TOUGH MEET AHEAD FOR BRITISH SWIMMERS
Britain's disability swimmers will face possibly their toughest
IPC World Championships yet when the competition kicks off
in Durban tomorrow (Saturday 2 December).
The IPC World Championships are the second biggest disability
swimming competition outside the Paralympic Games and will
provide swimmers and coaches alike with the chance to measure
achievement ahead of Beijing in less than two years time.
More than 550 athletes from over 40 nations are competing
in Durban and competition is expected to be fierce.
Having topped the medal tally at the 2002 World Championships,
the British team has a lot to live up to, and will face tough
opposition from countries such as China, Australia and the
USA as they bid to repeat the performance of four years ago.
China, who are preparing to host the next Paralympic Games,
won more golds in the pool than any other nation in Athens
and are expected to be on even better form when the competition
opens tomorrow.
Likewise, countries such as America, Australia, Canada and
Spain have increased funding into their disability sports
over the last few years and now pose a real threat in the
pool.
Multi-Paralympian Giles Long is first of 19 British athletes
to compete individually tomorrow and opens the competition
with a performance in the S8 100m Freestyle.
The 33-strong British squad has been preparing in Durban
for the past ten days and is as prepared as it possibly can
be, according to National Performance Director Tim Reddish.
"I believe we are the best prepared team at this meet,"
said Reddish. "The support staff have done everything
possible to provide the best environment for athletes to achieve
personal best times in the pool, and if athletes can achieve
personal bests it will convert to places on the podium."
"The competition has moved in the last four years and
we're expecting this to be a quality, competitive meet. There
will be athletes here that we haven't seen before and as more
countries receive funding for disability sport they pose an
even greater threat than in previous years."
To ensure that Britain retains it place as one of the leading
nations in disability swimming, a group of junior athletes
has been selected to the team to allow them experience a major
meet and start to prepare ahead of London 2012.
At just 12 years old, Eleanor Simmonds (Boldmere) is the
youngest of the group, while other juniors include 15-year-old
Jonathan Fox (Newquay Cormorants) and 13-year-old Claire Warne
(Luton).
"There are no junior championships in the Paralympic
movement and as a sport we needed to consider how to prepare
our youngsters and expose them to a major Games before London,"
added Reddish.
"We set a 'B' standard to give athletes under 18 the
chance to qualify and if those athletes return to their home
programmes and what they learn here they will be in the best
position possible to hit times for Beijing, let alone London."
The IPC World Championships are broadcast live on BBC interactive
on Sunday 3 December from 3pm-5pm and Thursday 7 December
from 3pm-4.30pm. The Championships will also feature in BBC
Grandstand next Sunday (10 December) from 6.15pm.
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