Japanese Olympic champ heralds return to form

Kitajima clocked 1min 1.91sec, three seconds behind the then world record time of 58.91 he set in winning the 100m at the Beijing Games.

Japan's two-time double Olympic breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima said Friday he was recovering the form which saw him triumph at the Beijing Games 15 months ago.

- I am glad that my body has remembered how I swam in Beijing - the 27-year-old swimmer told reporters as he won the 100-metre race at time trials here in his first domestic competition since the Olympics.

- I think I have come back to 20 percent of my condition in Beijing. -

Kitajima clocked 1min 1.91sec, three seconds behind the then world record time of 58.91 he set in winning the 100m at the Beijing Games.

But he said - My feeling was not bad. I felt relieved. -

Asked about the 2012 London Olympics, he admitted - I can't see anything yet. I want to take one meeting at a time and absorb different things in a way which can carry me through to London. -

Kitajima already competed at a meeting with juniors and local college students last weekend in Fullerton, California, a one-hour drive from his training base in Los Angeles.

He was due to compete in the 200m and 50m at the time trials over the weekend at the Tokyo Swimming Centre, his training base at home.

His next main target is the national championships in April.

His coach Norimasa Hirai said - I believe he will come close to match his personal record at the nationals if he keeps on training normally. -

After retaining his Olympic titles, Kitajima moved to Los Angeles last April and resumed training at the University of Southern California.

He skipped the world championships in Rome in July and August where both his 100m and 200m world records were shattered.

Australian Brenton Rickard won the 100m in 58.58, breaking Kitajima's mark.

Another Australian, Christian Sprenger, clocked 2:07.31 in the 200m semi-finals, shaving by 0.2 seconds Kitajima's mark set in Tokyo in June 2008.