Hobart superfish Max Giuliani wins gold at World Cup event in Budapest
Tasmanian superfish Max Giuliani says his best is yet to come after landing the biggest win of his swimming career claiming World Cup gold in the men’s 200m freestyle in Budapest on Monday.
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Tasmanian superfish Max Giuliani says his best is yet to come after landing the biggest win of his swimming career claiming World Cup gold in the men’s 200m freestyle in Budapest on Monday.
The 20-year-old, who lives and trains on the Gold Coast, beat Lithuanian powerhouse Danas Rapsys in a heart-stopping final, in the third and final leg of the World Cup series.
Giuliani did it in the fifth-fastest time by an Australian (1m45.42s) and announced his candidacy for a spot on the Dolphins team for the Paris Olympic Games next year.
Only Ian Thorpe (1:44.06), Clyde Lewis (1:44.90), Thomas Fraser-Holmes (1:45.08) and Giuliani’s senior Miami teammate Alex Graham (1:45.22), have swum faster.
Giuliani will arrive home with three gold medals from Budapest _ one in the 4x100 relay and another in the 4x200 _ and two silver medals for relay events in Athens and Berlin.
His 200m individual triumph is the one he will cherish.
“I could not be happier to win a World Cup event,” he said.
“Only about six weeks of work before this World Cup series and I am now looking forward to getting back home, back into the grind, to get fit, get strong, and then it’s on to Olympic Trials and hopefully Paris, if all goes well.”
Giuliani said a year ago his best time was nowhere near as fast as his World Cup swim and his new training regime on the Gold Coast gave him a massive power boost.
“I lived in Tasmania my whole life and I thought I was training properly down there, but I knew that I needed to do something different [move to the Gold Coast] if I was going to swim faster,” he said.
“I needed to become more committed. This is my first proper international meet and my first time in Europe.
“I love racing with these boys, living it, I can’t complain, best time ever. It’s pretty exciting.”
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