Rate it!

0 votes

Winning eight consecutive open-water World Cup titles and setting the record for swimming the Channel between England and France is not enough for Petar Stoychev.

The Bulgarian, who will turn 33 in October, had considered quitting swimming after last year's Beijing Olympics but has changed his mind and is now as hungry for success as he ever was.

"Well, I can retire at the end of the year or swim for another year or two," Stoychev said. "We'll wait and see.

"I've worked so hard over the years to build my reputation and it would be stupid to continue competing if I'm not in good shape, if I don't feel fit enough."

Stoychev, who will race the 10km open-water event at the world championships in Rome this month, begins training at 7am each day and believes he can keep the momentum going in search of some more memorable achievements.

He had been looking forward to competing in the Great Channel Swim race, which was due to be revived for the first time since 1959 but was called off because of French concerns about the extra traffic in the busy stretch of water.

"I planned to participate in the race although I'm aware it's completely different to swim by yourself going for a record time than to swim among the top athletes in the world going for victory," said Stoychev, whose 2007 record time across the Dover Strait, a distance of more than 38 km, was six hours 57 minutes 50 seconds.

This year, Stoychev has already proved his credentials by winning the Sumidero Canyon Grand Prix in Mexico in April, where the top three swimmers finished within four seconds.

He is looking forward to competing in a World Cup race for the first time in his native Bulgaria. Open-water swimming has spread around the world in recent years, with many new destinations added to the World Cup circuit.

The Black Sea port of Varna will host a 10km race on August 8 and organisers expect a partisan crowd to support the local hero.

"He's our champion," said 34-year-old mechanic and fan Georgi Tudzharov. "It'll be such a pleasure to watch him.

"Stoychev is a phenomenon," he added. "He's a real star, unlike our spoilt soccer players."

Stoychev, who won two bronze medals at the 2005 world championships, beamed with enthusiasm when asked about the Varna race.

"Finally, I'll have an opportunity to give Bulgarian fans something to cheer on home soil," he said. "I hope to have a good race but at the same time I realise it will be something different, something new for me."

Stoychev represented his country at three Olympics and carried the national flag in the opening ceremony in Beijing.

"To be at the Olympics was fantastic," said Stoychev, who finished sixth in the 10-km event in Beijing. "I was lucky to compete three times as I know many great athletes who never had the chance to taste the Olympic atmosphere.

"I couldn't win the Olympic title but I was so happy just to be part of the Games."

Stoychev has always preferred the outdoor swimming life.

"Swimming in open water is much more interesting to me than swimming in the pool. That's why I decided to pursue the summer all around the globe and participate in races in unusual places.

"It has given me a chance to travel the world," he said. "As a child in school studying geography and looking at the maps, I never dreamed I could one day go to Canada, Asia or South Africa to swim."

Some places have been more memorable than others.

"Sometimes, it's extremely difficult," he said. "For example, swimming in the Parana river in Argentina is a nightmare as the water is so yellow because of the soil that you can see nothing. It's very unpleasant.

"It's not an easy place to win. You just swim and hope you're staying in the right direction.

"I also had a bitter experience in the South China Sea where I was stung by a poisonous jellyfish just before the race and it wasn't the best thing in my life. But you have to expect such incidents if you're swimming in open water."

Reuters