SQUAD PREPARES TO FACE MIGHT OF AMERICANS
A British Swimming squad will be put through its paces at
an Arizona training camp in the States before facing members
of an American swimming team that was so dominant at the World
Championships in March.
British Swimming Head Coach Ian Turner will take charge of
a squad of 16 swimmers at a Phoenix training camp for two-and-a-half
weeks before competition at the Novaquatics Speedo Grand Challenge
meet in Irvine, California gets underway later this month.
The swimmers fly out this weekend looking to put together
a block of training on which to build as they enter a season
which will shape their Olympic aspirations in just 15 months'
time.
And at the end of their warm weather training camp they will
face the tough test of facing some of America's greatest swimmers
on home soil.
"We will go into the meet off a demanding training camp
without any rest, unshaved and feeling the effects from a
lot of hard work beforehand," said Turner.
"It's a relaxed meet but it will feature world-class
entries as well as many of the top Americans who took the
sport of swimming to an entirely new level at the Melbourne
World Championships in March."
For some of the British squad it will be familiar territory
as they have competed in Irvine before. One big difference,
however, is the fact they will face swimmers from the world's
number one nation on a high following their remarkable performances
in Melbourne.
"A British team raced at the Irvine meet two years ago
off the back of a camp in Pheonix and swam particularly well,"
said Turner. "But America is currently way ahead of the
world as we saw in Melbourne and we will be looking to get
closer to them with an Olympics 15 months away."
Turner's aim for the camp and competition is to give the
athletes an uninterrupted block of short and long course training
while developing a team spirit that will stand up well to
the pressures of international competition.
"The focus of the tour is put together a foundation
of hard training, race tough without rest and to promote interaction
between the swimmers," said Turner.
"It's part of a plan for many of the group to race five
times between now and the end of the season to promote a familiarity
with performing while in a racing environment and this is
where it all begins.
"The tour also provides an opportunity for the swimmers
to develop bonds between themselves. It's important to have
that interaction and for the athletes to have more opportunities
to race each other. It's imperative for team spirit."
In Phoenix the group will train outdoors over 50m and 25m
before they race outdoors in California (25th to 27th May)
in the William Woollett Jr Aquatics Complex long course pool.
British Swimmers attending the Phoenix Warm Weather Camp
(6th to 24th May) and Irvine Meet in California (25th to 27th
May) are:
Simon Burnett (Wycombe/Arizona)
David Carry (Loughborough University)
Matthew Clay (Swansea Performance)
Chris Cook (City of Newcastle)
Daniel Coombs (Gallica/Offshore Centre, Aus)
Euan Dale (Loughborough University)
Ross Davenport (Loughborough University)
David Davies (City of Cardiff)
James Goddard (Loughborough University)
Ben Hockin (Swansea Performance)
James Kirton (City of Sheffield)
Robert Lang (City of Edinburgh)
Dean Milwain (Loughborough University)
John Owen (City of Edinburgh)
Michael Unsworth (Wigan BEST)
Melanie Marshall (Loughborough University)
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