Draganja Takes It Steady
2008-07-30
Craig Lord
The world s/c record holder did not join the Croatian team when it took its first dip in the Water Cube in Beijing this morning ...

Duje Draganja, the Croatian who blasted away the world 50m free s/c record in Manchester back in April, enjoyed a slow reaction time on his first day in Olympic city: when his national team took its first dip in the Water Cube in Beijing this morning, the sprinter was absent.

The mystery was soon solved: he was sleeping in. Xinhua reported medley man Sasa Impric as stating that 10 of the team had decided to make it down to the pool after arriving late the night before following a 10-hour flight from Europe, while one had stayed in bed.

Draganja, 25, took silver four years ago and his Manchester form suggests that he is a serious threat still to those chasing the Olympic crown in the new era of sprinting heralded, among other factors, by the advent of the latest generation of bodysuits. Draganja will race the 50m, 100m and 4x100m free in Beijing.