Michael Rock: Britain’s butterfly stroke expert
Britain’s butterfly event specialist, Michael Rock is one of the most talented and gifted swimmers in competitive international events. Rock has represented Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and at the 2009 Rome World Championships in the both the
100m and 200m butterfly events. His tremendous swimming technique and competitive drive, has earned him many awards and accolades.
Rock points to his 2008 Beijing trials, as his biggest achievement, where he qualified for the Olympics by winning the 100m butterfly and improving the British Record for the same event. He is always looking forward to improve his personal best timings and
perform to his maximum ability at the Olympic Games.
The British swimmer appeared for the first time at the national level in the 2008 British Swimming Championships, where he dominated both the 100m and 200m butterfly events. He won the gold medal for the 100m butterfly in an astonishing time of 52.30 and
for the 200m butterfly with a timing of 1:56.92. Rock was the only British swimmer to finish the race in under 2:00.00 minutes.
As a result of his gold medals, he was given the opportunity to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he represented Britain in the 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly and also swam in the 4*100m medley relay being a part of the relay team. Rock finished
27th in the 100m butterfly in a time of 52.48, a time 0.18 seconds above his gold medal time. He finished 12th in the 200m butterfly in a time of 1:55.90 and his team finished sixth in the 4*100m medley relay.
The same year at the Amateur Swimming Association National Championships, Rock participated in the 100m butterfly and touched the wall third in a time of 53.94, as he won the gold medal in the 200m butterfly in a time of 1:57.71.
Rock’s determination drove him to adopt an extensive swimming training program under his coach Sean Kelly. He again won the gold medal for the 100m butterfly and the 200m butterfly in improved timings of 52.03 seconds and 1:55.68 minutes respectively. His
competitive performance led to his selection for Britain’s swimming team in the 2009 World Championships in Rome, where Rock participated in both the 100m and 200m butterfly. Rock’s timing improved by almost one second in the 100m butterfly, as he registered
a time of 51.41 in his swim for 13th place. He also managed to finish seventh in the 200m butterfly in a time of 1:55.43.
2010 began with Rock’s dominance in the 200m butterfly event at the ASA Championships, as he produced a very slow swim in a time of 1:59.97, but still managed to win a gold medal in the event. Then, during the 2010 British Nationals, Rock won two gold medals,
as he swam the 100m butterfly in 52.70 and the 200m butterfly in 1:56.86. His timing for the distant butterfly event was still one second above his last year’s standing.
With a little deterioration in his timing, Rock was only able to qualify for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. He competed in the events of 100m butterfly and 200m butterfly and won a silver medal in the 200m butterfly in a time of 1:57.15 but finished
12th in his favourite event, the 100m butterfly in 55.20.
Currently, in the 2011 British Gas Swimming Championships held at the Manchester Aquatics Centre, Rock won two gold medals in both the 100m and 200m butterfly events with a time of 52.70 seconds and 1:56.31 minutes respectively. His victory in these events
has qualified him to represent Great Britain at the 2011 Shanghai World Championships in July.
Rock’s hard work and intense training, has earned him the respect of many swimmers on the international circuit. It will be interesting to see how well he performs in Shanghai, as his name is sure to be up at the top.
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