BRITISH RECORD FOR DUNNING IN WORLD RECORD FINAL
Terri Dunning broke the British Record for the 200m butterfly
on the first day of competition at the European Short Course
Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
In what turned out to also be a World Record breaking final,
Dunning (Co Birmingham) kept pace with the leaders and was
in a bronze medal position going into the final 50m.
As Otylia Jedrzejczak stepped up a gear to take the title
in the new record time of 2:03.53, Dunning was just was just
pipped at the finishing line by Germany's Annika Mehlhorn
who took bronze in 2:06.53 ahead of Dunning's 2:06.54. Hungary's
Emese Kovacs won silver in 2:05.41. Speaking after the race
Dunning was clearly pleased with her performance. "I
was very relaxed coming into the final following a good performance
in this morning's heats.
"I knew it was always going to be a fast race but I really
was not aware we were on World Record breaking time. My aim
during recent training sessions for this event has been to
really push the second 100m, and I was feeling good and swimming
well, so tried to keep up with the leaders as much as possible.
"I'm delighted to have taken the British record, although
seeing the time the German girl achieved to take the bronze
medal, I'm a little frustrated that I didn't hold on for third.
"I still have the 50m and 100m butterfly events to come
and this result will give me renewed confidence to compete
well alongside the best in Europe." Cassie Patten (Stockport
Metro) also featured in the final, where she swam a personal
best time of 2:08.56, much to her amazement. She commented,
"I have been nursing a shoulder injury and have not featured
fly in any training sessions for some time, so my time in
somewhat surprising, but very encouraging. She added, "I
have come to this meet straight from the camp in Australia
and only found out I was entered into this race when I arrived.
This meant I was a little nervous before the final, which
has proven to be not such a bad thing. "I am really loving
every minute of my training and racing at the moment. My coach
Sean Kelly ensures we enjoy and have fun with our swimming
and I believe this shows in some of the results I am now producing.
Fresh from winning gold at the Dutch Open (50m) last week,
Katy Sexton produced another strong swim to take her into
tomorrow's 100m backstroke final.
In qualifying 5th fastest, Sexton (Portsmouth Northsea) produced
a personal best time of 59.01 and was pleased with the result.
She said, "I am happy to reach the final and to get a
PB but I am now looking to go sub-59 seconds.
"Today was all about getting two rounds out of the way,
which I have done, but the work will really be done tomorrow
in the final.
"Winning gold in Eindhoven has given me confidence,
but that was last week. Tomorrow is a new day, a new race
and I hope to focus well, swim hard and enjoy the race."
Sexton's coach, Graham Wardell, was also pleased with her
progress into the final. He said, "It is so pleasing
to watch a swimmer enjoy training and racing as much as Katy
is doing right now. "She has enjoyed some good results
but she will be looking to step her game up tomorrow and go
under 59 seconds." Georgia Davies (Swansea Performance
Centre) also progressed to the semi finals where she improved
on her heat time to finish 15th overall in 1:01.25. Davies
commented, "I put quite a lot of pressure on myself to
compete well here and I am happy that I improved on my heat
time during the semis. "I am enjoying the competition
and swimming alongside some of the best athletes in Europe
provides a great learning experience. I hope that with more
hard work and training, I will achieve the results I am hoping
for and will be looking to challenge for not just a place
in the final, but for medals.
Godalming's Owen Morgan was the sole GB team member to progress
to the semi finals of the 50m Freestyle. In a semi final which
featured the current World Record Holder, Stefan Nystrand
of Sweden, Morgan finished in a time of 22.31, and was a little
disappointed with his performance. "I made a couple of
mistakes during my race, which I will not be making ever again!
"This is my senior GB debut and I came to these championships
looking to make the semi final or go 21.9. I should be happy
having sealed the semi final place, but I was hoping to go
faster and just did not have enough power in the tank. "The
coaches here have mentioned that we are to enjoy and learn
from this meet, and that is exactly what I intend to do. I
look forward to the next opportunity to put into practice
what I have learned and hopefully improve on my performance
here. On the first day of competition team GB achieved one
British Record and 14 PBs. The European Short Course Championships
(25m) is taking place in Debrecen, Hungary between 13th and
16th December 2007. Team GB comprises:
The British squad comprises:
Charlotte Barnes (University of Bath / Mark Skimming)
Emma Bird (Nova Centurion / Bill Furniss)
Sophie Caul (Co Birmingham / Adam Ruckwood)
Rebecca Cooke (Co Glasgow / Stephen Hill)
Georgia Davies (Swansea Performance / Bud McAllister)
Terri Dunning (Co Birmingham / Adam Ruckwood)
Debbie Hall (Co Sheffield / Russ Barber)
Georgina Heyn (Ealing / Dave Heathcock)
Karen Lee (Bristol North / Kim Swanwick)
Louise Pate (Heart of Midlothian / Phil Potter)
Cassie Patten (Stockport Metro / Sean Kelly)
Keri-Anne Payne (Stockport Metro / Sean Kelly)
Katy Sexton (Portsmouth Northsea / Graham Wardell)
Adam Brown (Hatfield / Chris Nesbit)
Christopher Cook (Co Newcastle / Ian Oliver)
Daniel Coombs (Chorley Marlins / Ian Turner)
Todd Cooper (Stirling Swimming / Chris Martin)
Daniel Fogg (Loughborough University / Kevin Renshaw)
James Kirton (Co Sheffield / Russ Barber)
Marco Loughran (Guildford City / Chris Nesbit)
Andrew Mayor (Co Newcastle / Ian Oliver)
Mark McKenna (Co Manchester Aquatics / Mark Lappin)
Dean Milwain (Loughborough Univeristy / Ian Turner)
Xavier Mohammed (Bexley / Shelly Camy)
Owen Morgan (Cranleigh)
Lewis Smith (Warrender / Ian Wright)
Peter Thompson (Middlesbro ASC / Les Green)
Charles Turner (Ealing / Dave Heathcock)
Christopher Watkinson (Loughborough Univeristy / Ben Titley)
Richard Webb (University of Bath / Mark Skimming)
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