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Key:

• Sydney: 2000 Olympic Games
• Fukuoka: 2001 Long Course World Championships
• Moscow: 2002 Short Course World Championships

men's backstroke

Even in backstroke, it's impossible not to talk about Ian Thorpe. Despite the fact that he has no international pedigree in the event his decision to go for an unprecedented 7 golds in Manchester led him to choose the 100 back as the 7th target. England's top medal hope in the backstroke events, Adam Ruckwood, isn't so sure he'll have it all his own way. "His times haven't been revolutionary so maybe we can get in amongst it and beat him" he says. Thorpe is ranked second in the 100m, but a punishing schedule, which sees the semi finals of the backstroke on the same day as the final of the 100m free, may make it hard for him to mount a serious challenge.

One person who is certainly not going to let Thorpe take the tiles easily is fellow Australian Matt Welsh. Despite only not featuring on the Australian national scene until he was 19, Welsh has made his mark on world backstroking in the past 2 years, winning silver and bonze the Sydney Olympics behind then world record holder Lenny Krayzelburg and the world titles both long and short course in the following years. He currently sits top of the commonwealth rankings in the 50 and 100, and is only headed by yet another Australian, Ray Hass in the 200. But that won't matter come Manchester; "Without being defeatist, I can't se anyone beating Matt Welsh. " says Ruckwood "If he swims anywhere near his best no one's going to touch him."

Another swimmer to keep an eye out for in pullbuoy's opinion is Canadian sprinter Riley Janes. A solid performance over 50m in Fukuoka was followed up by an impressive showing at the world short course championships this year. Whilst he may not be a genuine contender for gold in any of the backstroke events, he's a definite possibility to sneak into the podium positions in the 100m back - the only event he is contesting, where he is currently ranked 4th.

From a home perspective, there is much to be optimistic about. Scotland are leading the home nations challenge, with Britain's number one Gregor Tait a good bet for a medal. He's shown impressive from in the past two seasons and is currently ranked third in both the 100 and 200 events, so is a genuine medal contender. He will be looking to dip under the magic 2 minute barrier in the 200 and will have his eyes firmly set on Ruckwood's British record of 1.59.52.

In terms of the English team, the old guard of Ruckwood and Martin Harris are joined by youngster Simon Burnett for the sprint events and medley specialists Simon Militis and James Goddard will probably contest the 200 event. All of them will be looking to make finals, but the chances of medals will appear to rely on someone taking a big step forward from their performances so far this year. Don't discount Harris in the 50 though, anything can happen in the one length dash.