World champ rower keeps mind on races
5/8/2008 16:57
New Zealand's hopeful for the men's single sculls Mahe Drysdale said today
that he will stick to his races during the Beijing Olympics without thinking
about his possibility for gold.
In a press conference held in the Main Press
Center, he said: "I feel so good now. I will focus on my race and try to perform
to my best."
He noted that he is progressing each day.
On the question of
whether he would retire after the Olympics, he said that he does not have any
plan for his rowing career after the Beijing Olympics.
"I don't have any
decision yet. My decision might come in a couple of weeks," the 30-year-old
rower said.
He also said that his pre-Olympics training is going well in
Beijing and he is ready for tough races.
Drysdale won the men's single sculls
in the last three World Championships and claimed the titles in three World Cup
contests over the past two years.
Despite being the reigning single sculls
world champion, Drysdale has gone a bumpy road in his qualification for the
Beijing Olympics. He fought a hard battle against Sydney Olympics Games gold
medalist and New Zealand's rowing legend Rob Waddell and won the spot for the
2008 Summer Olympics.
Drysdale holds dual citizenship of New Zealand and
Australia. In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, there is speculation that he
might turn to represent Australia in Beijing if he could not secure a place in
the New Zealand's qualified single sculls boat.
He had given up rowing to
concentrate on studying. But he wanted to give himself another chance in rowing
when he saw Waddell won the single sculls Olympic title in Sydney in 2000.
Xinhua
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