Swedish sprint star Anders Gustafsson braves Australian warm ‘winter’ training

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Nick Harding | Sportscene - Swedish sprint star Anders Gustafsson braves Australian warm 'winter' training. Post race-training at the Grand Prix 3 in Penrith (Sydney), Australia SPORTSCENE grabs Anders for a quick chat about the new season and his out-of-character move to Australia.

Career Highlights

Olympics
Sydney 2000: K4 1000m – 8th
Athens 2004: K1 500m – 5th h3
Beijing 2008: K1 500m – 7th, K2 1000m – h1
London 2012: K1 1000m – 5th

World Championships
Szeged 2011: K1 1000m – Silver
Poznan 2010: K1 500m – Gold
Dartmouth 2009: K1 1000m – Silver
Dartmouth 2009: K1 500m – Silver

European Championships
Zagreb 2012: K1 500m – Gold
Belgrade 2011: K1 500m – Silver

4-time consecutive Olympian Anders has ventured to the Southern Hempshire looking for a change from his previous few years of winter training in Florida.

Sweden is very cold. It feels strange leading into this competition, once you're out here it's the same, you just have to switch on your race brain. It is very different from what I'm used to.

Anders has been on the circuit for a long time and is taking each year as it comes, nevertheless he feels great and as if he has had a good start to his season, the next Olympic cycle in Rio, 2016, is not being ruled out at this stage. Former World 2010 Champion, he is hoping to go one better than Silver again:

“I'm excited to race this year's World Championship and I look forward to it.”

Europeans and 'Southern Hemispherians' have alternating training cycles seasons depending, thus athletes peak physically at different times in the year. This year the Australians have opted to pilot a more European-approach with a second national selection being later on in June with the aim of getting more eggs in their basket.