https://www.fina-budapest2017.com/en/news/428/danube-arena-welcomed-olympic-and-world-champion-guests
Danube Arena welcomed Olympic and
world champion guests
2017.04.25. 10:32 CET
One of them is preparing for the 17th World Championships to be held in Budapest with a
new coach, another one with a packet of parmesan and the third one with a camera in his
hand. They look up to different athletes as their role models, namely Therese Alshammar,
Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali, respectively. One of them loved swimming from the
very first moment, the second one does not even like cold water up to now and the third one
did not dare to get into the shower at all in his childhood. What is common in the trio of
Sarah Sjöström, Gregorio Paltrinieri and Adam Peaty? All three claimed Olympic gold medal
in Rio and all of them won the World Championships in Kazan – and they were the first
international swimmers the new Danube Arena welcomed.
The three greats swimmers arrived in Hungary, more precisely in Danube Arena at the
invitation of Arena, the official partner of FINA. All of them may play key roles at the 17th
FINA World Championships this summer. Seizing the opportunity of the one-day photoshooting they looked around in the newly built arena and tried the pool, in which they hope
to achieve outstanding results in July.
“The swimming pool is awesome and I was glad to see it before the World Championships”
said Sarah Sjöström, Olympic champion of Rio in 100 m butterfly. She is the first female
Swedish swimmer who could win individual Olympic gold medal. Since last November she
has been preparing with a new coach, and apparently it was a change for the better as
Sjöström is leading the world ranking in four events. “Certainly the priority is still 50 and
100 m butterfly, but we have started to work on my sprint technique in freestyle which has
already proved to be effective, because in Stockholm I swam my personal best in both 50
and 100 m freestyle. I am looking forward to seeing what I can achieve through hard work
in freestyle in the World Championships.”
Though her programme has extended, Sarah does not plan to follow in the footsteps of allaround swimmer, Katinka Hosszú: “The Iron Lady is one of a kind. I will stick to the four
sprint events, because regeneration takes much time between the events. Moreover,
Katinka competes in the most demanding events, incredible!’
“I am absolutely fascinated by the Arena, it is extremely spacious, the lights are good”
Gregorio Paltrinieri went into raptures about Danube Arena. The Olympic champion in
1500 freestyle was delighted not only about his visit to Budapest, but also because his
favourite team, Juventus, went on to the semi-final in the UEFA Champions League. “I was
there in Torino, when we defeated Barca by 3-0. It was a wonderful experience and a huge
victory!” Looking for new challenges Paltrinieri recently tried himself in open water and he
finished fourth in 10 km of the European Cup in Eilat. “I liked it very much and I am
planning to enter more open water races later, but definitely not in the World
Championships. There I will compete only in the pool in 800 and 1500 m freestyle.” As for
the preparation, no surprise, as an Italian, in addition to trainings he cares about what to
put in his baggage. “I am not going anywhere without some parmesan cheese. I somehow
manage to find some pasta abroad, but the original Parmigiano Reggiano is available in Italy
only, so I always take some with me wherever I go.”
Adam Peaty, who won Olympic gold medal in 100 m breaststroke in Rio as the first male
British swimmer after 28 years, took advantage of the opportunity to see the new Danube
Arena, he even made some video recordings. “I am a visual person pretty much, I like to
observe venues I am about to compete in, I watched a lot of 360 videos of Rio back then, as
well. Now I am glad to be here. The Arena is beautiful, it is spacious and bright. The
grandstands can seat a huge amount of fans which definitely inspires me. As soon as I saw
the pool I knew that it would be a fast one” he said, while looking around fascinated.
Although he claimed world-leading times both in 50 and 100 m breaststroke at the British
Championships held last week, Peaty hit the headlines after giving away his latest gold
medal to a 10-year-old young fan. “He was screaming my name and asking for an autograph,
but I did not have a pen, I could not give anything else but my medal” told the Brits’ flower.
“That is what sport is about, giving inspiration for the younger generation. If that medal
inspires him for a week, a year or four years, I will be glad, since it is part of our job as
sportsmen.”
Adam Peaty was popular among the kids training in Danube Arena, too, and he was pleased
to stop even for a selfie. Whether another young fan could be happy for getting a medal
from him in the World Championships this summer, “depends on how many medals I win”
smiled Peaty whose target will definitely be world record in Budapest.