 |
              |
|
 |
||
February 18th, 2006
As recently as a week ago, I emailed International Quarterback (Giaan Rooney's management) - 'cold call' style! - with the hope of perhaps being able to 'interview' Giaan - question and answer style! - via email, one time in the future.
I received a very fast reply - which made me think 'hey, this is promising!' asking me to send the questions through, which I did, with the questions ranging from the recent 2006 Australian Championships, her training regime and goals for the future to a question about that suit at the 2005 World Champs, to name a few!.
Well, now I am very excited to be able to post here online, thanks to the great help from Lisa Stallard at International Quarterback, and of course Giaan herself, what I will dub the 'Awesome Eight' ;) ... eight questions, and, in my opinion, eight awesome answers (which were of much better quality then the questions!! :)) - I didn't really know what to expect, but at the same time, in no way ever expected such detailed responses, so this is great...! :)
A massive big THANK YOU to Giaan for taking the time to answer these questions! I really appreciate it, as I'm sure you the reader here right now, will too! So, read on and ... Enjoy!
GRF.com: Congratulations on another great Australian Championships and qualifying for your 3rd straight Commonwealth Games team and also - in your eighth straight year on the National team - being named Dolphins Team Captain, to deputise in the lead up to the Games to Grant Hackett, before being the ‘sole Captain’ once the team is in the Games Village. How do you feel about the captain role, and having achieved perhaps your first big goals – Comm Games team selection – of a busy 2006?
Giaan Rooney: It has actually been quite hard to be excited about Com Games and talk about it with such enthusiasm when the team knew that no one was selected until we met the qualifying standards at our trials. You always hope that you will gain selection on each team but as is the case with competitive sport, no one is guaranteed anything! So now that I am officially on my way to Commonwealth Games, I am both excited and of course a little impatient as I just want it to finally be here!
Receiving the Captaincy role was something completely unexpected. I found out just before the team was announced on the last day of trials, so that big grin on my face as I walked out had a secondary meaning to it. It was also hard to keep it to myself as I had to wait for it to be announced through the media before I could let everyone know. It is a role that is very humbling to me and is something that I am taking very seriously. The swim team has a great reputation and I certainly don’t want to do or say anything that may jeopardise the great bond that we have, if anything I hope to be able to strengthen that bond.
GRF.com: How did you rate your performance at Trials - your 50 backstroke was fantastic with a new Commonwealth Record, so particularly in the 100 back. where you won bronze… do you see it as a positive that although you were not National champion this time round, courtesy of great swimming by Tay Zimmer and Sophie Edington, it’s great you’ve still won the opportunity for an individual swim in this event at the Commonwealth Games also?
Giaan Rooney: Trials was very much an emotional rollercoaster for me. I knew that I wasn’t feeling great in the water leading into the 100m Back final (still a little tired) but I was so positive and happy before the race that I thought I could still produce enough needed to win. I was first to turn and exactly where I wanted to be with one lap to go, but as soon as I got to the 15m rope on the way back I knew I was in trouble. This is usually the strongest part of my race and where I often start either catching people or pulling away from them, but this time around I was spent. I must admit it didn’t feel nice to finish 3rd in a race where you used to hold the national record, but in some ways it fired me up to win the 50m.
The night of the 50 started out like any other, I stretched, got in for my warm-up an hour before my race and went through all my usual paces until I heard a young girl in the lane next to me tell her team mate that the program was running half an hour ahead of schedule. I panicked; if she was right then I was going to probably miss my race. I jumped out of the pool, grabbed all my racing gear and my sports phsych and raced down the back corridor to the call room. Lisa ( physch) was great in assuring me that all was fine and to channel the adrenaline to when I was going to need it. Sure enough, by the time I got to the marshalling room, all the other 7 finalists were there. I whipped my suit on and took a seat, my heart racing like never before. (Usually I don’t really get that nervous before races!) I always have produced my best swims when I am nervous so once again that theory proved correct!
GRF.com: Your coach, Ian Pope, wasn’t named as a coach on the Commonwealth Games team – who will you work with in the coaching ranks once entering the Village, and how much specific technique and speed work can you do with Ian between now and the Commonwealth Games, before tapering etc. begins?
Giaan Rooney: Ian handled his disappointment in missing selection very well, but it nearly brought me to tears. This was the second time that Ian had got 5 athletes onto the team yet not made it himself. Luckily we don’t go into camp until ten days before the games start, allowing Ian and I to work out our preparation together, right up until the last minute.
Once we are in camp I will be training with John Fowlie who coaches Jade Edmistone, Jodie Henry and Adam Pine. He is a great guy and coach and has a very good relationship with Popey, so it works out well.
GRF.com: Do you do much cross training / dry land work to go with all the km’s in the pool each week? If yes, what kind of things do you do?
Giaan Rooney: Yes, in addition to the 9 water sessions I do every week, I also do 3 gym programs of an hour and a half each. These consist of weights, pilates, medicine ball work and core stability exercises.
GRF.com: These past couple of years now, you’ve really stamped your mark on the 100m backstroke, and I guess it would be fair to say one of your goals would be to be the first Aussie to go sub 61 in the 100m Back, but what happens if someone else goes sub 61 first? How do you set your goals - is it your goal then to just go sub 61? Or do you have a bigger goal, of say, wanting to be the first Aussie to go sub 60 in the 100 back?
Giaan Rooney: I guess I don’t really allow my goals to be set or influenced by anyone else. My goal is to break 61 and if someone else does that first then I will be the first to congratulate them. Yes I will be a little bit disappointed but on the other hand I respect the work and the skill that has gone into achieving that time. I always try to stick to the belief that I can’t control anyone else’s performance but my own.
GRF.com: At the 2005 World Champs, in the 100m backstroke semi final, you wore a full leg length suit which had quite a detrimental effect to your race, unfortunately!! If enquiring minds can ask… have you done anymore testing and do you have any plans to ever wear full leg length suit ever again, or they’ve been black listed?!
Giaan Rooney: I actually haven’t done any more testing on the full length suit, I guess I realised I should have stuck with the age old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I never had a problem with the suit I used to wear so it was more a little bit of cockiness that I ever wore that suit in the first place!
GRF.com: Do you have any pre-race routines or ‘superstitions’ before a big race?
Giaan Rooney: I like to arrive at the pool between an hour and a half to two hours before my race, just to give me enough time to stretch, warm up, put on my suit, chat to my coach and make it to the marshalling area in time. I always have 2 sets of goggles on me in case one breaks and I always either wear or have in my pocket my ring, which was a 21st present from my Dad, Mum and Gran.
GRF.com: Lastly, many athletes get tattoos to commemorate their Olympic campaigns etc., the Aussie swimming team no exception, it seems! – Do you have any tattoos or have you done anything ‘special’ to commemorate/celebrate your Olympics and/or World Championships wins? :)
Giaan Rooney: No, no tattoos anywhere on me! I am very proud of my achievements in sport, but don’t feel the need to advertise it on my body. I guess I don’t want swimming to define the rest of my life or the way I look at life, surely in ten years time I will have something else to challenge me other than the black line!
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to this site, I find it amazingly flattering that others are interested in what I do, and continue to support me in the pool after all this time. I only hope I can continue to provide you with something to write about in the future! Thanks again, Giaan.
Thanks so much again to Giaan for not only being such a good sport and answering these questions but also for your kind words about this site - and I'm a little chuffed you've checked it out too! - and I am sure they are a lot more successes to come in the pool for me to keep writing about :) - and also another big Thank you to Lisa Stallard from International Quarterback for all her assistance with this also, as she had a very large part in making this all possible to begin with, without her help, this wouldn't have happened!
