Rock and Halsall look towards Commonwealth Games

By Ryan Bangs, Sportsbeat

MICHAEL ROCK has admitted his shock victory over Michael Phelps won't mean a thing unless he delivers on his medal promise in 2010.

JOY: Michael Rock delights after claiming the scalp of Michael Phelps over the 200m butterfly distance in Manchester (Getty Images)

The British butterfly specialist beat the 14-time Olympic champion over 200m at the British Gas Duel in the Pool.

But he's not getting carried away as he looks towards a busy New Year, with October's Commonwealth Games in Delhi the major highlight.

"This has got to be put into context, I'm in heavy training at the moment and I'm sure Michael Phelps is the same," said Rock.

"It's a mid-season event but it's a fantastic experience for us and something we're just glad to be a part of.

"It was a strange feeling at the end.  He is the greatest swimmer of our generation, so I don't expect to go out there and beat him.

"But I have been working very hard and it was great to race Michael again.  However, I must say I couldn't have done it without the home support.

"It shows that I am moving in the right direction with London 2012 in mind and hopefully I can achieve great things."

Fran Halsall was another British swimmer to shine at the inaugural Duel event in Manchester - winning both the 100m butterfly and the 50m and 100m freestyle.

She was the youngest English swimmer at the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she won two silver relay medals.

But this time around she was not traveling for the experience, but in quest of a golden upgrade.

"I'll probably have a lot of events at the Commonwealths so getting base practice can only be good for me," said Halsall, who won 100m silver at the FINA World Championships in Rome earlier this year.

"We're working on what events I want to do at the moment and having short course meets is good because you have that race experience and stimulation.

"You've got to get up, get focussed, get ready then you've got to swim, swim down and go through the processes you go through at all major competitions."

 * British Gas and British Swimming. The nation's leading energy supplier, British Gas, is the Principal Partner of British Swimming, supporting the sport at all levels: 'From paddling pool to podium'. For more information visit www.britishgas.co.uk/swimming