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Britain Selects 40 For Battle Of Shanghai
Jun 20, 2011 - Craig Lord
Britain has selected a team of 40, 20 of each gender, for the FINA World Championships in Shanghai next month.
Leading the hunt for medals are Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington, world champions Gemma Spofforth, Liam Tancock and Keri-Anne Payne (10km but will also race in pool events), European champions Francesca Halsall and Elizabeth Simmonds and Commonwealth champion James Goddard. Michael Scott, Performance Director, described the line-up as "one of the most competitive British teams ever assembled” as the squad prepares for holding camp in Osaka, Japan, Britain's base before the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.
The team is a mixture of experience and youth, with more than a quarter of the squad never having competed at a world championships before.
Scott said: "There will be some big challenges ahead this summer but the squad has real talent and strength, and is best placed to overcome these. It’s a healthy mix of experienced performers on the world stage as well as a group of exciting youngsters who will be looking to establish themselves on the team. Any World Championships is an important event and marker but the one prior to an Olympic year is a key measure that gives us a strong indication of where we are in our journey to the London 2012 Olympics."
He added: "We are currently well positioned within the World Rankings but this fact should be tempered. When we arrive in Shanghai we’ll see a very strong and competitive Chinese team with home crowd advantage, and this will significantly support their results. We should also look at the fact there hasn’t been a US trials in 2011 so we don’t yet know where the world’s number one nation is but you can be sure they’ll be at the very top of their game.
"As usual we expect tough competition from Australia, our European counterparts and a wider selection of nations all in the hunt for podium finishes. It’s going to be a challenge for our swimmers but one that they accept and relish."
Success in the race pool July 24-31 will be determined on medals, and getting past Britain's Melbourne 2007 tally (the four-year count preferred when considering the Olympic cycle), number of finalists, semi-finalists, best times (a tough and distorted measure for some given the suits now gone) and the ability of relays to make the podium.
On that latter note, Georgia Davies, who joined Spofforth and Simmonds below the minute over 100m backstroke last week, is among swimmers selected as relay back-up. "It’s a big team as we have included a number of relay alternates in both the freestyle and medley relays," said Scott. "These World Championships have added importance as they provide a qualification opportunity for the relays for the London 2012 Olympics. I’m very optimistic about our performances in Shanghai. I feel very positive about our progression within world swimming and believe we are working hard to support swimmers and coaches to achieve success on the world stage."
The British Gas squad bound for Shanghai (Bath, Loughborough, Swansea, Stirling and Stockport swimmers represent Britain's Intensive Training Centres):
