on the road to athens - 2004 olympic trials review
While Britain's Olympic trials may not have produced quite the drama of their Australian counterparts, they were still a fine exhibition of how British swimming has improved in recent years. Eighteen new British records were set along with two new Commonwealth marks as 36 swimmers booked their trip to Athens this summer. With the form shown at this meet, there is every possibility that, unlike Sydney, this team will not be returning empty handed.
The undoubted swimmers of the meet were Scot Gregor Tait of the City of Edinburgh club and Loughborough's rising star Melanie Marshall, both of whom captured two British records apiece as they secured Olympic selection.
While Marshall had shown some of her hand over the winter with some impressive short course swimming and a British record long course over 200m freestyle, few can have expected the outstanding swimming that these trials brought from her. In particular the magnificent 1:57.51 she recorded for the 4 lap event really turned heads; the time was agonisingly close to Susie O'Neill's Commonwealth record , but more importantly would have won every major title bar one in the last four years and that includes the 2000 Olympics. The only major competition swim faster in that period is the current world record of 1:56.6 set by Franziska van Almsick on her way to the European title in 2002. A repeat performance in Athens would surely see Marshall on the Olympic medal podium. But there was more to come, as the Loughborough ace became the first British woman to race inside 55 seconds for the 100m event, erasing Sue Rolph's European championship winning mark of 55.03, to cap a highly satisfying weeks work.
Tait on the other hand had been flying under the swimming radar in the last few months and had shown nothing to indicate he could produce the kind of form he showed in Sheffield. The 24 year old Scot was masterful in the backstroke events as he set British records over both distances and also took Matt Welsh's Commonwealth record with a time of 1:57.41 in the 200m event. He also broke another milestone in the 100m sprint, breaking the 55 second barrier and becoming the first Brit to do so. Another step up will probably be required to secure a medal in Athens, but the times finally mark Tait out as truly world class and he must go to the Olympics with renewed confidence. Mention should also be made of James Goddard, who pushed Tait all the way in the 200m event particularly, where he recorded an equally impressive 157.70, almost a one second improvement on his personal best. Two British representatives in the 200m Olympic final remains a distinct possibility.
The other stunning performance of the meet came from Darren Mew, who became the third fastest man ever over 100m breaststroke with his winning time of 1:00.02, a new Commonwealth Record.. So often in the past the Bath man has had the speed but lacked the finishing power in the final stages of the race, but not so this time as he left 2003 world bronze medallist James Gibson for dead over the closing stages. On that kind of form he cannot be written off at the Olympics. Another swimmer who made good on his potential was David Davies who stunned everyone with his maiden sub-15 minute 1500m swim with a British record of 14:57.93, erasing Graeme Smith's mark, although the Scot will be alongside him in Athens having qualified for the 1500 and 400 events. Another welcome sight was the return to form of James Hickman. The Manchester swimmer set a personal best and swum his fastest time in four years, but despite gaining selection for his third Olympics, was beaten in the title race by an inspired swim form Stirling's Todd Cooper. Cooper smashed the British record and his personal best with a 52.40 to take his first national title.
But there were more encouraging performances in the trials beyond these swimmers. Further British records were set by Georgina Lee over both 100m and 200 m butterfly, where she improved her previous bests by nearly a second in each, and the Camphill swimmer currently based at Southern Methodist University in the US, also booked herself a place on the 4x200 freestyle relay team with a runners up spot in that event. Simon Burnett, another Us based swimmer, showed remarkable powers of recovery form a broken wrist in January as he took out the 200m freestyle title in 1:48.50, well inside the qualifying time, and there were encouraging swims from Joanne Jackson, Stephen Parry and the medley pairing of Robin Francis and Adrian Turner.
Of course like any sudden death trials there were casualties, the most high profile of which was Mark Foster, who missed the required selection time in the 50m freestyle by a mere 0.05s, but appeals notwithstanding it seems unlikely that he will make his 5th Olympic appearance. Another shame is the absence of a men's 4x100 freestyle team form the games, when the cumulative time of the first four home in the 100 freestyle narrowly missed the top 8 time required. Consolation for champion Matt Kidd came in the form of a British record in the heats of the event and a berth on the Medley relay squad, while in another remarkable swim runner up Burnett dipped under the fifty second barrier for the first time.
Quite apart from Foster though it was, however a slightly disappointing meet for our 2003 world championship medallists. Katy Sexton and James Gibson both booked their places, but looked below par after such high expectations, while Rebecca Cooke was another to book her place but not quite set the pulse racing and Zoe Baker was nowhere to be seen in her less favoured 100m event. Ian Edmond fared best and looked good whilst qualifying in the 200 breaststroke despite recovering from an ear infection.
But a word about the meet itself. While there are undoubtedly financial and planning reasons for holding the trials as a 5 day meet, it does little to simulate the Olympic programme, a feeling obviously shared by the team management who now take the bulk of the Olympic squad to the French National championships which do. Even stranger, although almost certainly led by the needs of television broadcasters, was the decision to have 11 finals in the closing session. It may have made for exciting viewing, but was not the best way of simulating the Olympic pressures, something Bill Sweetenham was only to keen to refer to at the conclusion of the meet.
On the whole, however, an encouraging week in Sheffield and a further step forward in the evolution of British swimming. The hopes for Athens look high, but there will be plenty of hard yards in the pool between now and then for those eager to mount the medal rostrum come August.
Men: Simon Burnett, David Carry, Christopher Cook, Todd Cooper, Ross Davenport, David Davies, Ian Edmond, Adam Faulkner, Robin Francis, James Gibson, James Goddard, James Hickman, Matthew Kidd, Gavin Meadows, Darren Mew, David O'Brien, Stephen Parry, Edward Sinclair, Graeme Smith, Gregor Tait, Adrian Turner
Women: Kirsty Balfour, Rosalind Brett, Lisa Chapman, Rebecca Cooke, Kathryn Evans, Joanne Jackson, Georgina Lee, Karen Lee, Karen Legg, Melanie Marshall, Caitlin McClatchey, Karen Pickering, Sarah Price, Katy Sexton, Alison Sheppard