Japan's Kitajima comes back like Beckham

TOKYO, Mar 15 (Reuters) Japan's Kosuke Kitajima has followed David Beckham's fitness formula by spending hours in an oxygen chamber to prepare for the world swimming championships.

The 24-year-old has also endured weeks of tortuous high-altitude training in Arizona in a bid to rediscover the form that won him two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

''I'm going to Melbourne with confidence,'' Kitajima told reporters before leaving Japan for fine tuning in Tasmania. ''I have a different mindset than before. It's more fun.'' Kitajima destroyed American rival Brendan Hansen to win the 100 and 200 metres breaststroke double, celebrating his 200m gold in decidedly un-Japanese fashion by yelling: ''I kicked his butt!'' However, Kitajima suffered an immediate Athens hangover, a mystifying slump in form and a niggling elbow injury plunging his future into serious doubt.

His rehabilitation has involved hours spent in an oxygen chamber of the type used by Beckham and Wayne Rooney to speed their recoveries before the last two soccer World Cups.

He has carefully avoided fanning the embers of his rivalry with double world record holder Hansen, however, instead keeping his eye firmly on next year's Beijing Olympics.

''It's going to be a special sort of championships,'' said Kitajima, who broke his own 50m and 200m national records in the Japanese short course championships earlier this month.

TURBULENT RUN-IN ''I'm hoping to take the confidence I have now all the way into the Beijing Olympics. Hansen is really way ahead of me.

It's all about Beijing for me.'' In contrast to Kitajima's turbulent run-in to the March 17-April 1 world championships, preparations could not have gone smoother for Japan's only other Athens swimming champion, Ai Shibata.

The Olympic 800m women's freestyle gold medallist set a national record in the distance at the Japanese short course championships and will be a genuine contender in Melbourne.

''Finally!'' smiled Shibata before leaving Japan. ''I've been waiting for this for a long time. I'm confident I can produce the same performances in Melbourne.'' Olympic 200m backstroke bronze medallist Reiko Nakamura also arrived Down Under in fine fettle after she set new Japanese best short course marks in the 100m and 200m.

Meanwhile, Tomomi Morita broke three short course national records in the men's backstroke and will be aiming to improve on the Olympic bronze he won in the 100m in 2004.

Reuters SAM GC1530