BRITS CLAIM DOUBLE EUROPEAN GOLD IN LONDON
British swimmers Alan Bircher and Cassie Patten took a European
title a piece at the LEN 5km Open Water Swimming Cup in London
today.
It took strong sprint finishes from the duo to secure gold
in windy conditions at the London Regatta Centre in the heart
of the Royal Albert Docks.
Patten was in London after a packed week of competition that
saw her swim at two international meets - the FINA 10km Marathon
Swimming World Cup in Seville and the Barcelona Mare Nostrum.
The 20-year-old arrived in the Capital in the early hours
of this morning with team mate Keri-Anne Payne after a lengthy
journey by air from Spain and then by car from Liverpool via
Manchester. And an unfortunate turn of events saw the pair
involved in a car accident in wet conditions on the M6.
In the dock today, Patten and Payne (both Stockport Metro)
were amongst the leading swimmers for the duration of the
5km course, with Patten taking a body-length lead on the final
straight. Germany's Stefanie Biller and Anna Guseva of Russia
were also in the mix over the distance and just pipped Payne
for a podium spot in the home sprint.
Patten touched home for gold in 62:00.72, Guseva won silver
in 62:02.27, Biller took bronze in 62:03.56 and Payne was
fourth in 62:03.87.
"I'm pleased with that," said Patten. "I think
that's the worst preparation ever for a race. Our plane from
Spain was delayed by around three hours and the weather made
the driving conditions appalling. I think I might have mild
whip lash from the accident.
"I'm not normally good over 5km, but before I got in
that water someone reminded me I won the LEN event last year
and that gave me an extra boost.
"I felt really relaxed at half way, I paced myself well
and I wasn't over-anxious about not leading, which was good.
I swam with Keri-Anne for a lot of the race which helped as
we're not rough with each other and I'm really pleased she
swam well although I'm sure she'd like to have medalled."
Having kept up with the leading pack for the first 2.5km,
Britain's younger swimmers Rachel Jack and Alice McCall finished
well in 7th and 11th place in 62:42.32 and 64:42.46 respectively.
In the men's event Bircher (University of Bath) was chased
all the way by Bertrand Venturi of France, but managed to
keep his lead despite a challenge for gold on the final sprint.
After losing his goggles at the FINA 10km in Seville last
weekend and finishing 33rd, Bircher was keen to put in a good
performance before tomorrow's 10km race.
Bircher won gold in 56:49.24, Venturi claimed silver in 56.49.87
and compatriot Julien Codevelle won bronze in 56:54.51.
"I hadn't planned to go out fast, but I lead off well
from the start and just thought I'd go for it," said
Bircher. "I knew if I got into the lead the French and
Spanish guys would just sit behind me, so I did a lot of leading
out there.
"Before the race I decided if I was at the front I'd
really go for it from the far buoy. I kicked as hard as I
could but I couldn't quite shake off the French guy. I managed
to get him on the final sprint though.
"Tomorrow will be a different ball game, it's anybody's
race. I was eighth at the Worlds and I need to get back on
track. I've got eight months to the Olympic qualification
event in Seville and I'm finally back into full training and
training at the level I should be."
British titles were also on offer as part of the 5k event.
In the women's race Patten, Payne and Jack made the podium
while in the men's event open water newcomer Richard Charlesworth
(Hatfield / Southport School) won silver in 57.35 and City
of Glasgow's James Leitch claimed bronze in 62:03.82.
And Britain's junior's were also in action at the London Regatta
Centre competing in the British Swimming 3km Junior International.
Reigning champion Chad Ho of South Africa and Egypt's Mazen
Aziz took the top two spots in the boy's race, coming home
in 36:00.93 and 36:01.53 respectively, while local swimmer
Craig Jackson (Greenwich) claiming bronze in 37:07.60.
The girls' event was a British affair with Aynsley Heseltine
forging ahead on the final leg. The City of Sheffield youngster
won gold in 39:12.28 in front of Jennifer Jackson of Wigan
Best in 39.25.26 and Carnegie's Jennifer Davis in 41:19.60.
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