Swimming: Bronze medal encouraging for comeback

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SYDNEY - Paul Kent is out to prove that swimmers shouldn't be put out to pasture after their 23rd birthday.

Aucklander Kent, 27, began his international comeback by placing third in the men's 50m breaststroke in 27.97s at the short-course world cup meet at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre.

After 18 months away from top-flight international competition, mainly through injury, Kent has been back in training for only 11 weeks but it has not taken him long to rediscover his rhythm and set his sights on another Olympic Games.

After watching others in their late 20s - such as the United States' Lenny Krayzelburg, Finland's Jani Sievinen and old training partner Scott Miller of Australia -- continue to produce world-class performances, Kent said he felt inspired.

"The guys from 23 to 30 who are sticking around are doing just as well, if not better. They've got maturity on their side and know what it's about," said Kent, who felt there was a lesson there for New Zealand swimming. "I think the focus in New Zealand is a little too much on age-group swimmers and we burn our swimmers out too early. We need to realise swimmers can produce later and encourage them to stick around."

Kent spent much of last year setting up and coaching at the Mt Albert swimming academy, and said the break had been positive.

"This is the best shape I've been in for a long time, and my mind feels pretty good as well. It's not a mission any more, I feel refreshed.

"And it's a buzz coming here, competing and seeing a lot of the people from other countries that I haven't seen for a while."

The 50m race is not an Olympic event and Kent said yesterday's (January 18) 100m would be a better test of his fitness and readiness for a games spot.

He hoped his rivalry with team-mate Steven Ferguson would push both swimmers on to their best this year.

Ferguson continued his breaststroke development by breaking his 200m personal best in the slick Olympic pool. His time of 2m 12.77s was just 1.13s outside Kent's national short course record.

New Zealand coach Brett Naylor noted Ferguson could not break 2m 14s before coming to Australia last week and had done it consistently both here and in Hobart last week.

"This is a harder meet than Hobart. If you just look at some of the names and times they're clocking, it's an excellent standard and our swimmers are rising to the occasion," Naylor said.

The coach was delighted to see 16-year-old Monique Robins break the national open women's 50m backstroke record when finishing sixth in 29.09s.

Helen Norfolk clocked a personal best 2m 11.19s in the women's 200m backstroke.

Trent Bray, on form New Zealand's most realistic games hope, made his first foray across the Tasman for the year yesterday, racing in the men's 200m freestyle.

- NZPA