SWIMMERS IN FIGHT FOR NATIONAL HONOURS
Britain's best swimmers will converge on Sheffield this week
where national titles will be at stake for a generation of
swimmers with the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics firmly
in their sights.
The ASA National Championships (50m) will combine with the
ASA National Swim 21 Youth Championships and both groups will
share Olympic aspirations albeit four years apart.
For the senior athletes close rivalries will resume with
podium places and personal pride as their motivation while
those competing in the youth element, girls 14 to 17 and boys
15 to 18, will be looking to make a name for themselves with
the London Games just five years away.
The six-day meet begins on Friday as the ASA National Age
Group Championships, for younger emerging talent, comes to
a close and will provide an opportunity for people to see
Britain's World Championships medallists in action.
One of those to return from Melbourne with medals around
his neck is Liam Tancock (Loughborough University) and he
will be competing in the Backstroke events where he secured
a bronze in the 50m and 100m in March.
"This event is a stepping stone for me towards a meet
in Japan at the end of August but I'll be in Sheffield to
do my very best, I plan to swim fast and enjoy swimming in
front of a noisy home crowd," said Tancock.
"These days the Backstroke events in Britain boast a
world class field. The guys involved are some of the highest
ranked swimmers in the world so these events are bound to
be exciting."
And swimmers will be looking to earn the right to compete
as part of the British Swimming team in next year's FINA World
Championships (25m) in Manchester and LEN European Championships
(25m) in Hungary in December.
Many swimmers will use the event to produce a best time before
rankings at the beginning of September determine which events
they will compete in. First or second ranked swimmers in Britain
in Olympic events will be selected for the World Championships
while third or fourth ranked athletes will head for the Europeans.
A trio of new awards will also be presented with the Dave
Haller Award, Terry Dennison Award and Ian Turner Award being
made for the first time.
The Dave Haller Award will be presented for the best performance
by an individual or relay team at a World Championship or
Olympic event while the Terry Dennison Award will go to the
best performance at last week's European Junior Championships
where Britain achieved a best-ever result outside of the UK.
This week's ASA National Age Group Championships will see
the Ian Turner Award being presented to the best performance
of the meet. All awards will be presented to both swimmer
and coach.
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