| Q. |
Was it a hard decision to hang up the
togs? |
| A. |
It was always going to be hard.
The fact that I've been injured the past few years just made it easier
for me. I couldn't do what I wanted to do and it was just making me
frustrated because I was working hard and not getting the results. |
| Q. |
How painful were the last few years? |
| A. |
Extremely painful. Before I
had surgery after Sydney, I was dislocating my shoulder every time
I swam. The surgery fixed that, but I never felt like a normal swimmer.
It wasn't how I wanted to remember the sport that I'd been doing since
I was six years old, I didn't want to lose my love for the swimming.
|
| Q. |
Are you upset your career had to end
this way? |
| A. |
I think whatever you do, you
have this idea of the dream finale. For me, I guess I didn't have
that. I finished third at the nationals, which was my last swim, and
I've battled away every since then. |
| Q. |
What was your greatest career achievement? |
| A. |
My silver medal behind Kieren
Perkins in Atlanta in 1996. It just capped off a great week to finish
behind such a great champion. It was such a fantastic effort by Kieren
and it was amazing to be a part of that. |
| Q. |
Was that your best chance at winning
an individual Olympic gold medal? |
| A. |
Definitely. Very few people
get more than one opportunity to win and I missed out on that opportunity.
I'd backed myself for years, but I've put that behind me now and moved
on. |
| Q. |
Did it bother you that you were often
in the shadow of Perkins and, later in your career, Grant Hackett? |
| A. |
I'd be lying if I didn't say
it was frustrating. But I guess that did drive me a bit. Out sport
wouldn't be where it is today without Kieren. We never really had
a rivalry, we were great teammates and great friends. He was the first
person to call me after I text-messaged friends telling the, about
my retirement. |
| Q. |
How many kilometres do you reckon you
clocked up in the pool during your career? |
| A. |
Too many. You'd have to add
up 70-80km a week doe the last 10 years and then everything else before
that. |
| Q. |
Are you going to miss the smell of chlorine? |
| A. |
I'm not going to miss the smell
of chlorine, the early starts, or being in a certain place at a certain
time. I'm just looking forward to sitting back and relaxing, although
I crave routine, so I'll probably have to find it in some other way
now. |
| Q. |
What are your plans in retirement?
|
| A. |
I hope to say involved in swimming
in some level. I'm really looking forward to moving back to Melbourne.
I've been on the Gold Coast for the past three years. I'm hoping there'll
be more opportunities in Melbourne. I'll be writing a book and finding
my feet. |
| Q. |
Do you still think you'll find yourself
waking up at the crack of dawn? |
| A. |
My bladder always gets me up at 4.45am
without fail, so unless I drink less at night, I'm going to be in
a bit of bother. |
