SA triple Olympian swimmer inspired by Tendulkar

Iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar has found a fan in South Africa's triple Olympian swimmer Roland Schoeman, who says the champion cricketer inspires him to perform extraordinarily in the pool.

"I'm very fond of cricket and Sachin (Tendulkar) is my favourite. In fact I take a lot of inspiration from him. Sachin, Lara (Brian) and Phelps (Micheal) are the kind of sportspersons who have the ability to inspire every athlete of any discipline. They can unite the nation as well," Schoeman told PTI Bhasha.

With a timing of 20.30 seconds, Schoeman holds the world record in short-course 50m freestyle. The South African had won a gold medal in 4x100m freestyle, a silver in 100m freestyle event and a bronze in 50m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He had also clinched two gold medals in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. After experiencing a low phase post his exploits at Athens and Melbourne, Schoeman is determined to make a mark at the 2012 London Olympics.

"In this case also I will give the example of Sachin. He has been playing for the past two decades and still has the same passion. Every athlete has highs and lows in their career and I'm no exception. My target is London 2012 and I'm not going to retire before that." he said.

On his first visit to India, Schoeman has two secret desires. "I wanted to visit Taj Mahal and the other is to meet Sachin, who is playing in India right now. But I have to rush to Beijing to participate in the second leg of FINA World Cup. I'm going the day my competition ends. But I will come back to this beautiful country again," he said.

He has also evinced interest in guiding Indian swimmers in future. "I have seen Indian swimmers who have trained in Victoria, South Africa. They are very talented but need guidance. I would love to give them some tips as a consultant," the swimmer said.