BRITISH SQUAD EXCEED EXPECTATIONS IN DEBRECEN
The European Short Course championships came to a conclusion
tonight in Debrecen with team GB finishing the meet with two
British Records, two Scottish Records and a total of 40 personal
bests.
Todd Cooper (Stirling Swimming) progressed to the semi finals
of the 50m butterfly, where he finished in a time of 24.04
to finish 14th overall.
Cooper was also part of the 4x50m freestyle team who squeezed
into the final in eighth place. The quartet of Owen Morgan
(Godalming ASC), Todd Cooper (Stirling Swimming), Adam Brown
(Hatfield SC/Offshore Centre) and Charles Turner (Ealing SC)
improved on their heat time (1:28.75) to finish in seventh
place with a time of 1:28.11.
Sweden took the 4x50m freestyle title in a new World Record
time of 1:24.19. The squad from France were second in 1:24.98
with Germany winning bronze in 1:26.46.
With a mixture of both experienced swimmers and those making
their senior team GB debut, Head Coach, Kevin Renshaw, was
satisfied with the team's performance overall.
"The team were given a difficult job. They are a team
selected from this year's rankings. At best we have the third
ranked swimmer in the country; in other events a swimmer ranked
8th in the country has been selected.
"In terms of expectations, many thought we would struggle
to get into any finals or challenge for medals, yet, not only
have we reached finals, we have secured two British Records
and two Scottish Records on the way.
"It is worth remembering that this is a European Short
Course competition that the rest of Europe takes very seriously.
Most of the athletes here are shaved and rested prior to this
meet, and that is highlighted by the fact that over the past
four days, seven World Records and five European Records have
been broken.
"In terms of the GB squad, it was great to see some
of the younger kids really lifting their performance levels
and I believe we are on track for where we want to be come
2012.
"At the first team meeting I challenged them all to
compete hard and be in the race. Charlotte Barnes, Emma Bird
and Marco Loughran are three examples of athletes who really
grasped what we asked them to do. They have taken on board
all that was asked of them and have appeared fearless when
racing against tough opposition.
"It was also great to see some of the more experienced
swimmers coming back to form.
"It was particularly pleasing to see Katy Sexton swim
so well and break the British Record in the 50m backstroke.
"To single out any one performance is very difficult,
but Terri Dunning's British Record in the 200m fly would have
to be up there.
"Mention should also go to Daniel Fogg and Mark McKenna
who improved on their 1500m personal best times by 25 and
32 seconds respectively.
"During his time here, the National Performance Director,
Michael Scott, talked about this meet as a journey.
"This meet is not the end of the journey, it is just
a stop along the way and many of the team's short term focus
is the Olympic Trials in April, and for those who are successful,
the journey will lead them to Beijing. For others, the journey
will continue until London 2012."
Overall in the competition team GB achieved two British Records,
two Scottish Records and 40 PBs.
The European Short Course Championships (25m) took place
in Debrecen, Hungary between 13th and 16th December 2007.
Team GB comprises:
Female Male
Cassandra Patten Stockport Metro Adam Brown Hatfield
Charlotte Barnes University of Bath Andrew Mayor Co Newcastle
Debbie Hall Co Sheffield Charles Turner Ealing
Emma Bird Nova Centurion Christopher Cook Co Newcastle
Georgia Davies Swansea Performance Christopher Watkinson Loughborough
University
Georgina Heyn Ealing Daniel Coombs Chorley Marlins
Karen Lee Bristol North Daniel Fogg Loughborough University
Katy Sexton Portsmouth Northsea Dean Milwain Loughborough
University
Keri-Anne Payne Stockport Metro James Kirton Co Sheffield
Louise Pate Heart of Midlothian Lewis Smith Warrender Baths
Club
Rebecca Cooke City of Glasgow Marco Loughran Guildford City
Sophie Caul Co Birmingham Mark McKenna Co Manchester Aquatics
Terri Dunning Co Birmingham Owen Morgan Cranleigh
Peter Thompson Middlesbrough ASC
Richard Webb University of Bath
Todd Cooper Stirling Swim
Xavier Mohammed Bexley
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