Brazilian star swimmer Thiago Pereira to train in U.S.
Thiago Pereira of Minas Club adjusts his goggles before the Brazilian national club swimming championships in Rio de Janeiro May 8, 2008.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian star swimmer Thiago Pereira announced on Wednesday his departure from his country in order to practice abroad.
His destination will be the United States where he hopes to take full advantage of the state-of-the-art swimming technology, prime facilities and constant competitions.
Pereira's stay in the U.S. will be much shorter than Olympic champion, Cielo's. Critics have called Cielo's presence in the US a type of "exile" due to his long stays abroad.
Pereira intends on staying until the World Championships of swimming take place in Rome on July 19 through August 2.
"My goal is to spend some time abroad and gain some experience. I hope to get some good workouts and even participate along side some of the top swimmers of the US," said Pereira, who made his name at the 2007 Pan-American games held in Rio de Janeiro.
"I may even compete with Michael Phelps, that is if he participates in any events this year.
"One thing is for sure, I don't want to be away from Brazil for too long. Here, I have my club and my coach.
"The only problem is that there aren't enough competitions. In the US, there are swim meets every week with top-name athletes," said Pereira.
The athlete had attempted to train abroad when he was 16 year-old, but ended up returning just six months later due to homesickness. Pereira has not yet defined exactly where he will train.
0 comments:
Post a Comment