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 Olympian walker Jared Tallent is feeling the heat 

Olympian walker Jared Tallent is feeling the heat

1/07/2008 11:31:00 AM
VOMITING after training in a humidity tent is all part of the way Newlyn Olympian Jared Tallent is spending the last weeks before the Beijing Olympics.

The racewalker spent much of last week on a treadmill inside the 33 degree humidity tent in an effort to acclimatise to Beijing conditions.

The 23-year-old will compete in the 20km and 50km races.

Tallent said acclimatising to conditions in Beijing was a vital part of final preparations.

"It's tough, the humidity really takes everything out of you. I threw up after I was in there today," he said.

"Training is progressing really well, but for now on in it's about me acclimatising to the heat."

Tallent, who spoke with The Advocate last week, lives at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

His demanding training regime also includes five weeks boarding in an altitude house which will be set to 3000m above sea-level.

Tallent said he was unfazed by air pollution levels that were nearly five times above the World Health Organisation's safety standards.

"It looks pretty bad when you first arrive. From hotel rooms the buildings one kilometre away can disappear into the smog, but you don't really notice the difference when you are competing," he said.

Tallent finished 10th overall at the World Cup against the same competitors he will face in the Olympics.

He said the 20km race on August 20 was his best chance of bringing home a medal.

"It's the 20km that I'm training for. The 50km (six days later) is a bonus for me but I think I can be pretty competitive in that as well," he said.

Tallent has already tasted success in Beijing, winning the IAAF 20km Race Walking Challenge in April in 1:20:1.

"It's pretty exciting. I just can't wait," he said.

Tallent's fiancee Claire Woods is also poised to make her Olympic debut. The couple will wed in Woods' home-town Adelaide the week after the Games.

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Newlyn Olympian Jared Tallent is undergoing a demanding training regime in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics.
Newlyn Olympian Jared Tallent is undergoing a demanding training regime in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics.

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