Kris Gilchrist: Aiming to reclaim a 200m spot

Britain has a fine Olympic pedigree when it comes to men’s breaststroke, with medal winning performances over the years from such swimmers as Wilkie, Goodhew, Moorhouse and Gillingham, but it’s 20 years since a British breaststroker mounted the Olympic podium. The crop of 2012, then, have quite a legacy to live up to but there are a number of swimmers vying for the chance to break that 20 year lean streak. Both the 100m and 200m events could go many ways with little to choose between many of the contenders.

The 200m event is perhaps the harder to call of the two given results in 2011. At the World Champhionships, Britain was represented by Michael Jamieson, who finished fifth, and Andrew Willis, who was seventh. Neither was the fastest Brit of the year though, with Kris Gilchrist’s performance at the ASA nationals bettering both of them.

There was little to choose between them in 2011 though with only 0.33s from fastest to slowest. Gilchrist has the edge both from last year but also in lifetime best, with his PB of 2:09.01, although that swim was suit-aided. Jamieson and Willis both set their PB’s in 2011.

All three train together at Bath ITC so each will know how the others are progressing, but they will need to be careful not to ignore the challenge from Swansea ITC, which is the training base of Richard Webb. Webb swam the 200m breaststroke at the 2009 world championships but had something of a disappointing 2011, only managing a time almost 3 seconds slower than his best. That led to a switch to train with Bud McAllister in Swansea, but we have yet to see the fruits of that change in 2012. On his best form Webb could upset the Bath trio and claim an Olympic place.

Whoever does claim the Olympic spots, though, will need to drop time to be competitive. While Jamieson was 5th in a 2:10.40 last year, any serious thoughts of podium places will need a time closer to 2:09 and probably under. The competition domestically might just spur the top two down towards that level.

Meanwhile the 100m event is no less difficult to call but has the intriguing twist that the swimmer leading the selection race so far this year has not featured on the international scene for almost 2 years.

It’s been a difficult period since the Delhi Commonwealth Games for Dan Sliwinski, the current British Record holder in a suit-powered 59.55 – a performance registered when he was still a junior back in 2009. Sliwinski failed to make the world championship team in 2011 but a recent change of training base to the Stockport ITC seems to have reawakened his talent. He leads the GB rankings so far this year in 1:00.75, which significantly, is faster than any of his selection rivals managed in 2011.

Those rivals are predominantly the 200m specialists who may not have the raw speed necessary in the shorter event. Certainly none of them managed to get under the FINA A time of 1:00.79 in 2011 and the British qualifying standard is faster still at 1:00.50. In that context, an on form Sliwinski should stand the best chance of securing an Olympic spot.

Another who could feature is 2011 World Youth champion Craig Benson – he posted a time of 1:01.34 to win that title, but has the potential to drop further. Like Sliwinksi he’s more of a 100m specialist so may fancy his chances of toppling his Scottish rivals.

Like the 200m though, there is some way to go for those selected; neither Jamieson or Gilchrist made it through to the world final last year and it’s likely that the British Record will need to go for a podium placing to be a realistic proposition.

Jemma Lowe - targeting a fly double at trials

If ever there was a case that three into two doesn’t go then surely it can not have been as difficult to predict as the selection battle set to rage for the ladies’ 100m fly at the Olympic trials. The trio of Ellen Gandy, Fran Halsall and Jemma Lowe have all fired their opening salvos in the race to London, leaving all three in the world top 5, and leaving commentators scratching their heads as to who will make the team.

What makes it doubly difficult to predict is the fact any permutation of two of the three would be legitimate medal contenders.

Lowe and Gandy were Britain’s representatives in the 100m in Shanghai where both made the final. In Lowe’s case that selection was down to a phenomenal performance at the ASA nationals where she touched out favourite Halsall by just one one-hundredth of a second in 57.43 to secure her place in a result few would have predicted. Gandy and Lowe went on to reach the final in Shanghai, finishing 5th and 7th respectively although only Gandy was able to improve on her trials performance.

At that time Halsall was still making her way back from ankle surgery but has already shown this year that she will be a force to be reckoned with, recording 2012′s fastest time in the world at the British Universities Championships, in 57.67. That reclaimed the top spot from Gandy, who only hours earlier at the NSW state championships in Australia had recorded 57.78. Lowe meanwhile sits 5th in the rankings on 58.02 but has not raced since that outing in Austin at the start of the year. What’s clear is that none of them will be concerned with the Olympic QT which sits at 58.56.

Whoever makes the team will have a shot at a medal but will need a time close to, if not under, 57 seconds. As the out-and-out sprinter of the trio Halsall would appear to be best placed to achieve that, with the others also adept at the 200m event and perhaps lacking in the raw speed needed, despite possessing stronger finishes. However as we saw in 2011 any of the six possible finishing orders for the three could occur; it promises to be one of the highlights of the trials.

By comparison, the 200m event seems easier to call, with the two spots looking to be destined for Lowe and Gandy. Indeed given the selection policy in place it seems highly unlikely that Gandy would not get the nod unless injured, thanks to her world silver last year. She already heads the 2012 world rankings in 2:05.95.

Both ladies were finalists in Shanghai, Lowe being the fastest qualifier but fading to 7th having spent much of the race in the medal hunt.

The top two are a decent distance ahead of their nearest challengers but don’t write off third ranked Jess Dickons entirely. Now based at Bath ITC she rediscovered her form late in 2011, after a difficult few years, winning the World University Games title in 2:07.68 and has already beaten Gandy this year at the Victorian State Championships. She’s likely to need to drop a couple of seconds from her 2011 best but could still be a contender.

Fran Halsall - focussed on trials

British Swimming’s selection policy for the Olympics sets out how Britain’s swimmers are going to earn themselves a coveted spot on the team for London 2012. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved with a number of different possible outcomes. While in part it’s simple there are a number of nuances in the policy, so below we’ll try and summarise the routes to London and clarify how the team should be picked.

In reality, there’s no such thing as an easy way, but to be certain of a spot, win your event at the Olympic trials in March and swim faster than the FINA A qualifying time and you are home and hosed. Event winners faster than this standard will find themselves automatically on the way to the Games.

Based on 2011 form, this route should see most event winners guaranteed spots, the potential exceptions coming in the women’s 100m breaststroke, men’s 100m freestyle and, perhaps surprisingly, the men’s 100m breaststroke. In these events the winners will need to improve on last year’s performance to be sure of their places.

Come second in your event at trials but swim faster than the Olympic Qualifying Time set by British Swimming, which is equivalent to the world top 16 time as at 1st September 2011 and you too should be guaranteed an Olympic berth. There is a caveat however; more of that later.

Again using 2011 form, there should be a number of second spots filled in March, but by no means all. Using times from the 2011 world rankings, the following numbers of swimmers make the grade for one of the two initial selection criteria

This means that in some events, barring improvements on last year’s performances, there may still be spots remaining after the conclusion of the trials.

A full breakdown of who made the grade last year is shown here.

If places remain in an event, and it should be expected that the numbers will be limited, they will be filled following the ASA National Championships in June. Selection is not only tied to event results in Sheffield, but empty spots will be filled by the fastest swimmer under the FINA A time in a given event after results from Sheffield are combined with the finals performance of swimmers already selected at the trials. This group is likely to include a number of swimmers who finished second at trials but didn’t squeeze under the Olympic qualifying time and those selected for relays looking to add an individual swim.

If places still remain, given how selection has gone in previous years and the way the policy is written, it’s still possible that spots may be offered to swimmers who meet the FINA qualification standard, but who have not performed on the right days, provided the total team size doesn’t exceed 26 men and 26 women. If you’ve got to this point without being selected you really are relying on a selectorial whim though and also on there being spaces left at the games themselves. FINA are limited to 900 swimmers in total so will offer any left over spaces to the highest ranked swimmers who didn’t make the FINA A time. This is not a route that Brtiain would expect to be using so don’t hold your breath.

There is one other selection route open only to those who finished in the top 4 at the 2011 World championships. Provided they have demonstrated their fitness in 2012, these swimmers, and there are only five of them, could be selected ahead of swimmers who would otherwise have qualified at trials by finishing second in a time faster than the Olympic Qualifying Time.

It’s a provision that seems unlikely to be used, but it means that barring injury we are almost certain to see Rebecca Adlington, Hannah Miley, Fran Halsall, Ellen Gandy and James Goddard at the Olympics.

Britain qualified a full complement of six relay teams for London at last year’s World Championships so there is potential for a number of swimmers to get added to the team roster as relay alternates or to make up quartets. Despite the caveats writtin into the policy for relay selection it seems unthinable that Britain will not have 6 relay squads at the games.

For the medley relays, it’s first-past-the-post in each individual event provided you are selected anyway. If there are no qualifiers in the individual 100m events, then the winner at trials can be added provided they have swum faster than the FINA B time (this is a FINA rule). However the FINA B time is relatively soft so this should not prove to be any problem.

The freestyle relays are not so straightforward. In both the 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m teams the fastest four swimmers at trials from heats, semis and final will be selected on time only unlike individual events which are selected on final results only. This could hypothetically mean the odd situation of a relay team being selected without the top two swimmers from the final.

There is then scope for up to 2 further swimmers to be added to each of the squads following ASA Nationals, but the policy does not require these to be the next two fastest available swimmers. This could be an interesting way for the British Swimming hierarchy to give experience to young up and coming swimmers with an eye on 2016, particularly if the overall squad already includes swimmers who could slot into a freestyle relay – for example Liam Tancock or Hannah Miley – reducing the need for relay alternates.

As with most British teams of recent times, anyone on the squad can challenge for a relay spot, so expect there to be a number of relay challenges and changes to the team closer to the event.

So there you have it; that’s how the 52 potential spots at London 2012 will be filled. There will undoubtedly be twists and turns along the way, but selection will not be easy and the swimmers who get spots will surely have earned them.

• British swimming selection policy
• FINA qualification process

Full details of how the selection process works, along with a summary of the information presented below can be found here.

There are those who argue that athletes who have served their punishment via a two year ban should be able to move on with their lives and careers and not face further punishment. This argument is valid but flawed in two principal ways in this context. Firstly, there is nothing to prevent athletes from resuming their sport or indeed from achieving success. A swimmer could, for example, return from a doping ban and compete around the world on the world cup circuit, at regional championships and world championships so has not lost a livelihood.

Secondly there are parallels that can be drawn with the judicial system of this country. Although as a society we accept the concept of rehabilitation after serving a punishment, depending on the offence there may yet be limits placed on an individual’s activities. A convicted fraudster may for example be barred from being a company director. That does not prevent someone from getting on with their life; why could doping not be treated the same way?

Sport cannot exist in a moral vacuum. Much as John Terry’s behaviour led to him being stripped of the England football captaincy, or Danny Care was axed from England’s 6 nations rugby squad following a drink-drive incident, where selection is involved factors other than form or capability are frequently taken into account. And it is important to note that the byelaw relates to selection, not qualification, which implies an element of discretion.

Furthermore, representing one’s country at the Olympic Games is a privilege not a right and it is a privilege that is available to precious few. Why should those who have opted to cheat prevent clean athletes from experiencing the ultimate sporting event?

British Swimming is fortunate that it doesn’t have a Dwain Chambers or a David Millar, or indeed a Jessica Hardy, and so has not yet had to face this issue in earnest when considering the make up of its Olympic squad. Losing the deterrent of an Olympic ban may yet force the sport to grasp the nettle in future.

Overturning the rule, and removing the assoicated deterrent, would be a retrograde step in the fight for drug free sport. Hopefully CAS will see sense in March.

On balance the weekend belonged to the fly ladies; Ellen Gandy won the 100m butterfly at the Victoria State Championships in Melbourne in a fast time of 57.96 while over at the Austin Grand Prix in Texas, Jemma Lowe was only just touched out by world Champion Dana Vollmer in a solid 58.18. Gandy couldn’t repeat the win in the 200m though, being beaten by fellow Brit Jess Dickons in 2:09.50. Lowe was faster still in the longer event recording 2:07.39. Add Fran Halsall to the 100m mix and the fly events look tough to call at trials.

Halsall only swam the 50 fly in Sheffield where she posted 25.84 but was also seen recording 54.29 over 100m freestyle. That’s an encouraging swim, faster than she managed at trials last year.

In Flanders there were signs of a return to form for British record holder Dan Sliwinski who posted an encouraging 1:00.75 for the 100m breaststroke. That was faster than Michael Jamieson managed in Melbourne, although the Scot has bigger hopes for the 200m event. He did however profess himself disappointed with his time of 2:12.15.Andrew Willis was a touch behind Jamieson in both events, while over in Austin another of the 200m hopefuls Richard Webb posted times of 2:13.51 and 1:02.56, so on paper has a little ground to make up on his Bath rivals.

Swansea teammates Jazz Carlin and Georgia Davies also put up strong early season performances in Texas. Carlin’s 400m freestyle time of 4:07.89 was the highlight of her weekend; her 200m performance of 2:01.42 indicative of a heavy training load and more speed work to come between now and March. There was a better showing over 200m from Caitlin McClatchey in Sheffield who recorded a swift 1:58.34 and looked to be coming back to her best form.

Davies meanwhile showed her pace is coming along nicely with a 1:00.75 showing in the 100m backstroke, putting her almost 3 seconds ahead of world record holder Gemma Spofforth, who looks to be in heavy training still. Expect more from her at trials where Lizzie Simmonds will also join the battle; Simmonds posted a 200m time of 2:10.51 in Sheffield, faster than both her rivals could manage but not as fast as Georgia Hohmann managed in Flanders. The teenager posted a strong 2:09.71 to mark herself out as an outside bet at trials.

Siobhan Marie O’Connor continued her development in Melbourne racing to second over 200IM behind Alicia Coutts in 2:15.08 – Hannah Miley’s place as GB number one might still be secure but there is an Olympic place up for grabs behind her. O’Connor will have to battle two other impressive youngsters for that spot though; Sophie Allen in 2:13.23 and Aimee Wilmott in 2:14.26 were both faster in Flanders.

Also taking encouragement from the weekend’s events will be Kate Haywood. After a turbulent 2011 for her, she posted 1:08.81 for the 100m breaststroke, a time faster than she managed on the whole of last year. A fully fit and on form Haywood would be a huge boost to the GB medley relay team so it’s to be hoped her resurgence continues.

Finally, back in Flanders, Michael Rock continued his quiet return to top form, winning the 200m fly in 1:58.16, while there was a tantalising hint that open water queen Kerrie-Anne Payne might yet have a crack at securing a pool spot over 800m freestyle as she posted a time of 8:38.58.

There are still 7 weeks until trials, and a lot of metres to be covered, but the battle lines have been drawn this weekend. If it was ever in doubt, it’s now clearer than ever that the competition for Olympic places will be fierce.

Liam Tancock: would lead off a GB mixed medley team

Last November, word emerged from the FINA technical swimming committee that the introduction of mixed relays into international competition was being considered. At his stage it’s still a vague proposal and it’s not clear how or when they might be introduced into the world championship programme, but there is precedent in that the Youth Olympic games featured both mixed 400m freestyle and medley relays. Equally the mixed freestyle relay was famously swum in the 2007 duel in the pool, when Libby Lenton’s lead off time of 52.99 was disallowed as a world record due the potential draft she received from Michael Phelps in the adjacent lane.

While there’s no immediate prospect of the event taking place, purely in interest, we looked at how Britain would make up relay quartets should the event have been included in Shanghai last year, using 2011′s rankings as a guide and a 0.5 second tolerance per takeover.

For the freestyle relay selection is straightforward; pick the two fastest men and women from the rankings and line them up at the start line. That gives the following team:

Out of interest, Australia’s time at the 2007 duel was 3:23.41, much faster, but the USA could only manage 03:25.80. The prospect of GB beating the USA in reality seems remote however.

Picking a medley relay squad is not so straightforward due the required stroke combinations, but the fastest team is obtained by picking the two top ranked ladies who are closest to their male counterpart. Consequently there’s no place for Lizzie Simmonds or Stacey Tadd, while Anthony James and Adam Brown make way on the fly and freestyle legs.

The medley relay wasn’t swum at the duel, hence there’s nothing in the senior record books to compare against, so for context we looked at how the USA and Australia might fare under the same circumstances. Interestingly none of the three teams has the same combination of men and women, which is largely a function of the excellence of Rebecca Soni and Michael Phelps. Alicia Coutts was the top ranked Australian in both butterfly and freestyle, but can clearly only swim one leg; in this instance her freestyle wasn’t quite quick enough to make the grade.

All of this is of course intensely theoretical, and in any case takes out any concept of tactics. In the medley relay for example, the USA would be way ahead of the rest, but at the 300m stage GB would be 4.72 seconds ahead of Australia, having swum two men already to Australia’s one. That would leave consummate anchor leg swimmer Fran Halsall battling to hold off a fast finshing James Magnussen. No doubt Halsall would relish being the hare in that match up. Maybe it’s one we might see in the future.

Rebecca Adlington had a year that showed she has learnt to deal with the pressure that comes with being a world record holder and Olympic champion, showing great guts and determination to leave Shanghai with gold and silver medals and to finish the year as Britain’s only number one ranked swimmer.

Despite Adlington’s undoubted excellence however, it was the performance of the first athlete to book a place in London that caught the eye at the World Championships, particularly given the gruelling event in which that feat was achieved. As a consequence the Pullbuoy swimmer of the year for 2011 is Kerri-Anne Payne

The Stockport based swimmer had a year to remember, as she regained the 10km open water world title she had first won in Rome in 2009 and demonstrated that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the Serpentine next summer. The manner of the victory was also impressive as she took the lead almost from the gun and led the field virtually throughout the 2-hour long event.

Since taking up open water swimming seriously, Payne has developed into one of the finest exponents of the discipline and yet is still able to turn her hand to the pool events – indeed in 2011 she also qualified herself for the 4 x 200m freestyle relay squad and swam the 1500m freestyle in the pool in Shanghai, an event in which she had broken Rebecca Cooke’s British record at trials – one of only two long course marks to fall in 2011.

Whether the aquatic centre will have the same appeal in London given the prize on offer in the open water remains to be seen, particularly given the programming which places the open water events after the conclusion of the pool programme, but if that leads to a 100% focus on the 10km that can only increase the chances of a home victory.

The 2004 Australian Olympic team is presented to the crowd at the end of their trials meet

The unprecedented demand for tickets for next year’s Olympic trials, which saw almost all tickets sold to pre-registered buyers last week, all but guaranteed full houses in March next year as Britain’s Olympic team begins to take shape. But despite this level of interest, the trials still seem on some levels to be a missed opportunity to develop swimming even further in the public consciousness.

The demand for tickets should not have come as a surprise given the huge over-subscription for Olympic tickets, the fact that this is the first British championships to be held in London for several years, since Crystal Palace was taken off the venue list, and the opportunity to see some of the world’s top swimmers in the new Olympic pool. However it does appear to have caught many people on the hop and left them without tickets. As a consequence many have been calling for the capacity of the venue to be increased to accommodate those not fortunate enough to have secured their seats; a group which includes the parents of many GB swimmers.

This chance to have showcased the sport in front of the biggest crowd ever seen for a British Championships is one missed opportunity, but not one of British Swimming’s making. The trials are using the legacy seating at the Aquatic centre, giving a seating capacity of 2,500. It’s a peculiarity that the trials, an official test event, aren’t using the full capacity, or a greater proportion of it, but it’s driven by some practical issues, however unpopular that makes the situation.

The heating and cooling systems in the pool have been designed and installed to service the permanent legacy facility only and hence don’t have capacity to also heat the huge temporary stands that flank the main pool hall. This is a sensible approach; to draw a crude analogy you wouldn’t install a bigger central heating boiler in your own home to heat a marquee in the garden for two weeks, one summer.

During the games themselves the temporary stands act like chimneys drawing warm air away from the pool deck and allowing the temperature to be maintained at the required level for competition and keeps the stands at an approriate temperature. As the trials take place in March the external temperatures are much lower than during the Games and, given that the heating cannot provide for the stands, that leaves the potential for the temperature at deck level to also drop as heat is lost through the seating areas.

Explains a LOCOG spokesman: “For the British Championships in March 2012, due to the colder outside temperature, some additional measures are being put in place to ensure the field of play is the correct temperature for athletes”

“Part of this includes the installation of a temporary environmental curtain that seals off part of the temporary section of the seating stands to retain heat within the building. This reduces the seating capacity but ensures the athletes will experience the best possible conditions to perform.”

So while the restricted capacity is unfortunate, it is something of a fait accompli for organisers. The trials though, do appear to represent a missed PR opportunity as a consequence of the selection policy adopted. That policy won’t see the team nominations finalised until after the ASA Championships in June of 2012, so the opportunity to parade the nominated team to the assembled home crowd and give them a rousing send off to the games, just as the Australians do at their trials, has been lost. It’s altogether possible that many swimmers simply won’t know if they have qualified or not, making any team presentation a little half baked.

The inclusion of different qualifying times for different qualifying places and labyrinthine relay selection criteria don’t help this situation either; given that many watching will not be well versed in the selection procedures and could well be attending their first trials, the announcers will need to be on their toes to keep the crowd informed as to selection successes.

None of which is to say the meet will not be great; undoubtedly the drama of Olympic selection in a fantastic new venue will generate a memorable atmosphere and some intense competition. There’s just a nagging feeling that it could have been even better. Only time will tell.

Editor’s note

Subsequent to the publishing of this article British Swimming have confirmed their intention to have a parade of selected athletes at the end of the trials meet.

British Swimming had operated a pre-registration scheme whereby fans could register their intent to purchase tickets, allowing them earlier access to the ticket sale. It was this release of tickets to pre-registered fans that led to the difficulties which ultimately led to website theticketsellers.co.uk closing down.

Earlier in the day there were complaints that the exclusive access links set out to registered users were not functioning correctly.

British Swimming apologised to those caught up in the chaos, blaming “technical difficulties”. Amongst those experiencing trouble were Olympic hopefuls Dan Sliwinski and Thomas Haffield who had been attempting to purchase seats for their families.

Clearly the opportunity to visit the pool was too good to miss for many who missed out on Olympic tickets while the huge demand shows that the first competition to be held in the new Olympic pool has caught the imagination of the swimming public. This should mean that the trials will avoid the fate of many national competitions which take place in almost deserted pools. However, that thought will do little to placate those who spent hours unable to purchase tickets.

The ticket sale opens to the public next week.