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Records tumble as Brits shine in Manchesterby Bob Ballard - BBC Sport (U11332323) 11 April 2008   If only this was the Olympic Games. Adlington beat a quality field in the 800m freestyle, including Australia’s best, Kylie Palmer, by nearly four seconds My superlatives dictionary is used up. I have none left to describe the exploits of Rebecca Adlington. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve come to expect big things from this incredible Nottinghamshire teenager. We’ve not been disappointed since she under-performed at last year’s World Long Course Championships in Melbourne. It was back to the drawing board for her and coach Bill Furniss in April of 2007. In April 2008, she very nearly took Kate Ziegler’s world record in the 800m freestyle. What she did do was beat a quality field, including Australia’s best Kylie Palmer, by nearly four seconds which, incidently, was almost the margin by which she broke Laure Manadou’s European best. Bear in mind that Manadou is a star in France. That status has yet to befall Becky, but it can only be a matter of time. Kate Haywood was one of Britain’s most promising juniors, and now we are starting to see her blossom at senior level. There is a new steely determination amongst the GB squad Her silver medal in the 50m breaststroke was thoroughly deserved, even if she did get promoted one place after the disqualification of Yuliya Efimova, who finished second, for moving on her blocks before the start of the race. Kate now needs to believe in herself a bit more, and her starts, which were probably the worst in the British team, but have improved out of all recognition. And so to the relay team. Anything the girls could do in the 4x200m freestyle relay, the boys could match. After that astonishing race on Wednesday night, the men were involved in a real slugfest with the Australians. It wasn’t as close, but the time of six minutes 56.52 seconds was a big new European record, and the Italians, who hitherto have had GB’s number, were one and a half seconds adrift in third. How does that relate to Beijing? It doesn’t much, except to say that there is a new steely determination among the GB squad. The benefit of a home Championships helps, of course it does, but this past two weeks has seen British swimming turn an important corner and there is real direction and purpose about the way forward. Am I loving it? Too right, I am. Latest 10 commentsRead members' comments or add your own
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gunnerjakelbum (U10033331) posted Apr 11, 2008 Bode's well for the future , what with the cyclist's an all. Good stuff!
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Doc_Kev (U942826) posted Apr 11, 2008 I agree that £30 is a fairly cheap ticket price for a world championships, and it's a price I was prepared to pay until I saw the start lists. In the end decided that I'm simply not prepared to pay that much to see a world championships that will not feature the best swimmers in the world. It's vastly overpriced.
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fearlessleafytree (U11413542) posted Apr 11, 2008 I too am thorougly enjoying the swimming but with regards to the crowds - we are not a swimming nation in terms of it being a spectator sport like the USA and Australia. So to get the crowds in, surely the people in charge of ticket sales and marketing should have looked at:
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The Way Forward is U10746969 (U10746969)
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Storyheart (U4300493) posted Apr 11, 2008 This is great to see the effort finally coming throuygh and the will to win being developed. With the cyclists also perfroming great lets hope this year we so an increase in the UK gold reserve.
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LancsCider (U9730591) posted Apr 11, 2008 I'm really enjoying the swimming and would like to congratulate Team GB for their performances to date and wish them good luck at the Olympics!
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Tim_Price (U11041182) posted Apr 11, 2008 Definately agree with the last post regarding giving spare tickets to local schools and swimming clubs. This should also be ethos at the Olympics and perhaps we need to learn from this event and put the prices down a little to attract bigger crowds. Saying that I'll pay anything to be there if we have a chance to win some olympic gold medals in 2012! Which is highly likely on this performance and regarding the age of the team.
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adunited (U11217092) posted Apr 13, 2008 I attended day 3 of the finals and thought the attendance wasnt too bad. However, at the end of the day charging £18-30 to watch swimming was very short sighted. Anyone who attends swimming events on a regular basis will know that tickets were never going to sell well at that price. If only FINA had decided to sell at say £10 the end result would be similar proceeds but with a packed arena...
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doublexpresso (U6834680) posted Apr 13, 2008 Just to thank Bob B and the BBC team for covering and pushing the profile of swimming. On the whole the coverage was entertaining and well informed.
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TheMHReferee (U11682716) posted Apr 19, 2008 I am curious to understand why, at the recent World Championships, the lane numbering was incorrect rising in numbers from left to right, rather than from right to left in accordance with Fina Rules. Can anyone advise please? Comment on this article
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