Universiade Feature: Freedom in ocean
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Xinhua, August 14, 2011
Freedom exists in the ocean, European open water junior team champion Coralie Codevelle told Xinhua on Saturday.
Despite finishing fourth in women's 10km open water of the 26th Summer Universiade today, the 19-year-old French girl said she enjoys swimming in the ocean with beautiful scenes.
"It's interesting. I just feel free to swim in open water. Whenever I'm in the water, time flies fast. I just forget everything," said Codvelle, who picked up the event three years ago, "At first it was because my brother Jupien is an open water swimmer, so I follow him."
Currently, Codevelle is a student in the Universite De Limoges. To her, study and sport can be mingled reasonably together in her daily life.
"I swim eight kilometers everyday for training. In France, we usually swim at 12 o'clock till 8.p.m.. In between, we can study and have fun."
Speaking of idol, the young swimmer said without any hesitation: "Larisa Ilchenko! She is the best! "
Ilchenko was a Russian long distance Olympic champion who won eight World Championships at the age of 19, the same with Codevelle now.
"I think Universiade is mini Olympic Games. It's a kind of stepping stone for me," she said.
Till now, Codevelle has been in 2009 Roma World Championships and 2010 Budapest European Short Course Championships. Though she regarded her open water career as "just beginning", Codevelle termed the Olympic games as her ultimate dream.
"I can train myself through these big events. After Universiade, I will attend European Championships in Israel in September. That's the most important thing for me in the next month."
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