Nick Juba, the new National Team head coach of Denmark, discussed in an interview with Anna Birkbak on the official Danish Swimming Federation website what he hopes Lotte Friis can get out of coming to the United States and training with Bob Bowman. We used Google to translate and we cleaned up the language a bit, but the gist of it is below.
Juba echoes Bob Bowman’s comments that this is a ‘trial’ to see how things go, and could result in Friis coming back to Europe, or staying in North Baltimore.
Q: Lotte Friis has left Nice and is going to start swimming in Baltimore in North Baltimore Aquatic Club. What do you think about this decision?
Juba: “Lotte is taking a break from Nice. She might return after Christmas, or she might not. It’s left open-ended. Fabrice Pellegrin, the Nice coach, has indicated that he was going to focus in different training areas (meets) in the upcoming period. Lotte is keen to swim well in the home-based European Short Course Championships in Herning (Herning, Denmark) in December and this influenced the decision. I think it was a good one. I believe that she is at the stage in her career where she needs two embrace new challenges and where better than in the States. ”
Q: For how long is Lotte going to stay in Baltimore and will she return to Nice after this stay in the U.S.?
Juba: “Initially Lotte will swim with Bob Bowman in Baltimore until the end of the year. It can easily be extended but obviously it depends on how things shape up.”
Q: Do you think that this change of club will have any influence on her results in Herning in December?
Juba: “I do not know but I hope so! Lotte’s swims in Barcelona were amongst the best of her career – if not the very best – and she will be hoping two keep this form going. She is very proud of being Danish and so I would expect this to swim confidently in front of her home crowd!”
Q: How much do you know about the swim club in Baltimore? And do you know the person who is going to be her coach named Bob Bowman?
Juba: “Baltimore was the home to the mighty Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman was his coach. What more can you say! Yes, I know Bob. He is a very nice man, and obviously a great coach. “
Ask danishswimfan for the translation rather than google translate! 🙂
You have Chris DeSantis too.