SWIMMERS ON COURSE TO MEET MELBOURNE CHALLENGE
Head Coach Ian Turner has described the England team of swimmers
as "strong and unified" as they prepare to take
on the might of Australia and the rest of the Commonwealth.
In just two weeks the Commonwealth Games will get underway
in Melbourne and England's swimmers are nearing the end of
the road to ensuring they are both physically and mentally
ready for the start of the swimming on 16th March.
Following months of hard work - both in and out of the water
- the team is now on the Gold Coast, Australia adding the
finals touches to their preparations.
The two-week camp at The Southport School - home to British
Swimming's Offshore Performance Centre - is well on course
to ensure England's athletes are at their peak when the action
gets underway in Melbourne.
Three days into the camp and already the effects of such
a lengthy journey, well over 24 hours of travelling, look
to have subsided.
"The athletes and coaches are coping well with the change
of environment," said Turner. "There is a 10-hour
time difference between here and home to cope with as well
as getting rid of the jet lag that builds up after such a
journey but people have reacted well and the camp is well
on course.
"We're also building the team from within in relation
to the unity of swimmers as well as the coaches."
While the swimmers acclimatise they will continue to ease
down from their usual workload as they taper towards the Games
to ensure they are fully rested and sharp enough to perform
in a race environment.
It will certainly be a massive test for England, as well
as the other home nations, against a dominant Australian team
enjoying the benefits of a home advantage.
However, Commonwealth nations such as South Africa, Canada
and New Zealand will also prove a real threat as they have
enjoyed a re-emergence over the past two years and the successes
this has brought with it.
"We all realise this is going to be a very difficult
Commonwealth Games especially with Australia within their
home territory," said Turner. "It's very early days
so far but the team looks strong and unified.
"It's a smaller group than that of four years ago in
Manchester but we've tried to make it more select and more
focused on success."
Turner is also looking beyond the Commonwealth Games for
a team that he sees as relatively young and inexperienced
compared to their English counterparts of four years ago.
"The team is gaining in experience all the time. Although
the Commonwealth Games are extremely important they will also
provide us with a benchmark to see where we are in relation
to the main focus which has to be the Olympics in 2008,"
explained Turner.
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