DIVERS LOOK TO IMPRESS IN MADRID
Britain's divers begin the final stage of preparation towards
the vital Olympic qualifier in Beijing when they take on Europe's
best divers at the first leg of the FINA Grand Prix series
this weekend.
The 11-strong-squad go to Madrid hungry to prove their place
on the team already selected for the World Cup event in Beijing.
All athletes will be aiming to improve their competition experience
and fitness before they aim to qualify Britain a place at
the 2008 Olympics.
The 3m and 10m boards will be in action with medals available
for individual and synchronised performances and the British
contingent's aim will be for consistency as they target top
12 finishes.
For National Performance Director Steve Foley the Grand Prix
will prove the perfect opportunity for his team to focus on
gaining vital competition exposure.
"The team has been showing good form for the past three
months and I will be looking for them to continue this in
Madrid," he said. "Their confidence and self belief
has been growing since the FINA Diving World Series in September
and I believe this will push us onto success.
"This is a great event to take part in just after nationals,
it will allow us to maintain our competition momentum in the
run up to the World Cup and give us an opportunity to take
on some top divers from across the continent.
"I know that a good performance in Madrid will make
the difference for the World Cup. If we can go into that event
with a strong performance under our belt then we will have
improved confidence of what we can achieve in Beijing."
Tom Daley (Plymouth Diving) has continued to impress all
within British Diving as he continues to develop towards the
2012 Olympics.
Foley is looking for Daley to take this event in his stride
and enjoy the run through of his diving list before the World
Cup in February.
"I am looking for all of our athletes to learn from
this event, for Tom I will be looking for him to increase
his competition experience," he said.
"He works really well in competitions and is not afraid
to take on athletes twice his age - this is an admirable quality.
He thrives on competition and I will be looking for him to
continue his consistency in Madrid."
2008 is one of the most important years of many of the divers'
careers and with many of the squad striving to compete in
the Olympics in August, international exposure will be key
to their success.
"The athletes are relatively young and the more international
events they do this year the better," said Foley. "It
is very important in diving to build a strong reputation with
the judges and we began this process at the World Championships
last year.
"I believe we really made an impact at the FINA Diving
World Series, all of our athletes performed strongly in front
of FINA judges and this was a great way for preparing for
the tough year they have ahead of them.
"The synchro pairings of Nick [Robinson-Baker] and Ben
[Swain] and Monique [McCarroll] and Sarah [Barrow] have continued
to impress over the last few months. They have shown consistency
and maturity against some of the best divers in the world.
"I am looking for these guys to attack their dives and
we should see some good scores coming from them. If they can
score in between 390 and 400 points I will know we are on
track for the World Cup."
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