Park Tae-Hwan will begin training with St. Peters Western on January 12th. He will once again be joining coach Michael Bohl‘s talented squad that consists of swimmers such as Grant Irvine, Mitch Larkin, Ned McKendry, Bronte Barratt and Meagan Nay.
It was four years ago that Park began training in Brisbane on a regular basis and the fit has been a great one not only for Park, but also for the St. Peters Western program, “Olympic medalists are very hard to come by!” Bohl told SwimSwam.
“Having a swimmer that has won medals in the past two Olympics as part of your training group brings a very special presence. His work ethic is very good and the level of the training group lifts when he is there, no question.”
“Technically he is a joy to watch, very efficient, very quiet when he swims, but his range of speed is amazing,” said Bohl. “His endurance work can be excellent and his speed in workouts is extraordinary also. What I thought were outstanding training performances have been re-evaluated since he joined our group in 2010.”
Bohl also commented on how Park has become a valued member of the team and gained the respect of everyone at St. Peters Western, “The Australian swimmers in our group are always commenting on their feelings. He brings many positives to the group and the most surprising comments are endorsed by the likes of Stephanie Rice, Bronte Barratt and Meagen Nay. He has a very gentle nature and he is very respected and admired by the St Peters Western Team.”
Bohl feels that Park fits in perfectly with his program’s training philosophy, “Basically like every swimmer in the program it is the integrated approach of constructing a program that covers all aspects of swimming,” explains Bohl.
“His focus will be on the 400, 200 and 100 free. The challenge is to prepare for all three, ensuring he is fit enough and fast enough to take on the aspects of all events. The Asian Games this year will have the best swimmers from Japan and China will lock horns in a highly competitive meet hosted by Korea in September. Training in the group with our Senior swimmers he will be working on all of the aspects of endurance and speed.”
“Our program is built around the 200 and 400 meter events and we also have some solid 100 m swimmers within the ranks.”
The timing and the periodization of the program this is also ideal for everyone involved, “Our focus this year is on Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs which are being held in a very similar time frame to the Asian Games so the timetable will be good for all members of our team.”