UFO Info Week-End

Instead he finished fourth twice the sort of disappointment that either kickstarts or stalls a career

Instead, he finished fourth, twice, the sort of disappointment that either kickstarts or stalls a career. Popov, he knew, could not go on for ever, and it was Popov’s enigmatic face which acted as the true drug on cold mornings in the unlovely industrial town of Eindhoven.But it was not until theEuropean Championships in Istanbul in the summer of 1999 that Hoogie nailed his man. In beating the Russian in the 100m, one of his six gold medals that meeting, he swam 48.47 seconds, only marginally outside the time which secured gold for him in Sydney.The following day he won the 200m in 1:47.09, half a second slower than the world record set by Grant Hackett in Brisbane four months before but an eye-catching second and a half slower than the world record time of 1:45.35 he swam in the semi-final of the 200m in Sydney and then equalled in the final when defeating Thorpe, the overwhelming favourite.Van den Hoogenband’s unprec-edented domination of those European Championships marked him out as a serious multi-medal contender for Sydney and, by streets, as the most gifted swimmer to emerge from Holland. Yet no one in Australia had calculated quite how serious the challenge was.In his own mind, Hoogenband went to Sydney with a realistic chance of winning gold in the 100m. Beating Thorpe over 200m was not part of the equation; by the clock, the Dutchman had a second to find over four lengths. His advantage was that Thorpe was coming to the end of an emotionally gruelling schedule.”After breaking the record in the semi-final,” Hoogenband says, “I thought, ‘Wait a minute, I can do more here’. In the final, I wanted to put pressure on him but I knew too that if I gave out too much energy in the first 25 metres I would have to pay that back in cash in the last 25.

But I knew when it came to those last 25 metres that I had the higher speed, and he knew that too. After that, I was really in a trance, I felt the pain, but it was a nice pain.”The photographers complained that I wasn’t elated at the finish, but I was so dead I didn’t really know what had happened. I know it sounds stupid to say it, but if I had come back from Sydney just being the first man to swim under 48 seconds in the 100m and without any medals, that would have been good enough. For me personally, that was the most historic thing, because I enjoy my sport so much.”Van den Hoogenband is now back in full training for the world championships later this year, a relief not a chore, he says.

The medals are stashed away with the reflections, the future holds only a bewildering range of possibility. Hoogie is contemplating moving up into middle-distance events, polishing his technique for the butterfly and shelving his medical studies for now. He has set up his own commercial swimming team based in Eindhoven. “I can now concentrate on swimming for the next four years and earn some money from it,” he says Thorpe v Van den Hoogenband II The stage is already set for Athens.. Less than three months after Audley Harrison put amateur boxing back on its feet with his Olympic gold medal in Sydney, the sport is in danger of an ignominious KO.

If a judgment goes against them in the High Court tomorrow, the Amateur Boxing Association of England face liquidation. It is an embarrassing parallel scenario with that of their professional counterparts, the British Boxing Board of Control, currently in administration and in danger of bankruptcy following the dismissal of their appeal against the award of damages, which could amount to £1m, to the injured Michael Watson But the amateurs are in even bigger trouble. Should the renegade Welsh Amateur Boxing Federation win their lawsuit, brought because the ABA have refused them the formal affiliation needed to obtain Lottery grants and qualify boxers from their 70-odd clubs for international selection, damages and costs are expected to run well into six figures. The ABA, like the Boxing Board, are a limited company and would go out of bus

Less than three months after Audley Harrison put amateur boxing back on its feet with his Olympic gold medal in Sydney, the sport is in danger of an ignominious KO. If a judgment goes against them in the High Court tomorrow, the Amateur Boxing Association of England face liquidation. It is an embarrassing parallel scenario with that of their professional counterparts, the British Boxing Board of Control, currently in administration and in danger of bankruptcy following the dismissal of their appeal against the award of damages, which could amount to £1m, to the injured Michael Watson But the amateurs are in even bigger trouble. Should the renegade Welsh Amateur Boxing Federation win their lawsuit, brought because the ABA have refused them the formal affiliation needed to obtain Lottery grants and qualify boxers from their 70-odd clubs for international selection, damages and costs are expected to run well into six figures.