European Swimming Championships 2010: Great Britain's five battle for gold
The European Aquatic Championships 2010 are scheduled to take place at Hajos Alfred- Tamas Szchy Complex, Margaret Island in Budapest, Hungary. Fans will be able to see the live broadcast of the event on news channels across the globe.
After Great Britain’s victory at Barcelona where the national team took home 19 medals, the swimmers are now anticipating to meet their counterparts at Budapest. Britain is counting on the following five champions to struggle for gold at this years’ European Swimming Championship.
1. Freestyle
The toughest competition will be offered to Fran Halsall by the most fancied Swedish swimmer, Therese Alshammar. The 32-year-old athlete tops the 50 metre freestyle rankings in the championships after being at the top of the world swimming at the Sydney Games. Halsall is feeling strong and is steadfast about her preparation. She knows it will be a crucial competition as well as a good opportunity to prove her talent in front of the spectators. Budapest will provide a great platform for the Southport swimmer to grab the gold medal, as Britta Steffen from Germany is trying hard to be a part of the starting list.
2. Individual Medley
Hannah Miley will have to play it safe with the world champion and Hungary’s favourite Katinka Hosszu, although she resides on the fourth place in the individual medley list of world rankings. Hosszu’s motivation in the pool will be driven by her great performances back in the Los Angeles Grand Prix. This particular performance pushed her up by two places in the world rankings. The meet will be intriguing between the two athletes since the British champion finished the 400 metre distance in a shorter time this year and is likely to benefit from the partisan crowd. Having won the four gold medals at the Scottish National Swimming Championships in June this year, the European champion will have an elevated confidence level.
3. Backstroke
Britain’s world champion has a very obvious advantage over the Spanish athlete because he needs improvements on his third place in the world championships 2009. Aschwin Wildeboer was the only Spaniard who managed to take home a gold medal in Rome last year, since the Spanish could only make it to three bronze medals in that particular event. Liam Tancock on the other hand was the fastest ever in the 100 metre event at the British Championships in 2010 where he finished the distance in 52.85 seconds. The swimmer set a new world record in the 50 metre backstroke in the World Championships. With such a profile, Tancock is expected to be the ultimate competition.
4. Individual Medley
Aiming to strike gold this year at the European Championships, the 27-year-old British swimmer James Goddard has represented the country at two Olympic Games. He will have to face competition in the upcoming event at Budapest in the form of the Hungarian swimmer, Laszlo Cseh. Goddard, a backstroke and butterfly champion will be a part of the200 metre and 400 metre medley. He has on his record, silver medals in the Olympics in both these categories, and medley relay. Gyorgy Turi, James’ coach, wants his trainee to save his energy for the 400 metre medley on the last day of racing in Budapest.
5. Lizzie Simmonds (Britain) vs. Anastasia Zueva (Russia) Backstroke
British athlete Simmonds will be participating in the event, after finishing the 200 metre backstroke at the British Championships in 2 minutes and 6.79 seconds, which is considered to be the second fastest in a textile suit ever. She is a part of the 35- member British squad who is eager to grab a medal in the competition. Lizzie will contest a difficult race with Russia’s Anastasia Zueva. The 20-year-old swimmer set a world record in the women’s long course 50 metre backstroke, which were later overcome by Fina, two months later.
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