With just a week to go before the World Championships get underway in Melbourne, Britain’s synchronised swimmers are being put through their paces at their preparation camp in readiness for the toughest competition of their careers.

National Performance Director Biz Price, who joined British Swimming at the start of the year, has spent the past two-and-a-half months working tirelessly with the three athletes to enhance their skills in time for Melbourne - their first appearance at a World Championships.

Improvements during that time have been nothing but impressive and Price is delighted with the attitude and aptitude of athletes Olivia Allison, Jenna Randall and Lauren Smith, all from the Rushmoor club.

“The girls have been doing very well,” said Price. “Our preparation is going well and it culminated today in a competition simulation display at the Police Academy in Melbourne which highlighted the progress they’ve made.

“It’s been a week now since we arrived in Melbourne and the girls have been working hard.

They came into Melbourne off a four-week camp in Canada and have benefited greatly from their time in Montreal.

“They trained with an experienced Olympic coach and were also able to work alongside girls from the New Zealand team who were also there.”

The difference in approach and training the athletes have undergone since Price’s arrival have taken their toll but it is part of Price’s preparation plan to ensure there are fittest when the competition starts in Melbourne.

“The girls are fairly fatigued at the moment but will be in great shape by the time the competition starts in a week’s time,” continued Price.

“I’ve given them extra volumes in training this week, more than they’re used to doing, but they’ll benefit from it come competition time. I didn’t want the girls coasting into the competition after the good work they’ve done and the gains they’ve made but they’ll be ready next week.

“The girls will have competition simulations over the next couple of days before they take a day off and then conclude their preparations with four days of training in the competition pool. Getting to know the venue itself will be good for the athletes before the action gets underway.”

Price is excited about seeing the girls in action at the Melbourne Aquatic Centre which comes at the perfect time for them to utilise the new skills and take advantage of the enhanced fitness they’ve worked hard to achieve.

“Since January the girls have made significant improvements and gains in many areas. There’s still a lot of work to be done but their strength has improved considerably in the past two-and-a-half months as well their stamina and power,” said Price

 “Physically they look more powerful and this will give them more height out of the water in the routines which is something they’ll be rewarded for when being judged at the World Championships.

Whether we see the growth and improvements bearing fruit in Melbourne remains to be seen but one thing is certain and that is it will at some stage in the future if not over the next two weeks.”

-ends-

The 12th FINA World Championships will take place from 17th March until 1st April 2007.

The British Synchro squad comprises:

Olivia Allison (Rushmoor)
Jenna Randall (Rushmoor)
Lauren Smith (Rushmoor)

Synchro takes place from 17th to 24th March

Diving takes place from 19th to 26th March.

Swimming takes place from 25th March to 1st April.

Open Water takes place from 18th to 25th March.

For further details contact Dave Richards, British Swimming Media Manager, on 01509 632237, 0778 992 6136 or email dave.richards@swimming.org

British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain.  It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (Amateur Swimming Association), Scotland (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) and Wales. (Welsh Amateur Swimming Association)  British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

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