popov will race in the next week's world championships in Barcelona.
He will be looking for a rematch with Dutchman Pieter Van Den Hoogenband, the 100m and 200m Olympic champion, who took the 100m freestyle European title from him in Berlin last year.
Popov, 30, left Australia for Switzerland last year after 10 years training at the Australian Institute of Sports in Canberra. He hopes to swim in next year's Athens Olympics, which would be his fourth games.
Popov followed his Russian coach, Gennadi Touretski, to Canberra in 1992. But Touretski's contract there was terminated last year after a series of incidents, including a court case involving banned steroids -- the case was eventually dropped for lack of evidence -- and two flight-rage outbursts aboard commercial airliners.
He will be looking for a rematch with Dutchman Pieter Van Den Hoogenband, the 100m and 200m Olympic champion, who took the 100m freestyle European title from him in Berlin last year.
Popov, 30, left Australia for Switzerland last year after 10 years training at the Australian Institute of Sports in Canberra. He hopes to swim in next year's Athens Olympics, which would be his fourth games.
Popov followed his Russian coach, Gennadi Touretski, to Canberra in 1992. But Touretski's contract there was terminated last year after a series of incidents, including a court case involving banned steroids -- the case was eventually dropped for lack of evidence -- and two flight-rage outbursts aboard commercial airliners.
Popov won gold medals for both the 50m and 100m sprints at Barcelona and Atlanta and took a silver medal in Sydney.
Bureau Report