BRITISH PAIR IMPRESS FOR ANOTHER OLYMPIC SPOT
Britain secured another Olympic place at the FINA World
Cup in Beijing with Sarah Barrow and Monique McCarroll providing
the necessary expertise in the final of the Women's 10m Platform.
With a top eight finish needed, the girls finished seventh
out of the final 12 to ensure Britain will be represented
in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In their first ever outing at a World Cup, Barrow and McCarroll
gave a performance where consistency was needed to assure
an Olympic place.
With one diver to go the pair were in fourth challenging for
medals but some impressive executions from the rest of the
field saw them drop slightly with a very respectable score
of 313.02.
Gold went to China with 375.66, Canada took the silver with
340.05 and Australia the bronze with 334.80.
"We did a good job tonight in what has been by far the
hardest competition I've ever been in," said Barrow.
"A top eight finish was our aim and we've done that with
a little to spare."
""This result gives us a lot of confidence. It's
our first time at a World Cup and we showed we can compete
with the very best in the world."
Team mate McCarroll was delighted with the performance and
feels this can be a strong foundation for a bright future
for the pairing.
"It was a solid performance designed to get the job
done," said McCarroll. "It gives us a real platform
to build on and we'll be doing that without any let up between
now and the Olympics.
"We'll be competing at the European Championships next
month and will also feature on the Grand Prix circuit before
we head for the British trials in June where we will be going
for Olympic selection.
"We're really happy with that, there's room for improvement
and that's our focus now.
With Barrow in Plymouth and McCarroll in Southampton the pair
rotate in order to train together up to three days a week
specifically for the synchro event.
The FINA Diving World Cup takes place in Beijing from
19th to 25th February 2008.
The British squad comprises:
Sarah Barrow - Plymouth Diving
Monique McCarroll - Southampton Diving
Tandi Gerrard - City of Leeds
Hayley Sage - City of Sheffield
Brooke Graddon - Plymouth Diving
Jodie McGroarty - City of Sheffield
Stacie Powell - Southampton Diving
Louise Van Hoof - Southampton Diving
Thomas Daley - Plymouth Diving
Blake Aldridge - Southampton Diving
Nick Robinson-Baker - City of Sheffield
Ben Swain - City of Sheffield
Peter Waterfield - Southampton Diving
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