Swimming: Women eyeing a place in the Olympic relay

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The mission for New Zealand's best female swimmers is clear - make the top 12 in the 4x200m freestyle at this month's world championships in Barcelona and book places for next year's Olympics.

Though individual Olympic places for New Zealand swimmers can only be won at next year's national championships, the relay spots are on offer at the world championships.

"We are right on the cut line," said Jan Cameron, who, with Dunedin's Duncan Laing, will co-coach the seven-strong team in Spain.

"We know that the time we swam to get a start in the relay was around 12th in the world. We can go faster, but so will other countries. It will be very competitive."

Cameron and her six North Shore swimmers, Dean Kent, Alison Fitch, Hannah McLean, Helen Norfolk, Cameron Gibson and Corney Swanepoel, left Auckland yesterday for Germany where they will be met by Laing and the seventh team member, Liz Van Welie.

They will train and compete there before going to Barcelona on July 15, five days before the world championships.

"It has been difficult to build up towards the worlds," Cameron said. "The swimmers had a week off after the nationals in April, but since then have worked hard.

"They went through an aerobic period then some endurance work. The quality work started yesterday and will continue right through to the championships."

Cameron has set her charges a tough target. "Most of the team are ranked between 17-30 in the world. The first aim is to make the top 16, guaranteeing a start in the semifinals, and then make the top 10. It will be tough but realistic."

Fitch, McLean, Norfolk and Van Welie will swim the relay knowing they will be guaranteed Games selection by New Zealand's Olympic committee.

"By qualifying a relay team we are assured of at least four, probably five, female swimmers in Athens," said Cameron, who also holds some hope for a men's 4x100m medley relay team.

"That will be much harder. The top 12 at the worlds will automatically qualify. That means the rest will be chasing just four spots."

For those swimmers chasing individual spots it will come down, again, to being ready to perform at the March 30-April 3 national championships, which have been switched from Christchurch to Auckland.

With the blessing of New Zealand Swimming's director of coaching, Clive Rushton, who will act as team manager in Barcelona, the national body has stipulated the times must be swum at the national championships.

"That's the argument I gave when I first came to New Zealand 12 years ago," Cameron said. "Now, given the size of the country, I feel differently. I think our swimmers, like those in many other sports, should give us a qualifying period in which the target times must be met.

"Swimmers like Danyon Loader, Phillipa Langrell, Anna Simcic, Anthony Mosse and Paul Kingsman were all given time to qualify."

Kent and Van Welie head into the world championships as our highest-ranked hopes, but Cameron says the chances do not end there.

"We are young in terms of international swimming, but there is a feeling of real excitement among the swimmers as they chase the ultimate goal of getting to Athens."

A further six North Shore swimmers - Scott Talbot-Cameron, Michael Jack, Kieran Daly, Anthony van der Kraay, Liz Coster and Sarah Catherwood - will have their chance to impress when they compete at the World Student Games in Korea next month.

They may be joined by Canterbury's Tom McDonald and Paul Sharplin.

What lies ahead

The seven-strong New Zealand team will warm up for the world championships in Barcelona at meetings in Germany.

North Shore's Dean Kent and Otago's Liz Van Welie are tipped as New Zealand's best prospects.

The relay team is the only part of the squad which can qualify for next year's Olympics at the world championships.