'Breathe through your ears, Elka.' Every time I touched the wall at the end of a race, I'd remember this unusual instruction from my coach, Brian Sutton. 'Don't puff and pant,' he'd urge. 'You don't want anyone to know how much effort you put into that swim.' Certainly not my arch-rival of the era, the American Olympic freestyle champion, Lindsay Benko. Every time we heaved ourselves onto the deck after a particularly gruelling clash, one of us would always nonchalantly ask the other, 'How'd you find that swim?' The reply was always the same no matter who was answering - 'Pretty comfortable' - but we both knew we were hurting like hell. I retired from professional swimming last May, but I'll never forget the intense feeling of competition that dominates your every waking hour during the months, weeks and days leading up to a major international meet like the World Championships.
The splashdown for 2007 will begin on March 17, inside Melbourne's new Rod Laver Aquatic Centre in front of a capacity home crowd. For an ambitious young swimmer, no time is more charged: these Championships are, after all, her dress rehearsal for the Beijing Olympics next year. The meet promises to be fast and furious - one that's likely to be strewn with PBs (personal bests) and new world records as competitors from all over the globe blaze watery trails to glory in their effort to claim the deeply coveted title of 'world champion' and, in so doing, secure their individual bids for gold-medal super-stardom in 12 months' time.
Right now, Australia boasts the quickest, strongest female swimming squad in the world. Why? Because our 22-member team has what we refer to in the industry as 'depth' - otherwise known as quality down the ranks. With more and more young, hungry up-and-comers arriving on the scene to challenge the status quo, as many as eight team members are able to swim the same event really well. Only four of them, though - the very fastest - will be selected for the relay final (a real gold-ribbon event for us since we're currently the Olympic and world record holders of the 4 x 100m individual medley relay and 4 x 100m freestyle relay). Meanwhile, the four who didn't make the cut are all still clocking great times in other heats. Thanks to this influx of new talent, nearly all of the women are doubling up on events: each swimmer has to be constantly on her guard to make sure she hangs on to her top spot. It's cut-throat, but it spells medals. Get this month's issue for the full report...
Who's Who
The swimming team's biggest names...
Leisel Jones
Age: 20
Stroke: Breast
Medal tally: 1 gold and 2 silver Olympic; 4 gold Commonwealth; 3 gold FINA World Championships; 2006 Australian Swimmer of the Year
Lisbeth Lenton
Age: 21
Stroke: Free and fly
Medal tally: 1 gold, 1 bronze Olympic; 5 gold, 2 silver Commonwealth Games; 3 gold, 2 silver World Championships
Jodie Henry
Age: 23
Stroke: Free
Medal tally: 3 gold Olympic; 1 gold, 2 silver Commonwealth; 3 gold FINA World Championships
Jessicah Schipper
Age: 20
Stroke: Fly
Medal tally: 1 gold Olympics; 3 gold, 1 silver Commonwealth; 2 gold, 1 silver FINA World Championships; 2005 Female Butterfly Swimmer of the Year.
Bronte Barratt
Age: 18
Stroke: Free
Medal tally: 1 gold, 1 bronze Commonwealth Games; 1 silver FINA World Championships.
Stephanie Rice
Age: 18
Stroke: Medley
Medal tally: 2 gold Commonwealth
And the rising stars...
Tayliah Zimmer
Age: 21
Stroke: Backstroke
Medal tally: 1 bronze Commonwealth
Emily Seebohm
Age: 14
Stroke: Backstroke
Medal tally: 1 gold, 1 bronze Telstra Australian Championships trials
Post your comment
Comment Guidelines