YOUNG DIVERS READY TO FACE AUSSIE OLYMPIC TEST
A team of young British divers are undergoing final preparations
ahead of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) in Sydney
which gets underway for the group on Friday.
The squad of seven will compete against such strong diving
nations as hosts Australia, China and Germany over three days
where the boys' and girls' 3m and 10m individual and synchro
titles will be contested.
Aged 12 to 17-years-old, the British contingent will gain
valuable experience from the multi-sport event which is designed
to replicate a major international event.
The most experienced member of the squad is 17-year-old Tonia
Couch, who was within the qualification standard for the 2007
World Championships after winning silver in the 10m Platform
at the British Diving Championships last weekend.
The Plymouth diver gained valuable international experience
in 2006 making the finals in the Commonwealth Games and European
Championships.
City of Leeds' Callum Johnstone (16) will be looking to improve
on his Platform silver at the European Junior Championships
in Palma de Mallorca earlier this year and will be a strong
contender in the 10m event.
And 12-year-old Thomas Daley (Plymouth) is the youngest member
of the team and received special dispensation to dive against
athletes three years his senior. He recently claimed silver
in the senior 10m Platform at the British Diving Championships.
Junior Olympic Programme Manager, Kim White, believes the
young divers can learn a lot from the meet.
"This is the first year we have been invited and I believe
performances of our young divers over the past two years is
what earned us the invitation. They have all dived consistently
and some in major international competitions," said White.
"We are taking a mixed team of experience and youth
but certainly they're the best juniors we have and they will
benefit greatly from the experience of competing in a multi-sport
event like this."
The divers form part of a 113-strong British Olympic Association
(BOA) team comprising athletes from twelve different sports.
Diving is the only aquatic sport in the multi-discipline competition,
which includes hockey, rowing and figure skating among others.
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