Michael Rock conquers 200m butterfly on day four of 2011 British Gas Swimming Championship
Michael Rock won the 200m butterfly swim at 2011 British Gas Swimming Championship, held at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. The championship will conclude on March 12 with the selection of Britain’s swimming team for the 2011 Shanghai World Championships,
in July.
Michael Rock dominated the race from the very start. He completed the first 50 m of the race in 26.05 seconds. The next lap in 29.02 seconds provided him a half-body length lead over his rival, Joe Roebuck. The race was tightened by Roebuck’s effort to pass
Rock in the third lap, but Rock was well on his way to win the title for the 200 m butterfly in 1:56.31 minutes. Roebuck, only a touch away from Rock, finished second in a wonderful time of 1:56.67 minutes, followed by Loughborough’s Roberto Pavoni in a time
of 1:58.03 minutes.
The first two finishers had recently moved to a new coach to enhance their performances in the competition. Rock is currently being coached by Stockport Metro’s Sean Kelly who worked well on his start, turns and to speed his kicks. Whereas, Roebuck is under
the supervision of Loughborough University’s Coach, Ian Armiger, who worked to increase the reach of the swimmer's arms.
Rock was all over the news after he clocked under the time of Olympic Champion, Michael Phelps, after long swim suits were banned in 2009. He said, "That sets me up nicely. I haven't had a perfect preparation to this and there have been a couple of niggly
things in the past couple of weeks. I just feel there is more to come and that i can get down to competing against the best in the world."
Michael Rock, a law student of University of Manchester, was also a part of Britain’s team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he competed in the 100m and 200m butterfly events but failed to reach the podium. With this swim, Rock has lowered his own personal
best time of 1:56.92 to 1:56.31 minutes. He also represented Britain at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, where he stood second on the podium for the 200m butterfly. Later on, in the same year, he again secured a podium finish in the same event at the 2010
European Long Course Championships. Rock, with his success in the event, has now confirmed his ticket to the Shanghai World Championships.
He ended the discussion and said, "It' been one of my staple events with medley. The pressure is off now I'm on the plane to Shanghai and I can relax and enjoy the medleys."
Rock had promised to perform well this year and meet the expectations of British fans. He has aroused hopes by saying that he will be in better form at the World Championships this year.
Tags: