DStv Channel 403 Wednesday, 27 November 2024

Stubblety-Cook staying calm amid swimming success

FUKUOKA - Australian success at the swimming world championships is driving on Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Zac Stubblety-Cook, but he cautioned against getting "overexcited" by his teammates' achievements.

Australian swimmers have won six gold medals and broken three world records in four days of competition so far in Fukuoka.

Ariarne Titmus started things off when she won the women's 400m freestyle in a world record time on the competition's opening night, before Australia's women's 4x100m freestyle team also set a new mark.

Mollie O'Callaghan then beat Titmus in the women's 200m freestyle on Wednesday to break a world record that had stood since 2009.

Stubblety-Cook is hoping to emulate that success but warned that "you can get caught up" in the mood in the Australian camp.

"You can get a bit overexcited by it all but you see people like Arnie (Titmus) step up and do what they do every day, and Mollie as well," he said.

"You definitely feed off that, for sure.

"That is exciting but you also have to put it in perspective and go back to that process and get the best out of yourself."

Stubblety-Cook is the world record-holder in the 200m breaststroke and he qualified from the heats in that event with a fastest time of 2min, 08.98sec.

He is is aiming to defend the 200m breaststroke world title that he won last year in Budapest.

That came hot on the heels of setting a new world record of 2:05.95 at the Australian trials the previous month.

The 24-year-old said it was "still a surreal feeling" to see his name beside the world record.

"I never thought that would actually happen, and I do have to put it into perspective and just step back," he said.

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