All eyes turn to British Championships after Duel win in Swansea

By Jamie Trueman, Sportsbeat

After an impressive 207-109 defeat of Germany in the ‘Duel in the Pool', Great Britain's swimmers have swiftly turned their attention to the upcoming British Gas British Swimming Championships.

INDIAN SUMMER: World 50m backstroke champion Liam Tancock has turned his attention to qualifying for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at March's British Championships in Sheffield (OnEdition)

The week-long competition, starting on March 29 at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, will see Britain's top swimmers battling it out to be crowned national champions.

And to add more importance to proceedings, the Championships will also be acting as the first qualifying event for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October.

The event also acts as trials for August's European Championships in Budapest but, like the majority of British squad, Liam Tancock insists the Commonwealths are his primary target for 2010.

"The priority in the next few months is the British Championships," said the world 50m backstroke champion.

"They are going to be trials for the Commonwealth Games in October, so they are a very important meeting for me and I have been working my training schedule around them."

Aimee Wilmott, who impressed to finish second in the 800m freestyle behind Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington in the Duel in the Pool, agreed the Commonwealths were the ultimate goal for 2010.

And the 16-year old insisted the road to Delhi begins in Sheffield.

 "I'm focused on the British Championships now where I need to get in the top two or three to get picked for the Commonwealth Games," said Wilmott.

"If I could get into the team for Delhi that would be amazing, I can't even think how happy I would be.

"I've been to junior tournaments around the world but the Commonwealth's would be totally different and I would be looking to put in a good performance there if I'm picked, not just go for the experience."

Meanwhile, Joe Roebuck admits narrowly missing out on selection for the 2006 Games in Melbourne adds an extra incentive for him in Sheffield.

"For the Commonwealth Games in 2006, I missed out on selection by just two hundredths of a second and it is still something I think about," said Roebuck.

"If I had been selected and swum the time I swam in the trials at the actual Games, I would have won bronze.

"So it is something I really want to set right this year and I'm focusing all my attention on making the plane to Delhi."