SWIMMERS FIGHT FOR PARALYMPIC PLACES
Britain's top disability swimmers will be battling it out
at this weekend's British International Disability Swimming
Championships to make their dreams of competing at the Beijing
Games a reality.
The three-day competition, which is run in conjunction with
British Swimming, Disability Sport Events and Nationwide Building
Society, is the final opportunity for Britain's swimmers to
secure nomination for the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
The event will see experienced athletes like David Roberts,
Sascha Kindred and Natalie Jones pushed all the way by the
young talent coming through, which includes Sam Hynd and Eleanor
Simmonds, as they try to gain the valuable Paralympic spots.
This is the second chance to qualify for the Games for Britain's
swimmers who also competed at the British Championships earlier
this month, where the talent of the squad shone through as
they smashed 12 world records, 31 European records and 59
British records.
National Performance Director Tim Reddish was encouraged
by the performances of the athletes at the British Championships
and is looking for the athletes to show their consistency
as they look to meet the vital qualifying criteria.
"We had a number of athletes that performed exceptionally
well at the British Championships," Reddish said. "The
athletes gained a number of personal best times and the good
news for us is that the British records are tumbling, which
means our own standards are getting higher.
"I am expecting the competition this weekend to be tough
as athletes will be looking to either reinforce their performances
from earlier this month or to improve on their times.
"With the international competitors I will expect that
our contingent will be looking to prove how far they have
come to them."
To determine which swimmers will be nominated to the British
Paralympic Association, results from the British Championships
and International Disability Swimming Championships will be
combined and ranked for each event and classification.
The top ranked swimmer in each of these events and classifications
must have swum below the set qualification times to be nominated.
Swimmers who are ranked in second and third place in their
event will be eligible for selection, as long as they swim
below the qualification time and there is sufficient space
on Team GB.
Competition begins on Friday 25th April with the men's 200m
Individual Medley at 9.00am.
|
