WORLD SQUAD PREPARES FOR DURBAN CHAMPS
Thirty-three of the country's top swimming talent head to
South Africa today to make final preparations ahead of the
IPC World Swimming Championships in Durban next month.
The team will endure 20 to 30 hours of travel before arriving
in Durban where they will benefit from a 10-day holding camp
that will enable them to fine-tune their preparations for
the World Championships, which start on Saturday 2nd December.
The World Championships take place every four years and are
the biggest disability competition outside the Paralympic
Games. In 2002, Great Britain topped the medal table but the
team faces a tough task to retain their title with stiff competition
from the Chinese who took the top spot in Athens.
The British team's 10-day stint in South Africa will enable
them to acclimatise to the summer conditions where temperatures
are expected to reach 30 degrees Celsius.
British Disability Swimming Performance Director Tim Reddish
hopes the preparation camp will ensure the team has the best
possible lead in to competition.
"By arriving in Durban 10 days out from competition
we are giving our athletes plenty of time to recover post-travel
and complete their preparations for the Championships,"
said Reddish.
"Each athlete has their own individual programme which
they will be following in the build-up to competition but
we will also be working hard to ensure we prepare as a team.
"We have a strong team of support staff in place, including
physiologists and biomechanists, who will make sure the athletes
have the best preparation possible for this major event."
This year, a group of young athletes will travel alongside
their more seasoned counterparts as British Swimming looks
to expose its promising swimmers to major competition ahead
of London 2012.
"There is a really strong bond between the team this
year," added Reddish. "We have a mixture of youngsters
and experienced athletes and they all want to be there for
each other and help each other out.
"Our aim is to be the best prepared and best supported
team in Durban and with 43 family and friends travelling to
South Africa we plan to achieve those goals."
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