Following the initial feedback gathered from the ‘FINA Targeting Rio 2016 – Scholarships Programme’ participants post-FINA World Championships in Kazan, FINA established contact again with the young athletes training at the Thanyapura Centre in Phuket (THA) and asked them a few questions about their experience and the benefit of their intensive immersion into the road to Rio 2016 preparation programme.
While the participants all recognise having dramatically improved since the beginning of the programme in May 2015, the young talents often share a dream- to one day reach the a-standard qualifying times and swim on the lanes of their favourite champions.
FINA interviewed all swimmers taking part in the programme and decided to share Nepal’s Sofia Shah sincere and valuable insight about the “FINA Targeting Rio 2016 – Scholarships Programme’:
“My progress over the last five months has been significant. I’ve consistently swam faster times at each event since Kazan and broken a number of national records. I also feel that I achieve greater fitness week after week. I have changed the food I eat to a healthier diet plan and I’ve never felt better in the water.”
She added: “The main difference between my current training routine in Thanyapura and my programme back at home is the actual opportunity to train throughout the all year. My training routine was very inconsistent in Nepal due to the lack of facilities, which lead to a limited training period of 6 months a year. Another difference is the ability to focus solely on swimming. I used to have to balance swimming with academics and this programme allows me to focus on becoming the swimmer I need to be to represent my country well.”
“My ultimate goal as an athlete is to achieve the greatest fitness level possible and to achieve the fastest times possible. My expectations from this one- year programme are not only achieving great athletic ability, but to keep connections with the team mates and friends I have made. This programme allows us to be exposed to swimming in the regions around our homes and now we have connections to help promote swimming in our South Asian region. My expectation is that this programme makes an impact on future generations.”
“My biggest swimming inspiration is all the swimmers back home in Nepal. They go through such a struggle just to train but they are still so passionate and work as hard as they possibly can with what they are given. I am proud to represent a country that has bounced back from an earthquake and still swimming strong even with so many obstacles in their path.”
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