Relay boost for swim teams

By DAVID LEGGAT

Confirmation that New Zealand will have three relay teams at the Athens Olympics has had a positive spinoff for the individual swimmers.

Of the seven relay members given the green light yesterday, five will get to swim individual events as well in Athens. They have swum times inside the B standards of the world governing body, Fina, for the Olympics.

Although those times are slower than those required by Swimming New Zealand, they are good enough for a start in Athens.

The only two who will be restricted to their relay events are North Shore's Scott Talbot-Cameron and Nathalie Bernard, whose specialist events have been filled by other, better-performed team-mates.

Fina yesterday inked NZ in for the men's and women's 4x100m medley and the women's 4x200m freestyle.

Swimming New Zealand head coach Clive Rushton is happy to finally have the relay issue sorted out, but reckons Fina should get its deadline in place much earlier than a month out from the Games.

"From the swimmers' and coaches' point of view it's been pretty stressful," he said from Brisbane where the New Zealand squad are preparing for the Australian grand prix meet tomorrow and Saturday.

"There's always at the back of the mind that nagging doubt that what if another country stands up or there's a result we haven't heard.

"Fina has got to change deadlines next time round. This is not good for the swimmers' preparation."

According to Fina, New Zealand's three teams are rated ninth (men's medley) and 10th (both women's relays). Sixteen spots are open for all relay events in Athens.

However, Rushton reckons those standings are misleading. For example, no American teams figure in the Fina standings, simply because they haven't put up any qualifying times this year. Their Olympic trials start at Long Beach, California, this morning.

A more accurate measure takes into account performances at last year's world championships in Barcelona, combined with top times recorded this year. On that basis, the men are 11th, the women's medley 10th and the 4x200m freestyle 15th. But Rushton has high hopes of strong performances in Athens and insisted all three had to be targeting making the top eight A final.

"The women's medley relay have just got to swim well on the day and they are going to push into the A final. The same with the men's medley.

"The women's 4x200m is the one which can make the biggest improvement. The time we did in April at the nationals was nowhere near the time we did in Barcelona last year when we got disqualified by three-hundredths of a second."

Without that disqualification, the women would have nailed an Athens trip a year ago.

Twelve of the 13 are in Brisbane, the exception being Bay of Plenty butterfly exponent Moss Burmester.

They then return to their individual programmes before departing in two groups for Athens.

Burmester, Annabelle Carey of Christchurch and Howick Pakuranga's Rebecca Linton leave on July 22, the balance a week later.

The Games start on August 13.

Bound for Athens

The New Zealand team for the Olympic swim meet:

Individual qualifiers: Helen Norfolk (North Shore, 400m individual medley, 200m freestyle); Hannah McLean (North Shore, 100m and 200m backstroke); Dean Kent (North Shore, 200m individual medley); Moss Burmester (Otumoetai, 200m butterfly); Corney Swanepoel (North Shore, 100m butterfly); Cameron Gibson (North Shore, 100m and 200m backstroke).

Relay teams (medley order is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle):

Men's 4x100m medley: Scott Talbot-Cameron (North Shore), Ben Labowitch (North Shore), Swanepoel, Gibson.

Women's 4x100m medley: McLean, Annabelle Carey (Wharenui, Christchurch), Elizabeth Coster (North Shore), Alison Fitch (North Shore).

Women's 4x200m freestyle: Fitch, Rebecca Linton (Howick-Pakuranga), Nathalie Bernard (North Shore), Norfolk.

Relay swimmers entered for individual events:

Labowitch 100m and 200m breaststroke; Carey 100m breaststroke; Coster 100m butterfly; Fitch 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle; Linton 800m freestyle.