After qualifying earlier this month for the Barcelona World Championships, open water swimmer Rhys Mainstone is hoping to win his first individual world title.
Mainstone booked his ticket to the World Championships in Barcelona, held in July, by claiming the national title at Lake Macquarie. He is set to have a full schedule of swimming with plans to accompany his pet 10km distance with the 5km, team 5km and 25km races.
“My main focus is obviously the 10km, which is the Olympic event, but I also really enjoy racing the 5km and I want to try and improve on our silver in the team 5km,” Mainstone said.
“Then, the 25km is just for fun, I suppose you could say. I probably will (run songs through my head) in the 25km event, but in the 10km, especially internationally, I’m really focused on my competitors and on guard for breakaways.
Frustratingly for Mainstone, he narrowly missed out on qualification for the London Olympic Games but said a top-five finish in Barcelona would give him the confidence that a podium in Rio 2016 is attainable.
“I’d be pleased with a top five in the 10km, but my goal going in is to obviously get a medal,” he said. “I’m aiming to win it, but some of these races can come down to point-something of a second and take two hours to decide the winner.
I’ll be so stoked if I get a medal and to win it would be a dream come true and something I’ve been aiming at for a long time. But a top-five (finish) will leave me with that determination going forward to achieve what I want.”