beijing spots now available to britain's swimmers
In a surprising twist it has emerged that Britain's swimmer swill be able to book their Olympic place at this months World Championships in Melbourne. Bill Sweetenham, while remarking on how these championships will prove a valuable stepping stone on... [more...]
pool to be named after susie
Melbourne 2007 organisers have confirmed that the temporary pool being used for the championships will be named after one of Australia's most successful and well loved swimmers, Susie O'Neill. The pool is located inside Rod Laver Arena, more usually known... [more...]
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montreal: time for a rethink?
The British squad went to Montreal with high expectations. The qualification standards were the toughest yet under the Sweetenham regime, but 18 swimmers attained the standard and arrived at the meet after a reportedly solid preparation, yet only four swimmers produced personal bests at a meet that yielded 3 bronze medals. So the question everyone is asking is, what went wrong?
montreal controversy: do we need video referees?
It wouldn’t be much of a global swimming championship if there hadn’t been any controversy. In three of the past four meets of this calibre, the Olympics in Athens and the world championships of Fukuoka in 2001 and this year in Montreal, the swimming competition has been blighted by some indiscretion either called unnecessarily or missed by the officials. But does this trail of controversy lead inevitably to a video referee?
outside lane, out of mind?
The outside smoker, a speedy swimmer in lane one or eight who takes a field by surprise to win the gold, is hardly a new phenomenon but it has been one that has appeared with unusual regularity in Montreal in these World Championships. So is there something peculiar about the pool, are swimmers getting more practiced at dealing with the qualification process or are there more rational explanations?
the team that bill built
The Montreal World Championships take place against a background of generational shift in British swimming, with the links to the teams of the previous regime diminishing steadily. Nonetheless this meet is a pivotal moment for the British swimming squad as they seek to establish a winning mentality on the road to Beijing.
british team profiles
Eighteen British swimmers have made their way to Montreal for the world championships. We profile each team member and assess their prospects for the 8 days of competition.
british swimmers in montreal
The full listing of who is swimming what in Montreal as Bill Sweetenham reveals his hand ahead of the World Championship swimming programme.
last chance saloon - stage 3 meet preview
This weekend sees the final chance for Britain's swimmers to book their places on the team for the World Championships in Montreal. Only ten swimmers confirmed their places on the team at the Trials held in Manchester earlier this year, which leaves many spots still up for grabs.
british trials review
Disappointing. Underwhelming. Poor. All words that have been bandied about in relation to the British World Championship Trials. Many complained about the stringent qualifying standards that had been imposed, while several high profile swimmers called time on their careers. But was it really as bad as some would have us believe?
australian trials review - ian pope
The Aussies raced tough at their trials, and to an outsider once more looked very impressive. But inside knowledge is a wonderful thing so we again sought out Australian team coach Ian Pope to get his take on the events in Sydney and to find out how his swimmers' preparation had gone.
australian trials review
With no Ian Thorpe at the Australian trials this year, Australian swimming must have hoped that someone would stand up and make a story to keep up the profile of the event. They needn't have worried as Australia's women turned it on, posting some hugely impressive swims, and on the men's side Grant Hackett took full advantage of the Thorpedo's absence, winning the 200/400/800/1500 quadruple. And just for good measure there was also the return of Michael Klim, still one of the Australian public's favourites, to near top form.
british trials preview
It will be a changing of the guard at this years World Championship trials, with a new breed of international swimmers looking to take their place on the international squad for the trip to Montreal. With no fewer than eight of Britain's Athens Olympians calling it a day since that meet closed, the opportunities are definitely there and the strength in depth of British swimming will be put to a stringent test in Manchester this week.
australian trials preview
You'd be forgiven for thinking in the build up to the Australian World Championship trials that the meet was more about who won't be swimming than those who will be giving their all to book themselves a ticket on the plane to Montreal later in the year. That team will be picked after this week's trials in Sydney.