Conclusion before the Olympics

Auböck satisfied: “Good first steps”

Felix Auböck on his way to the Olympic Games.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

One month after returning to Austria from England, Felix Auböck takes stock of his new path to the Olympic Games in Paris. 

The Lower Austrian expected the change to Südstadt coach Balasz Fehervari to give him a noticeable boost in preparation. After disappointments at the most recent major events, there should be a sense of achievement at the European Championships in Belgrade in June. And Auböck feels he is on the right track.

"I'm very happy with everything. It's everything I hoped it would be," said the 27-year-old in an interview with APA - Austria Press Agency. "We are slowly trying to correct some of the technical errors. Balasz has a good eye for that." Building on this step, he said, the aim is to move up to higher speeds in order to maintain the technique he has learned. Recently, Auböck has increasingly had the problem of falling off in the second half of the race. This should now change. "So that the technique doesn't fall away, we've already taken some good first steps."

Technique as a guarantee of success
In Loughborough, he may have swum one or two kilometers more a day, but the main focus was not on technique. "It was really just about swimming in the right stress zone. That was the target," explained Auböck. "Balasz attaches great importance to us swimming with a very good technique, even at low speeds." When he gets tired, you save a lot of energy with a better technique. The Hungarian also attaches great importance to land training and athletics outside the pool.

The coaching vocabulary required a slight change, as every coach uses their own words for details in the training plan. But he, Auböck, did not throw himself into the unknown. "My biggest advantage was that I had already swum with him (Fehervari, editor's note) in 2020. I knew exactly what to expect." Fehervari had already had many great successes. "It helps when a coach has this experience and knows exactly what it took to be successful back then. You don't want to get involved in something unknown in a situation like that."

Now Barcelona awaits
On Wednesday and Thursday next week, Auböck will test the effects of the training changes in Barcelona as part of the Mare Nostrum series; the former short course world champion will not only compete in his favorite 400 m crawl, but also in the 100 and 200 m crawl. "This is the first test where we want to see what it's like in a stressful situation. So far, I'm very satisfied on the whole." Auböck will stay in Barcelona for two more weeks for a training camp before heading to the European Championships after a few days at home.

Auböck is confident that things will go well in Belgrade and counts himself among the 400m medal contenders. "There has already been a change, but it's always a process. I'm not worried - if I swim like I am at the moment - that I won't do well at the European Championships." The positive thing is that there will be another four or five weeks until the Olympics. "That we can then see exactly what works and what doesn't work in such an extreme stress situation as at the European Championships. The fact that I still have four weeks is a luxury."