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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | North Shore, NZL |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Go-karting, rugby. (absoluteinsurance.co.nz, 05 Jun 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | When he first entered a pool he nearly drowned so his mother insisted that he took swimming lessons. |
| Name of coach | Donna Bouzaid |
| Coach from what year? | 2012 |
| Training Regime | He trains between 25-30 hours per week which includes nine swim sessions a week, strength training three times a week, and pilates. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He first took up swimming at age nine. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2008 |
| Competing for | New Zealand |
| Tournament | World Short Course Championships |
| Location | England |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Bell, Soy (absoluteinsurance.co.nz, 05 Jun 2008) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | 'If you are never leading the race, you are never giving yourself a chance to win." (absoluteinsurance.co.nz, 05 Jun 2008) |
| Other information | MOVE He moved from Auckland to Taranaki in April 2012 in order to team up with high performance coach Donna Bouzaid, who coached him in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (stuff.co.nz, 31 May 2012) US TRAINING He spent eight weeks training under Dave Durden at the University of California, Berkeley in 2011 (stuff.co.nz, 23 May 2012). OLYMPIC CONTROVERSY At the 2008 Olympic Games, he was embroiled in a drunken incident at a sponsor's party that resulted in three of his teammates taking photographs of him, passed out and semi-naked in a toilet cubicle. His teammates, Corney Swanepoel, Cameron Gibson and Dean Kent, were tossed out of the Olympic Village and barred from team gatherings. The incident was revealed to be the result of a bitter internal feud between the swimmers who wanted to tone down Bell's brash attitude. He spoke of the event for the first time in May 2009 in the lead up to the World Championships in Rome. (stuff.co.nz, 17 May 2009) ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL He was involved in another alcohol-related incident when he was admitted to hospital in Rome following the completion of the 2009 World Championships. It was reported that the hospital visit was due to excessive alcohol intake but his actions would not prevent his selection in future national teams. (stuff.co.nz, 25 Aug 2009) SENT HOME He was sent home from the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India for breaking Swimming New Zealand's zero tolerance alcohol protocol after having "a couple of beers" after the completion of the swim meet. (nzherald.co.nz, 15 Oct 2010) |