Athlete’s Non-stop Training

GWANGJU – Even in the middle of the games, the athletes don’t relax between the tournaments – they need their training too. The Athletes’ Village itself provides a fully equipped gym, with numerous treadmills and other workout tools and an athletic track. Other gyms where the athletes can train are located close to the Village, for example it takes 10 minutes by bus to get to the Volleyball’s gymnasium.

“Generally, we train almost every day for an hour or an hour and a half, that depends on the schedule. We have trainings even on the tournament days like this one. But it’s very light today, because we can’t get tired before the game,” explains the head coach Andrew McCaskill.

The athletes starts with an individual warm-up. Some of them are stretching, some of them are practicing by throwing the ball against the wall. When they are ready, they divide into two parts and start playing a little match.

“Volleyball players have to practice a lot and that makes their muscles tight, so they have very often an overload. And on such a big occasion, where they play day after day, many injuries come from that,” says Nicola Mepstead, the Australian volleyball team’s physiotherapist, while she fixes one of the athletes who has a pain in his back.

Benjamin Bell, a 25 year athlete from University of Canberra, is waiting next to Mepstead to be the next.  “It’s already my third Universiade and probably the last as I am finishing my school soon. My knee is injured so I don’t train today, but I hope I will be able to play tonight’s match.”

After an hour, it’s another’s volleyball team’s turn. The Australians are looking forward to have lunch and finally they have time to relax a little before the game starts.

Lucie Hrdličková (CZE), FISU Young Reporter