Freestyler Barbora Seemanová has been dealing with health problems for almost a whole year, but she prepared excellently for the world championship in short pool, which took place last week in Melbourne, in the international group of Swiss coach Luka Gabril . In the 200m freestyle event, she finished fifth with a new Czech record of 1.52.66, which is her best finish so far at the World Short Course Championships.
“The Australians created great conditions for all the championship participants. The only unpleasant thing was the cold in the half-open pool, so we all put on long warm coats and took them off before the start,” he says in the interview.
In Melbourne, you had to wait a whole week for your strongest two hundred. Was that okay with you?
I overslept on the flight to Australia and got over jet lag in two days. However, I didn’t swim very well at first, and the semi-final races on shorter courses helped improve my form. I knew the final would be very close and maybe all eight crawlers would go in within a second. It was a great race, in which I also finished second after less than a hundred metres, but I’m very satisfied with fifth place.
After significant health complications, have you been waiting for such a time and place?
I went to the World Cup with the intention of returning to last year’s level with my performance. Due to health problems I had to miss the World Championships and the European Championships in the long course, so I could not expect anything special. Yet, after three months of extensive training, I succeeded. I moved my high 67 cents under 1:53 minutes, which is unbelievable to me. And what’s more: I was only 38 hundredths of a second away from the medal.
Does that mean your performance was excellent?
Some errors could definitely still be found in my performance, so the time after removing them could have been even better. So I have something to work on, plus the motivation to keep going. It should especially show itself in the long puddle, because the short puddle is not my strong point due to the reflections.
Do you think the change of coach has helped you to improve?
After ten years, it has become a direct necessity. I was drawn to a foreign group and it turns out I made the right move. I started listening more to my body, my daily training cycle has changed, I have established closer contact with a psychologist, and the rivalry of the girls in our team is also beneficial. The good cooperation with coach Gabrila makes me very happy.
So can it be said that only at the end of the year did you finally experience great joy instead of worries?
This is because the health problems already started at the end of last year, and also this summer I didn’t know when I could train fully. Due to a number of difficult situations, it has been, without exaggeration, a crazy year for me.
And have you already said goodbye to all the pains?
I’m healthy, training hard, and just watching my fat and weight. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to the Long Course World Championships in July next year.
