KEY POINTS:
National coach Jan Cameron believes it is imperative New Zealand's top swimmers continue to improve in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee yesterday named a 12-strong team for the Games after a week of stand-out performances at the national trials at West Wave Aquatic Centre in Waitakere.
Several New Zealand records were shattered over the course of the championships with some monster personal bests achieved.
Cameron was thrilled with the performances of her swimmers over the week and said she wasn't surprised to see some world class times set.
"As coaches we know what our swimmers are capable of and you always have high expectations for them but we were just delighted they are reaching the top end of those expectations."
And she insists her charges are still capable of more.
"There's a great deal of improvement left in them - otherwise this would all be for nothing," she said.
Cameron was unwilling to put a specific measure on what could be achieved in Beijing, but she said all the swimmers who had qualified in individual events were capable of at least making the semifinals.
"Now it's a case of going back and looking at their times and firstly making sure that we can get them up into the top 16 and then looking at who is in a position to challenge for a place in the final."
New Zealand had two swimmers ranked inside the top eight in the world last year, but butterfly star Moss Burmester looks the only realistic hope of claiming the country's first Olympic medal in the pool since Danyon Loader's double gold medal haul in 1996.
Nevertheless, the swimmers are in line to have one of their most successful Games. The NZOC have named what is possibly one of the most experienced swim teams for an Olympic Games. Helen Norfolk and Dean Kent will become swimming's first three-time Olympians, while Moss Burmester, Liz Coster and Corney Swanepoel swam in Athens.
Cameron said the maturity of the group reflects the fact they are now keeping swimmers in the sport longer due to the Millennium Institute programme and investment from Sparc.
Cameron made special mention of backstroke qualifier Melissa Ingram, who was one of the standouts at the national championships.
The 22-year-old blitzed Anna Simsic's long-standing record in the 200m backstroke, becoming the first New Zealand woman to go under the 2m 10s barrier. Ingram was in brilliant form to clock 2m 09.61s, taking more than a second off the record and was more than three seconds inside the Olympic qualifying time.
Cameron said Ingram had been stuck around 2m 12s for quite some time and her latest breakthrough was credit to the hard work she had put in.
"Melissa plateaued for a while and missed that FINA A time for Athens, but she stuck at it and made some improvements ... and the reward is coming now."
The bulk of the New Zealand swimming team named will head to the world short course championships in Manchester early next month to get in some top-class competition ahead of the Beijing Games.
* OLYMPIC TEAM
Daniel Bell (West Auckland Aquatics) medley relay
Lauren Boyle (West Auckland Aquatics medley relay
Moss Burmester (SNZ High Performance) 100m, 200m butterfly
Elizabeth Coster (SNZ High Performance) 100m backstroke
Cameron Gibson (North Shore) medley relay
Natasha Hind (Capital, Wellington) freestyle relay
Melissa Ingram (SNZ High Performance) 100m, 200m backstroke
Dean Kent (North Shore) 200m individual medley
Helen Norfolk (SNZ High Performance) 200m, 400m individual medley
Hayley Palmer (North Shore) freestyle relay
Glenn Snyders (SNZ High Performance) 100m, 200m breaststroke
Corney Swanepoel (SNZ High Performance) 100m butterfly
