women's breaststroke
Women's Breastroke is one of the strongest areas of Commonwealth swimming at the current time. The field will boast the Olympic silver medallist Liesel Jones of Australia, former world champion Sarah Poewe of South Africa, and the 50m European record holder Zoë Baker of England.
In the 100m it is hard to see which way the battle between Jones and Poewe will go, despite the apparent gap between them in the rankings. The latter's recent car crash in South Africa may have an impact on her performance, but one hopes she is fully fit as we will be in for a cracking final. The English challenge is headed by British record holder Jaime King, a perennial underachiever at major championships, compared to trials. Maybe Manchester will mark a turning point in her quest for medals - a time around her record may possibly be enough for a bronze on the day. Heidi Earp and 15 year old Kate Haywood complete the trio. Haywood recently went under 1.10 at the European Juniors to push her to 7th in the rankings, and with her training likely to have been geared more towards this meet it will be interesting to see what she can achieve. It is not beyond possibility that she will end up as top Briton. She'll have to beat Scotland's Kirsty Balfour as well however - she's currently British Champion and will be looking to dip under 1:10 as well.
Baker is a huge favourite to take the sprint title, and she will have her eyes on Penny Heyns' Commonwealth and world record. Jones will challenge most likely along with compatriot Brooke Hanson and Poewe, but baker is the class act, with a time this season nearly 1 whole second ahead of Jones in second. Any result other than a Baker god will be a major shock. Earp and Haywood are well ranked and a continued improvement could see them snatch a medal. King is better suited to the longer events.
In the longer 200 event, it's again between Jones and Poewe, but this time the gap is marked, with the Australian almost 2 s clear at the top of the rankings. JOnes should tkae the title form Poewe with some ease. Canada's Christin Petelski will challenge with King and Earp for the bronze in all probability.