TAYLOR AIMS FOR WORLD MEDAL DESPITE INJURIES
Olympic medallist Leon Taylor will approach next month's
World Championships with the clear target of winning the only
diving medal that has eluded his growing collection so far.
With Olympic, European and Commonwealth medals already earned,
the City of Sheffield diver is without a World medal and will
be hoping to go one better than the fourth place he secured
two years ago in Barcelona with platform synchro partner Peter
Waterfield.
Preparation has been far from perfect for Taylor whose year
since winning the 10m Synchro silver in Athens with Waterfield
has been one of injuries and rehabilitation closely followed
by further set backs. However, the signs are now there the
diver is again coming into form.
"We've not had the best preparation this season but
when Peter and I got together earlier this week we put in
the kind of performance that would have put a world championship
medal around our necks," explained Taylor.
"I've recovered from a virus which has held me back
over the past couple of weeks and I'm feeling good now. Training
together with Peter (Waterfield) has been great, and I feel
fitter and healthier than I have for a while."
Taylor will be hoping to recreate the kind of form that gave
Britain its first Olympic diving medals in 44 years and expects
the next three weeks' work with diving partner Waterfield
of Southampton will be crucial as to the outcome of their
summer.
"I still have problems with my neck, back and shoulder
due to a car accident earlier this year. It can get very tense
and I suffer from painful niggles here and there," said
Taylor.
"I've been working through the pain barrier to try to
ensure I have a successful summer so we'll have to see what
happens in Montreal.
"The session we did yesterday was pleasing. It felt
as though we were as good, if not better, than we were at
the Olympics last year. We went through our list of dives
in training and they were exactly where we need to be.
"It's giving me the kind of confidence where I can now
look forward and not backwards over the past few months."
British Diving has announced a team of 11 that will contest
the World Championships (17th to 24th July) with Olympians
such as Taylor and Waterfield, Tony Ally and Mark Shipman
being joined by a selection of first time athletes.
For Taylor the opportunity to compete alongside some new
faces within British Diving offers him the chance to pass
on lessons learned over the past 13 years of international
competition.
"I'm really excited about teaming up with the next generation
of divers. The squad's a perfect combination of youth and
experience. It's so important for them to reach this level
of competition as young as possible. They'll learn so much
from the experience and hopefully we can act as mentors to
them.
"There's an influx of people coming through in British
Diving and when our generation retires we'll have suitable
divers to take over what we've achieve."
The Sheffield athlete also faces the prospect of a different
approach to the competition as he and Waterfield line up as
one of the main contenders that other pairs will be looking
to topple.
"We used to chase people ahead of us in world diving
and now people will be out to chase us but, like anything
I can't control in diving, I'll try to ignore it. All we can
really do is concentrate on our job."
National Performance Director Steve Foley is pleased with
the look of the squad especially following an Olympic year
and the retirements from sport this can induce.
"It's an interesting squad," said Foley "We
have some older, more experienced Olympians who have been
to the World Championships before but it's also pleasing to
see six new faces that have all progressed through out Junior
Olympic Programme. This is testament to the terrific job it's
doing.
"The most pleasing aspect is that just a year after
an Olympics we have a new era of divers coming through and
they'll be able to gain the right experience at the World
Championships and the Commonwealth Games next year before
looking at Beijing in 2008."
Certainly nothing has been given to the divers in their efforts
to reach the World Championships. They earned their right
to compete in Montreal by overcoming demanding selection criteria
of a first or second place at the national championships while
achieving a top 18 point score (individual) or top 12 point
score (synchro) from the Athens Olympics.
"They had a pretty tough selection process to overcome
but they made it impressively. We had four divers actually
achieve the required standard in the women's platform but
unfortunately we can only take two athletes per event. It
just shows the depth that is developing within British Diving.
"In some ways we are better now than we were two years
ago in Barcelona. We have the right mix of youth and experience
and we have Olympic medallists in Leon (Taylor) and Peter
(Waterfield).
"Two years ago the World Championships were used as
the qualifying meet for the Olympics. There was a great deal
of pressure around. This time I think we'll be a little more
relaxed and I'm looking forward to seeing the guys in action."
The British Diving World Championship squad comprises:
Claire Blencowe City of Sheffield
Tonia Couch Plymouth Diving
Brooke Graddon Plymouth Diving
Tandi Indergaard City of Leeds
Hayley Sage Beaumont Diving Academy
Louise Van Hoof Luton Kingfishers
Tony Ally City of Sheffield
Mark Shipman City of Sheffield
Ben Swain City of Sheffield
Leon Taylor City of Sheffield
Peter Waterfield City of Sheffield
The 11th FINA World Championships will take place in Montreal,
Canada between 17th and 31st July 2005. The championships
incorporate swimming, diving, open water swimming, synchronised
swimming and water polo.
The diving events take place between 17th and 24th July at
the Parc Jean-Drapeau, an island in the middle of the St Lawrence
River.
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