Swimming New Zealand bank at Clareburt to end a quarter of a century of drought

TOKYO, July 21 (Reuters) – New Zealander Lewis Clareburt was not even born when his compatriot Danyon Loader won two swimming gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

It was the last time a New Zealander was on the Olympic swimming track.

But Clareburt, 22, could be the country’s best bet to end a quarter-century of drought after the World Championship bronze medal in the 400-meter complex race in 2019.

After shaving nine seconds at best in less than a year to get there, Clareburt is convinced that if the stars settle in Tokyo, he has as good a chance as a medal.

And the absence of a crowd is not a problem either.

“If I get to the finals, I think anything is possible, the medal could definitely be on the table,” he said.

“Because we’re from New Zealand, we really don’t get the whole huge crowd. So we probably got some advantage over the rest of the world,” he said.

“By the time I go out to that block, I know I’m ready to get angry and ready to drop it and go fast.”

The pandemic has posed preparation challenges and has not had international competition since the World Championships, but also did not interfere with training, which Clareburt believes may make some high-quality performances at the Tokyo Swimming Pool.

He admitted his pressure on him to deliver the medal, but largely ignored it.

“I’m only here for myself and my team,” he told Reuters. “If I get a medal, you know, so be it.”

Clareburt has also become a star of recent stars with TikTok videos of the athlete’s village experiences, and was amazed that one of them had over a million views.

“We’re doing something you know makes us laugh,” he said. “It’s definitely bothering you about what you’re doing here.”

Editor Sam Holmes

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