Swimming: Rushton dampens Games expectations in pool

New Zealand's encouraging efforts at this year's World Championship in Montreal will not necessarily translate into Commonwealth Games medals, warns Swimming New Zealand's high performance manager Clive Rushton.

While satisfied with the step up shown by New Zealand swimmers in Canada, Rushton is wary of predicting a medal haul in Melbourne in March.

"We need to refocus," said Rushton as he watched the country's best go through their paces at this week's national championships/Commonwealth Games trials.

"The efforts in Montreal were a definite step up from Athens, where we swam well but did not make finals. In Montreal we did make finals and by the next World Championships we need to be challenging for medals.

"Along the way we have the Commonwealth Games and other big meets. But I don't think there will be any soft medals at the Games. There were some substandard performances from some Commonwealth countries at this year's Worlds.

"They had what you might see as a bad patch. But there is no way a country like England will allow that to happen again. Canada, as expected, had a very strong World Championships but their Commonwealth Games trials last week were not that spectacular."

New Zealand swimmers had a modest return of one silver (Liz van Welie, 400m individual medley) and one bronze (Toni Jeffs, 50m freestyle) at the last Commonwealth Games.

What hopes, then, four years on from Manchester 2002?

"Making finals is not the goal this time," said Rushton. "We have to be challenging for medals. Australia will be stupendous. Their women outstanding. The men, I'm sure, will bounce off the huge crowd support. Even without Grant Hackett and Ian Thorpe, they are still predicting a medal clean sweep in the 400m freestyle.

"If we broke every national record at the Games that would be one thing but we have to go after medals."

Rushton acknowledged the massive support from Government funding agency Sparc had played a role in this resurgence.

"The obligation now is on the swimmers and coaches to pay back that support. We now have reasonable resources to help our swimmers with a programme that directly rewards the swimmers and their coaches."

Rushton is enthusiastic about the work being done and the results being achieved by the older swimmers.

"It is great for our sport. That follows a worldwide trend. It also has a payback for our best swimmers. In the past, they haven't stayed in the sport long enough to get to the point they are now at where they can make a living out of it," said Rushton.

"While we are still some way behind the big-spending nations, our top swimmers can now earn more than $50,000 a year.

"With swimmers not reaching their full potential until their late twenties, we can look forward to some good results from swimmers like Dean Kent and Alison Fitch."

He sees Kent and Hannah McLean, who is bypassing the national championships as she recovers from an ankle injury, as the New Zealanders most likely to lead the medal charge in Melbourne. He also holds hopes for the women's relay teams.

The selection criteria is aimed at having all swimmers in the top 16.

Rushton is already looking beyond the Games and the busy international programme on offer.

"The Beijing Olympics are 2 years after the Commonwealth Games so we have to find the right balance if we are to keep our best swimmers in the pool," said Rushton.

"They will go virtually from the Commonwealth Games to the World [short-course] Championships in Shanghai before returning for the national open championships in Christchurch which will double as trials for the Pan Pacifics in Vancouver in August next year.

"We will then repeat what we have done this year by having the national summer [long rather than short course] championships back here in Auckland in December. These will also be the trials for the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne in March."

Rushton confirmed there are also plans to send swimmers seen as the next wave to competitions in Europe and the United States.

The most pressing engagement remains March's Commonwealth Games. "We are relishing the chance to take on the Aussies in Australia."