Steffen a top swimmer after getting away from swimming

By Dietmar Fuchs Aug 3, 2006, 16:32 GMT

Germany\'s Britta Steffen jubilates after winning the Women\'s 100 Meters Freestyle final with new World Record of 53.30 seconds at the European Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, 02 August, 2006. EPA/PATRICK B. KRAEMER

Budapest - Britta Steffen was speaking from personal experience when she tried to talk about her 100-metres freestyle swimming world record.

'I can't understand it, its like losing, you don't understand that either,' said the 22-year-old German.

The record swim of 53.30 seconds on Wednesday marks the culmination of a remarkable comeback to the sport she needed to quit for a year in order to become a good swimmer.

Expectations were huge when she won six golds at the European junior championships in 1999 and trained side by side with national icon Franziska van Almsick under coach Norbert Warnatzsch in Berlin.

But Steffen cracked under pressure, qualifying only for two relay heat races at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and also on the sideline when van Almsick swam the still standing 200m freestyle world record of 1:56.64 at Euro 2002 in Berlin.

She finally decided to take a break after the Athens Olympics to experience life beyond the pool and the daily training regime.

'This can't be everything. Normal people lead a good life as well,' she said.

Steffen, who enjoyed the nightlife of the German capital and started engineering studies, was convinced by Warnatzsch not to jump back into the pool after three months and sought advice from the same psychologist who had helped van Almisck.

'In the past I used to think I was a bad person when I swam badly. I had to become independent from swimming to become such a good swimmer,' she says now.

Steffen finally returned to training in October 2005, seeking new challenges in the pool after realising that normal people don't necessarily lead a better life and 'having been to the discos, I don't need to do that again.'

In swimming, the aim remained the same - 'I always wanted to be the fastest swimmer in the world' - but the new-found life outside the pool made her better able to withstand pressure.

German head coach Orjan Madsen said that 'her body is simply made for swimming,' but he and Warnatzsch could do nothing more than hope that Steffen would finally deliver an explosive performance when it really mattered.

That happened in Budapest, first on Monday when she swam the fastest relay leg in history timed at 52.66 seconds to help Germany to the title in a world record 3:35.22 minutes.

'It was clear then that she would be fast in the individual race as well,' said Warnetzsch.

Steffen first lowered her personal best to 54.21 in the semi- finals Tuesday and then took almost another second off that in the world record swim Wednesday, beating the previous record of 53.42 from Australian Lisbeth Lenton by 12 hundreds.

Now more medals loom in the 4x200m relay and the 200m freestyle, but Warnetzsch has asked everyone 'not to expect a miracle' in the form of Steffen bettering van Almisck's record in Budapest as well.

Regardless of the outcome of these races Budapest should considerably boost Steffen's morale for the 2007 worlds in Melbourne and especially the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

There Steffen could be strong enough to break van Almsick's record and with it would also achieve what the now retired van Almsick never did: Olympic gold.

'The Olympics are my aim. I want to swim for a medal,' said Steffen.

But, knowing from experience how difficult things can be, she added: 'This is sport, and in sport two years are a very long time. First of all I have to qualify for Beijing.'