Michelle De Bruin has taken the first step towards resuming normal training, by getting back into the water just over a week after sustaining whip lash in a car accident.
The news is encouraging ahead of January's World Championships in Perth. The triple Olympic gold medallist said however: "I have my sights firmly set on Perth. I still want to go there but if I am not back into normal training in a months time I can forget about it".
She added: "My training has been affected, there is no doubt about that, so I will just have to wait to see the full extent of the damage".
De Bruin said of her return to the pool: "I tried to get back into the water before the weekend. I was really very limited compared with what I would be doing in my normal training sessions. I am just doing as much as I can but I can't do my normal routine".
She has been advised on the varying effect whiplash can have for different people. "I have been told that the recovery rate can take longer for some people than it does for others who could be affected for only two weeks. I do notice improvement and I am still hoping things will work out."
After getting through another cautiously brief session of "limited work" in the Kilkenny pool yesterday morning, De Bruin set off for further treatment from Olympic Council physio Marie Elaine Grant. "I am just doing as much as I can at this stage," she said. "Sure, being in the water can be therapeutic for people who just swim leisurely up and down but what I am doing is more demanding."
Meanwhile, Erik de Bruin has constructed a programme for Nick O'Hare. Sprinter O'Hare who competed at the Atlanta Games finds himself in the unusual position of not having a coach during his training.
"I have quit the Coolmine club and am now basically training on my own. I met Erik at the European championships in Vienna and he has been very helpful."
O'Hare, a final year student at the City of Dublin University is now affiliated to the Eastern Bay club and is afforded the use of a lane at the Total Fitness Sports centre, in Castleknock. "Erik's programme is totally different to what I have been doing. It is sprint specific and as such is ideal for me. Emphasis is on quality work with more land work to increase power. It's excellent."
O'Hare is part of a four-member Irish squad destined for a major long course meeting in Vienna later this month (Nov 21st-23rd). He will be seeking one of the two remaining places on the Irish team for Perth.
O'Hare is prepared to gamble in Vienna by not looking for a record time. "This will be a risk but I don't want wish to divert from Erik's training routine and jeopardise my chances of doing well in Perth if I am selected. Hopefully I will still be good enough to qualify for Perth." Adrian O'Connor, Chantal Gibney and Lee Kelleher are thinking along the same lines. The Dubliner would be very pleased with a repeat of the 50 metres freestyle record of 23.36 seconds which he set in Phoenix Arizona prior to Atlanta.
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