There was a bit of playful text messaging going on Friday between retired swimmer Grant Hackett,the near decade-long holder of the 1,500m free world record,and his former coach Denis Cotterell. The subject was Sun Yang,the 18-year-old Chinese now under Cotterells tutelage who came within a second of breaking Hacketts world record the previous night. Yang won the 1,500 at the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 14 minutes,35.43 seconds,the best time since Hacketts 14:34.56 at the world championships in Fukuoka,Japan in July 2001. Denis told me that he thought Sun would break the world record next year, Hackett said. And I told him I thought he was coaching him just a bit too good. Today,we were texting each other,and even Denis was surprised that he almost broke my record this year. But really,it should be no surprise with that kind of talent. After last years worlds in Rome,Hackett said he was surprised his record didnt fall during the period of polyurethane and neoprene full-body suits that improved buoyancy and speed. More than 250 world records were posted in the pool from 2008 when the suits were first allowed,including 43 world marks at Rome,until they were banned at the start of 2010. I would have been a little bit upset to see the record go under the fast suits, Hackett said. But to see it done naturally,and Im sure it will go,is much more rewarding for me as well. Sun,who finished third in the 1,500 at the last worlds,said after his win on Thursday that his training under Cotterell was the reason for his improvement nearly 13 seconds from his previous best in the distance. I have gone through many things this year,training very hard in many places like Australia and Athens, Sun said. The training environments were very challenging. My time reflects my training. Cotterell often uses Hacketts record as a motivator in sessions at his Gold Coast training centre south of Brisbane. Denis says when they slack off,he pulls out my training times from before, Hackett laughed. He jokes that Grant wouldnt have done that. Ive not met Sun,but he sounds like there is nothing arrogant about him and he is a real talent.DENNIS PASSA
