Swimming News - 45 British swimming contenders prepare for Commonwealth Games
Rebecca Adlington, the double Olympic winner has been chosen to swim for the British team which will be participating in the Commonwealth Games scheduled in October in New Delhi, India. She is also joined by the former four-time European junior title winner, Anne Bochmann who has won the world junior gold medal twice in the past, and Daniel Sliwinski Stephanie Proud who is the World University Games champion for the strong swimming group that will be representing England in the Commonwealth Games.
The team which consists of 45 best swimmers was announced on Tuesday. The team from England will compete against the number two swimming champion nation Australia, the emerging Canadian team and the top-notch teams of South Africa, Scotland and Wales.
In the final selection of the team to represent England in the Commonwealth Games which took place in Sunderland, 15 more athletes including the 3 Paralympics swimmers were made part of the squad.
These athletes also included the 50 metre breaststroke silver medallist in European Championships and the finalist of the 100 metre butterfly in Budapest Hungary.
In the last Commonwealth Games that took place in Melbourne Australia, the swimming team from England returned home with 22 medals. The team leader John Atkinson said that the squad will do better than it did the last time and win equal or more number of medals as they did four years ago.
John further said that he was very much pleased with the selection of the team as it has 45 of the strongest swimmers in the history of modern games. He also said that the team is an impressive combination of all the talented athletes in England. John told the correspondents that all the swimmers which will be performing at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October are of great calibre and are medallist at international events like the Olympics and the World Championships.
World champions Liam Tancock and Gemma Spofforth along with the three time World Championships winner Jo Jackson will be joining the already established swimmer Adlington.
On the other hand the young swimmers including Ryan Bennett, Anne Bochmann and Emma Saunders will be performing at the Commonwealth Games, as their debut in any mega international event.
The team leader Atkinson said that he is glad with the new additions made to the team that has made the team even stronger. However, John also said that the British team will have to face a tough competition from the established Australian team, Canadian team who has made an effective comeback in the sport, and challenging teams of New Zealand and South Africa. The Commonwealth Games has been the main focus for the British swimmers and they are really looking forward to playing at the event.
Craig Hunter, England’s chef de mission says that he is proud to have such a team to represent their country. He also welcomed some of the new swimmers who became part of their hard working and talented team to play at the Commonwealth Games in October.
Meanwhile the team is preparing to perform at the Games, there is an increasing concern over the security conditions of New Delhi. Apart from the security concerns, another thing which is bothering the international athletes is the construction of the venues, which is yet to be completed. The Indian administration is struggling through the process of making the event a success but the situation so far does not seem that promising. A couple of athletes have already been pulled out of the Games, since the venues have not been tested for the event. Queen Elizabeth II has also refused to attend the event due to security issues. The problems that the Indian public and the administrations are facing, be it financial or administrative, in the process of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games seem to be more than the successful prospects of the event.
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