British 200m freestyle record holder Simon Burnett of Wycombe District will miss this year’s world championships following an illness. Burnett overcame a hand injury to force himself onto the Olympic team for Athens, where he broke Paul Palmers national standard in the 200m and was finalist in that event. Burnett will now switch his focus to the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, qualification for which can be achieved in August.
Matt Kidd won’t be focussing on a trip down under however; the Leatherhead swimmer who has spent the past few years training at Auburn University, Texas has announced his retirement from swimming. 25-year-old Kidd currently holds the British Record for the 100m Freestyle and competed in both Sydney and Athens. He also took fourth place in the 100m freestyle at the Manchester Commonwealth Games. More significantly, he was the first Briton to go under 50 seconds for the event, achieving that feat at the 2001 World Student Games.