Optimism coursing through British swimmers' veins ahead of World Champs

From Ryan Bangs, Sportsbeat, in Cyprus

FOR some it was a trip down memory lane, for others an initiation and the rest a welcome change but there was one reoccurring theme at British Swimming's warm-weather training camp in Cyprus - optimism.

FAMOUS FIVE: Lizzie Simmonds, Jo Jackson, David Davies, Liam Tancock and Fran Halsall at British Swimming's warm-weather training camp, powered by British Gas, in Cyprus

There was optimism from Olympic bronze medalist Jo Jackson that she is finally back to her best after nearly 18 months of injury and illness that have seen Rebecca Adlington and Jazmin Carlin dominate the women's middle-distance freestyle events.

There was optimism from European 200m backstroke champion Lizzie Simmonds that her failure to qualify for July's Shanghai World Championships at the British equivalent in March will be readdressed at the second trials in Sheffield next month.

There was optimism from Michael Rock, already guaranteed a trip to China after winning British 100m and 200m butterfly gold for the fourth year running, that he can add to Commonwealth silver he won in the latter in Delhi and announce himself on the world stage.

There was even optimism from Emma Saunders that despite being 16 she can join five-time European and five-time Commonwealth medalist Fran Halsall on the 4x100m freestyle relay team in China's most populated city.

And such optimism was epotimised by the otherwise conservative performance director Michael Scott, who described the camp as the best he has attended since he first started working with British Swimming back in 2007.

Scott stands by his principle of comparing each major championships to the corresponding one four years previous with Britain's swimmers, now benefitting from support from British Gas, needing to claim just five medals, they won eight at the Rome World Championships in 2009 to better expectations.

A total of 33 descended on the Coral Bay Beach Hotel & Resort in Paphos for ten intensive days, which included regular sessions working on starts and turns with specialist Milton Nelms, who once helped five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe.

And the general theme of optimism is one backed up by history with Britain's swimmers using the exact same resort to prepare for the Athens Olympics in 2004, which saw David Davies and Steve Parry both win bronze.

Both were in Cyprus nearly seven years on from their Greek success but in differing roles with Davies trying to recover from failing to qualify for the 10km at the World Championships at the LEN Open Water Cup in Israel.

Meanwhile, outside the pool Parry was quick to subtly highlight the importance of the pool in helping him to 200m butterfly bronze to British Gas, sponsors of the team, dignitaries who were invited to witness firsthand a warm-weather training camp.

Parry shared his once teammates' and successors' optimism but, like Scott, believes China, who won 54 medals, 15 more than any other nation, at last year's Asian Games, will be too much of a force to contend with in their own country.

Such predicted dominance is something Britain's swimmers will be aiming for in little over a year at the London 2012 Olympics and if Nelms' work has been taken on board they will want to leave their rivals in a spin, regardless of the home nation's ambitions, come Shanghai.

 

The nation's leading energy supplier British Gas is the principal partner of British Swimming, and is supporting the sport at all levels, from grass roots to our elite athletes. Visit www.britishgas.co.uk/swimming

© Sportsbeat 2011