Swimming: Swimmers Europe bound for warm-up to Games

Moss Burmester. Photo / Richard Robinson

New Zealand's Commonwealth Games swim team head to Europe on Sunday to begin their preparations for Delhi in a series of world class meets.

The 13-strong team will compete in two of the three meets that make up the annual Mare Nostrum series - the swimming grand prix of Europe - in Barcelona on June 9-10 and Canet, France, June 12-13.

Head coach Mark Regan said the competition would provide not only an outstanding competitive racing opportunity but a litmus test on their progress against the best swimmers in the world.

"The Mare Nostrum series is a proven international series that always attracts many of the best swimmers in the world. The competition is going to be pretty hot," Regan said.

"It's a great opportunity for our swimmers to get some top quality racing. It is going to show them and us exactly where they are at in the world and where they are in terms of preparations for the Commonwealth Games in October.

"They are all still in big mileage and there's no let-up for these meets. So there's not going to be any place to hide."

Regan said he has taken swimmers to Mare Nostrum for many years, both in his time running the Australian Institute and as Denmark national coach and it had proved an invaluable international competition.

It will provide key competition outdoors, something the Kiwi swimmers will have to acclimatise to for Delhi in October. "The meets are all outdoors and it does take some adjustment for the swimmers."

They will then head to a two-week training camp in Narbonne, also an outdoor facility, which they will trial as a potential base for the 2012 London Olympics.

NZ TEAM
Daniel Bell, Lauren Boyle, Moss Burmester, Amaka Gessler, Tash Hind, Melissa Ingram, Gareth Kean, Penelope Marshall, Hayley Palmer, Glenn Snyders, Emily Thomas, Natalie Wiegersma, Carl O'Donnell.

- NZPA