Thailand's sprint king, whose personal best time of 22.98 seconds established him as one of the contenders in the 50-metres freestyle, takes an unorthodox approach to his sport by designing his own training programme instead of using the services of national team coach Thanawit Thosakul.

"We know what approach suits our style the best. So I write out my own programme and practise on my own," said the 25-year-old swimmer, a two-time SEA Games gold medallist.

Since returning from the SEA Games in Manila last year, Arwut was training without a coach until he joined the Berkley Swimming Camp for two and a half months in the US, Italy and Croatia.

At the camp he was able to test himself against big names in the sport like American Gary Hall Junior, the winner of five Olympic gold medals, and 2004 Olympic silver medallist Duje Draganja of Croatia.

Although he finished near the bottom of the field every time there was a competition at the camp, Arwut took no notice of the results and instead concentrated on the lessons he learned from competing against the big stars.

"I've learned a lot both in and out of the pool. I learned new stroke techniques and at the same time I also learned life experiences. The camp was quite supportive, maybe because I am from Asia," said the young sprinter. Due to his high profile after winning two successive gold medals at the SEA Games along with his 10-week training stint with world-class stars, Arwut has been touted as the only Thai swimmer capable of wining a medal in Doha.

His record of 22.98 seconds is second only to the 22.6 and 22.7 marks set by Chinese and Japanese swimmers.

But instead of setting his sights on winning a medal, Arwut tells himself to aim even higher.

"I never tell myself to try to finish first, second or third. I just tell myself to go for a tougher challenge," he said. "If I make it, the consequences will speak for themselves," said the medal hope, who is convinced he can break his own record.

The two-time SEA Games champion pointed out that a flawless performance was compulsory in the sprint competition where a fraction of a second can make a difference.

"The competition will be over before you know it. You spend the whole year training for a competition that lasts for only 20 seconds," he said. "There will be huge pressure because you cannot afford to make any mistakes because only a minor mistake will cost you the result."

However, Arwut made an interesting remark about how most Thais value medals, but disregard the procedures to help athletes achieve their goals.

"The way of our thinking is strange. People expect something that has yet to happen, but no one cares if we live up to our expectations. It feels like all of a sudden this burden has been placed on our shoulders. "Instead, they should pay attention to strategies and support us along the way and help athletes win medals. If this issue has been taken into consideration, we will become more successful."

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation