Preview British Swimming Championships

If you are a British swimmer and you have aspirations of competing

in the Olympic Games, this could be the most important week of your

life. Welcome to the Aquatics Centre, here in Olympic Park, and

welcome to the start of the British Olympic trials.

Dreams will become reality, one way or the other, under this

spectacular roof. Competing in this venue is something that the

swimmers will want to repeat. Fail to perform over the next few days,

and there is the possibility they will not be coming back. Starting

this evening we will be bringing you all of the action from both our

able bodies and Paralympic swimmers. Next Saturday we will be showing

the highlights from the weak and running up who will and will not

have secured their place. This is very exciting because we have been

given exclusive access at the British swimmers get their first

taste up the water in the Olympic pool. How important is this week

for the swimmers? Really important. If they do not come in they do not

go. There are only two places up for grabs in most events. It is one

of these things that if you make a false start you are out. You have

to qualify. Even Rebecca Adlington has to qualify. This is when they

find out what kind of shape they are in. You would be more nervous

for this than the Olympics, in a sense? A bit of both. You will be

pretty nervous for this. You have to get those qualifying times. The

competition has gone so high that it means we have three or four

world-class swimmers competing for just two places. How do these

trials were? There are qualifying times set up by FINA. If one person

does not qualify it then the second person has to come in the top 16.

If only one person does it, they will have another chance at the

second qualification. Here are some of the key names.

She might be Britain's most successful Olympic swimmer for over

100 years, but our Rebecca has double fight just like everyone

else. I just want to have a chance to go. Everyone wants that

opportunity. She has won it so many awards. She pocketed five medals at

the European championships, but they just go how Sol would train

them all for a piece of Olympic glory. Liam Tancock has to go

double his distance. He is focusing on gaining a second, not silver.

your best bet you a medal and a position, that is a bonus for you.

-- if you best. Kerri-Anne Payne has not got her head in the clouds.

Where better to start than with the golden girl from Beijing? Since

2008, it has not exactly been plain sailing for Rebecca Adlington. But

she is determined to return to the top in this very pool. Stunning

stuff from Adams and! Two gold medals, world champion! -- stunning

stuff from Rebecca Adlington. Rebecca Adlington, stand up and

salute the world. You are brilliant! 2011 was a really good

year. There is a lot of pressure going into the Games. Yes,

definitely. There is always pressure leading into the Games. I

am just more excited. I am really looking forward to it and I just

hope that they qualify. That is the biggest thing. I want to have a

chance to go and race. Everyone wants that opportunity and everyone

wants to fight for that. Hopefully I can go and experience a home

Olympics. What more do you want? What have you learnt from Beijing?

Are I would not change one thing. I have no regrets. I have learned so

much. It has made me stronger. I had the opportunity to do things I

never got to do before or after Beijing. I wanted to get into the

pool and try out things that went well for me or did not go so well.

I have come out and been disappointed but I have tried to

practise as much as I have -- can. It has made me stronger. You have

to do the qualifying times. Are you generally worried? Do you feel that

one of those places are yours? These are very tough events. I am

not stupid. I know people will want to beat me. You have to do it on

the day. If you get sick the day before or fall over, you will have

a top race on your hands. You only have one chance to do it and that

is scary. There are only two spots and there are some amazing girls

there and I know it will be a challenge. What makes the home

advantage so special? It is the home crowd. I have never competed

for a big home crowd before. I had then to Rome and they all greet me

and you have that experience and it is amazing but it has never been

thought Team GB. This trial is for us and it will be amazing to have

the big crowd. To have that is the most exciting thing. When everyone

is cheering for you you feel the buzz and it gives you that little

bit extra. It is great to see Rebecca Adlington looking so great.

It is the most confident I have seen her for a long time. She put a

month out in California. She is a totally different swimmer now.

is she being genuine when she says that she has not qualified yet, or

is she wearing the cloak of humility? I personally think, I can

say that to be the world record holder, you are not nailed on, but

that is just the way she is. That is the reason why she wins. She is

it not be a full and that makes her perform better. He is seemingly

rising to the idea of being the Mark 1. -- she is seemingly rising.

It is not easy to get to the top. It is easier to get there than to

state their. Everyone is coming for her. -- to stay there. She is going

into this from the European Commonwealth championship and we on

know that she is in great form. talked about the way her fans spur

her aunt, but it is also important for her to get familiar with the

surroundings. You have to feel good in that pool. To know that the

crowd is behind you is fantastic. It is also the simple things. Being

able to get a bar of chocolate or go to bed at a normal time. The

weather conditions are exactly the same. It is just the home converts.

People will get an opportunity to race this weekend and do some

training before the Olympics. It sounds stupid, but you want to know

where the toilets are. It will be a home away from home. Sheffield

wants to come in here and relax. There is nothing else to worry

about but the race itself. Rebecca has still is very young. She was

only in 19 in Beijing. It is not a certainty that she will qualify.

But back that will be competing in the 300 metre freestyle tomorrow

morning and Andy 800 metre freestyle on a Friday morning. --

Friday evening. Look out for Joe Jackson in those races as well.

Rebecca is not the only British, Canada in that team. -- British

competitor in that team. One swimmer has had a chronic fatigue

disorder which ruled him out for a crucial six weeks in 2011. His

place at the Olympic Games is far from guaranteed.

I always turn up to the pool each day and I would not be able to swim.

It was that bad. I was really lethargic. I was very down with it.

I was unhappy and I was training poorly. I would try and try harder

and that would make it even worse and make it more miserable. It was

a vicious circle. I failed to admit that I had the disorder because I

did not want to accept it. I felt really bad in training. I knew

something was up and I was going through different casts and hoping

that maybe I picked up an illness and there was a quick fix. --

different tests. My muscles were completely shot. I could not do

anything to progress. The best thing to cure it was to clean the

slate and start from scratch and have a big six-week break. I

questioned whether I had had my time. I do not want to go out like

that. I wondered if I should walk away. I knew I could resolve it. I

am not quite back to my best yet, but if I can get back into the

game's and get back to that sort of level, the main thing is to keep

the enjoyment and the motivation and the hunger. I cannot forget

that I have had success in the past and there is no reason why you

cannot do it again. Poor David. Lots of people will have no idea

that he has had such a tough time. Did you ever have a time in your

career when you thought everything was going wrong? I had a virus in

1979. The problem with things like that is that it is not just a

simple diagnosis. You do not know what it is and your confidence

rarely get knocked when you should be feeling good about yourself. --

really get knocked. Just training and doing it year after year, when

he was 18... It was a long time ago. I think he painted in China, didn't

he? He looked very badly. -- I think he fainted. He is doing over

100 kilometres a week. You will get run down. The worst thing is that

you know something is wrong with you and you do not know what. You

start thinking about retiring, and that must have been scary for him.

He is a young guy, 27 years old. How realistic is it for him to

expect to qualify and perform at the Olympics? I think he will

qualify. He has got to qualify here. He has other opportunities later.

If he concentrates in the open water and get back to his best, we

could see silver or bronze. -- gets back to his best. He has to pick

one or the other. That will be taking place, the open water, in

Hyde Park. David will be competing in the 1,500 metres a week from

today. He will be competing against Daniel Fogg. Daniel is not old

enough to drink but he will be competing next week. Tom Daley was

here last week with the other British diverse.

The venue passed with flying colours, but Tom Daley's

disappointing performance on the platform was put in the spotlight

after comments made by his performance director. However, his

partner Pete what appealed died out of his skin in the individual 10

metre event, and claimed as a magnificent bronze against a world

class field. More success came and the women's platform

synchronisation, where there was a well earned a bronze. British

diving is an excellent -- is in excellent health. If I was to say

to you, name me a swimmer on the cusp of greatness, you would say?

Francesca Halsall. I think she is a national -- natural sprinter. She

is recovering from an ankle injury. She has a huge personality. We have

been finding out more. Is it going to be silver? That is

brilliant. She heads down. It is going to be mighty close. She has

it. You have got to think that you can do anything if you want to win.

I do not take it for granted that I will win but I feel that if I put

in my head that maybe I will not then I am more likely not to you.

When I think of different athletes involved in the sport, I think of

the home advantage, and 20,000 people screaming. I think that is

probably going to work for you more than anyone. I cannot wait for it.

It is definitely going to let me to higher levels. When we went in the

pool in Manchester in 2009, I came out and there were all of these

people cheering. I had goose bumps. I stacked my break out and I have

never done that before. Someone told me it was the best break out

they had ever seen and I told them that I was just over excited!

do you think it will be like for your parents watching? How nervous

will they be? My mum is lucky I do not swim a further distance. She

holds her breath for my whole swam. She might be passed out by the end

of it! Quite a lot of people go around saying that they want to do

their best and whatever happens happens and a medal would be good,

but I do not really understand that. If I do not win a gold medal I will

not be happy. I might come second but you want to win a race, don't

you? That is why you do the hardest event you can do because it is so

close. It shows you the basses person in the world. If you can win

it in his fantastic. -- the Bath What is a breakout? It is when you

take your first stroke and break through the surface. So is she

getting better technically? Absolutely. She is a much more

mature swimmer. She has got vast experience in all the major

competitions. Come out into the crowd and hearing it. How many

events can she do? Three individual and then two relay. The toughest

want to qualify will be the 100- metre flying -- fly. Yes, she could

potentially not qualify for those because she has so much competition.

You can see all of them in the Coming up. The man they call the

tide shows his feminine side. You might have seen her face adoring

billboards for make-up companies, but open-water swimming is anything

but glamourous. We catch up with Keri-Anne Payne. You might think

that Liam Tancock would be a certainty for a medal. No, he has

got to work to get there. He is hugely talented. We caught up with

Liam Tancock around the pool table. Where is the money on the table?

Liam Tancock has got it! It is fair to say you are Britain's best?

have picked up medals at every World Championships I have been too.

You are a consistent performer. just like racing. That is genuinely

thought it is. You never worry about anyone else? There is no need

to worry about anyone. No one else can affect my water, so to speak.

Do you never were a thing you see what other people have done? No.

short of falling off the block or a cat coming into your lame, -- into

your lane, you will be OK? I am allergic to cats. I cannot believe

you do ballet dancing. It is not the ballet dancing you think of.

are you sure? Core mussels are very important in swimming. We also have

to be aware of our limits. Ballet dancers are the same. I think there

You potted the black. Would you prefer to do a personal best time

at the Olympics more than a metal? Personal best. I know that if I

swim and a personal best time, I will be happy. You cannot do

anything more than the best. If it your best to get to a medal, get to

opposition, that is a bonus for you. Both of them it look like they are

quite good at playing pool. You both gasped of when you heard Liam

Tancock as saying he would rather get a personal best than a medal.

Every athlete wants to get a medal. No one remembers that the time, it

is a medal. But if he does a personal best, that should put him

a monster the medals. It is not about the best times on the day, it

is about their medals at the Olympics. At championships, it is

about the times. What chance has he got? How is it going in terms of

trying to swim a 100-metre backstroke? You are doubling the

distance. It is quite a difference. If it they could stop the race at

80 metres, I think he would stand a good chance. He will be looking to

dominate the final of the 100 metres backstroke. Pretty much any

discussion about the British swimming focuses on the women

because they are proving to be more successful. With the men, is there

anybody else we should be looking out for? James Goddard. He was 4th

in the world rankings last year. Who else? Michael Jamieson. There

are three guys fighting for two spots in the breaststroke. We have

got a swim or like Michael Phelps? Michael Watkins. hopefully his

confidence has increased. Korean team are here because it is

an international competition as well. Are you not tempted to go out

and say that you can still do it? am always prepared, I have my speed

ofs on -- Speedo on. competition starts tonight from at

6:25pm. Plenty of top class action. This is Hannah Miley. This is a big

week for you. How are you? Really excited. As a mix -- as an athlete,

you get excited and nervous. But you have to manage it. It is great

to be poolside now. I will be swimming in a variety of events

this week. I am racing a couple of races. But there is a plan to it.

The 200 individual medley is the main one. The other events are just

a cake make ticking over. I love hard work. I want to take advantage

of racing faster this pool. We are trying out something different just

now. The target is to go faster at the Olympic bins. -- Olympic Games.

What would you actually swim at the Olympic Games? It depends how

things go. Definitely the 402 hundred individual medley. Anything

else would be a bonus. I am trying to keep my options open. Other --

who else is catching up with you? There are lots of young ones

catching up. It is exciting because it shows the depth of so many in

Britain, it has really improved. one can fall due for hard work.

Thank you very much. There is only one swimmer who has actually

already qualified for the Olympic Games, Keri-Anne Payne. She has

qualified for the open-water swimming.

The Olympics are only five months away and you have already got your

place. What was it like when you knew you had got the place?

Qualifying for the Olympics in Shanghai was amazing. I knew that I

had to do it them. It was an incredible swim and it went

perfectly from start to finish. I got out feeling so happy and proud

of myself for doing it. I was a really excited to perform in front

of a home crowd. But you are back this week? I want to qualify for

thes team. -- have for the pool team. It is the best preparation.

Being poolside and hearing the national anthem was one of the best

moments. Having already qualified, you might have thought she would

have wanted a quiet week. No, I think this is part of her training

routine. She enjoys being in with the team. It is interesting to see

how important it is for her. My advice is to concentrate on one

thing however. She has got it all. She is a lovely personality, lovely,

popular and talented. She is going to have a great career. She won the

last two championships in the open water. This one, on paper, she

should. But she does have everything. She has become the face

of swimming. Having already qualified, she should concentrate

on the open water, but she likes to be with the rest of the slammers.

She is very close to the team. Her future husband, David Carry, they

are getting married in September. - I am hearing there could be more

British swimmers qualifying for this Olympic Games than any

previous Games? So exciting. Yes, you would like to think so. It will

be our biggest team in 100 years. As far as the state of British

swimming is concerned, you think it is pretty healthy? Yes, it is the

best I have ever seen it. Several names have an opportunity to win

medals in the past, but this time, I could give you a dozen names.

just have to turn the names into medals. The atmosphere here will be