Japan's defending champion Kitajima preps for Olympic glory

 LONDON, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan's four-time Olympic swimming champion Kosuke Kitajima limbered up for retaining a third straight men's 100m and 200m breaststroke double at London Olympics.

The 29-year-old, who took gold in the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 2004 Athens Olympics and retained both titles in Beijing, said he has prepared to improve his form and enjoy the London Olympics.

"I'm feeling good about this pool. I just arrived two days ago, so I feel a little tired," said Kitajima after training. "But I have one week to go so I want to improve my condition," he added.

With a dazzling medals' haul under his belt, Kitajima is seeking to stamp his authority in 100m and 200m breaststroke in London. However, he played down his chances of whopping both of the two titles by saying he will try his "hardest".

Kitajima was the first swimmer in history to claim gold in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke events at successive Olympic Games, becoming the first breaststroke swimmer to win a total of four Olympic gold medals.

The Japanese prodigy¹ set Olympic records in 100m and 200m breaststroke at Beijing Games in 58.91 and 2:07.64, respectively.

After the Beijing Olympics, Kitajima took 10 months off from competition and spent the time coaching children and giving speeches about his athletic² career. In March of 2009, amid speculations³ over his retirement⁴, Kitajima announced he was moving to the United States to study English. While there, he teamed up with Dave Salo, swimming coach at the University of Southern California, and recovered his passion for swimming.

At the Shanghai World Championships last year, Kitajima finished runner-up to Daniel Gyurta of Hungary in the 200m. He was fourth in the 100m which was won by Alexander Dale Oen of Norway.

Kitajima will spearhead the Japanese challenge in the pool at London Olympics. Other top swimmers from Japan include Ryosuke Irie who finished runner-up to American Ryan Lochte in the 200m backstroke in Shanghai, and Takeshi Matsuda who won the 200m butterfly bronze in Beijing and silver at Shanghai World Championships.

In the women's contest, the focus will be on world 50m backstroke silver medallist Aya Terakawa, who will swim in the 100m backstroke and 4X100 medley⁵ relay in London.

"I have been trying to make sure that I am in my best form for the competition. I have been trying to start slowly to make sure that I am in peak condition," said Terakawa after training.

The 27-year-old participated in the 2004 Athens Games and finished eighth in the 200m backstroke. She missed the Beijing Olympics. Speaking of her second Olympic tour, she said she was not very stressed out and worried, and had no difficulty coming back.

The swimming events are slated⁶ for July 28 to August 4 at London Olympics, with 496 swimmers competing for 34 gold medals including 32 in pool and two in open water.

1 prodigy   

n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆

参考例句：

• She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
• He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。

2 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

3 speculations   

n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断

参考例句：

• Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

6 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。