The world champion swimmer using an inflatable garden pool to train

Isobel Ewing

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Boglarka Kapas is the world champion in 200-meter butterfly and was bronze medallist at the 2016 Olympic Games in 800-meter freestyle, but recently her training regime has looked a little different.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and social-distancing measures have led to the closure of swimming pools across Hungary and prevented athletes from training as they normally would.

But that hasn't stopped Kapas from creating an innovative training set-up in her back garden to stay fit. The 27-year-old has tied a bungee rope around her waist and the other end around a pole to hold her in place as she works on her technique and fitness in a small inflatable pool.

Kapas was one of several members of the Hungarian swimming team who tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of March, after they became infected at training camps abroad.

At the time, she posted a video on her Instagram account to tell her followers that she felt no symptoms at all, while urging people to "wear masks and gloves and not to leave home unless it's necessary."

Kapas ties a bungee rope around her waist to hold her in place while she trains. /CGTN

In the weeks that followed, Hungary's national championships were cancelled and it was then confirmed, after weeks of speculation, that the Tokyo Olympics would be postponed until 2021.

Kapas's coach, Balasz Virth, revealed the swimmer had been affected emotionally by three setbacks in quick succession.

"When she was informed that she was sick, she felt really bad," said Virth. "Then news came about cancellation of the national championship and the Olympic Games. One shock came after another. It was a process."

Kapas was finally able to get back in the pool on 27 April, having missed five weeks of training. The pair are now hopeful her training regime in her garden pool will make her ready to compete again in 15 weeks.

She isn't the only swimmer using inventive methods to stay fit. In nearby Bosnia, junior swimming champion Iman Avdic is making use of her grandfather's greenhouse for training.

Initially, her two-meters-by-three-meters pool was situated outside. But after finding it too cold, her father and coach Evelin Avdic came up with the idea of putting it inside the greenhouse.

"It is all kinds of odd for me, but everything can be done like before but in a slightly different way. It's easy for me to adapt but I miss a real pool," Avdic said.