london2012

3 things we learnt on the first night of trials

It was an enthralling first night of finals in the Olympic aquatic centre as the first 5 Olympic swimmers were confirmed. Here are the main things we learnt:

Hannah Miley is the real deal

Just in case anyone was doubting Hannah’s credentials for a tilt at the Olympic podium later this year, she popped up with a stunning performance in the 400IM of 4:32.67 to secure her Olympic place and, unsurprisingly this early in the year, rocket her to the top of the world rankings. That performance was her best since her times in a super slippery Jaked suit back in 2009 and is a time she has only bettered once, a performance that still stands as the British record. Perhaps more significantly, since the change in suit rules, only one person has swum faster – current world champion Elizabeth Beisel’s winning time in Shanghai is the only better performance since January 2010.

The GB fly girls are good, but not that good

Just as we were congratulating ourselves on having three of the top womens’100m fly swimmers in the world, we were swiftly reminded that they still have some way to go before they can be true podium contenders. Ellen Gandy had pushed herself to the top of the world rankings with a time of 57.47 to lead the domestic race, but in the international finals, Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom posted a remarkable 56.79 to snatch back the top spot. That time is 0.61 faster than Halsall’s British record and the swede is reportedly not rested for this meet.

The British girls still have the opportunity to reply in tomorrow night’s final – the semis finals were intriguing in that Fran Halsall appeared to back off, while Ellen Gandy pushed on through to the wall. Meanwhile Jemma Lowe appeared to be playing a waiting game and opted not to try and blow away the cobwebs with a more measured performance. She looked as though she had expended less energy than her two rivals so could have been playing the long game. It promises to be a fantastic final.

The BBC still doesn’t rate swimming

Relegated to the red button, the coverage was somewhat lacklustre. Despite the fact Sharron Davies was interviewing swimmers post-race, viewers of the live coverage were instead treated to long lingering shots of the aquatic centre while Andy Jameson and Adrian Moorhouse padded. Given that the interviews will be shown in a derisory hour long highlights programme next Saturday, a highlights programme that is before the end of the competition, it seems likely that we will now not get to hear from many of the selected athletes.
As a test event, the coverage also showed up several areas where the broadcaster needs to sharpen its pencil. The shots from behind the race didn’t really work while there were no underwater shots. Also no-one appeared to have told the cameramen that the lane order is different from normal – we were treated to a long shot of someone who wasn’t Michael Jamieson, despite the caption, when the Scot won his breaststroke semi-final. It’s to be hoped that the standard picks up as the event team find their feet in an unfamiliar venue through the week.