Rebecca Adlington's second historic gold in Beijing is a testimony to both her hard work & her talent, nurtured and guided by her long standing coach Bill Furniss who rightly deserves the highest praise for Adlington's success not only in China but elsewhere in the world, in the run up to the Olympics.

Before Beijing, Britain had not won a Gold medal in the pool for 20 years. Adlington is a stunning talent, but has this proud nation not had such talent with arguably this potential in these last two decades?

The results say no, but the poolside experts may suggest otherwise. If the latter are correct, then what has made the difference this week?

The Sydney Olympics in the year 2000, were arguably the lowest ebb in British Swimming history. Whilst we had had disappointing results before, this was very disappointing - four years of higher investment, a national performance director in situ, yet no medals of any colour, let alone Gold, reflected a week of lacklustre performances down under.

The Sweetenham era brought sweeping changes. The commitment he demanded, driven by a singular attitude which motivated some and upset many, ultimately has provided a basis upon which the sport of swimming in this country can build upon. Whilst his endeavours brought only two bronze medals in Athens, the infrastructure he developed has brought forward a depth of talent both on & off poolside, with support mechanisms in place that have brought us into line with other major aquatics nations on the planet. His part in the success this week, will not be forgotten, however much must be said for Michael Scott. His approach has been very different and this is probably just what was needed, allowing coaches to express themselves in a way that has not appeared to be possible for some time.

But the success this week is not just about one or two people. The success at this level reflects the positive moves throughout the sport. The decision to swim the Trials as evening heats & morning finals has arguably been a positive move; whilst the US have had major success, much has revolved around one fantastic man. Other medal hopes, especially in the womens endurance event, have not performed - could this have been because of their maintenance of the standard morning heats & evening finals at their trials? That is a problem they will have to wrestle with.

The GB team this week have set record after national record, placing swimmer after swimmer into semi-finals & finals; this reflects the Sweetenham era's demand to swim tough. This positive trend however has to be maintained if we are to continue to improve. Too often in Britain we think we're there and sit back to enjoy the ride. It only gets tougher now and we at the BSCTA will hopefully play our part in assisting coaches to achieve what we are now truly capable of in London 2012. 

Ultimately, the British success in the pool in Beijing is a reflection of the bond that needs to be in place between the swimmer & the coach. Rebecca Adlington and Bill Furniss have such a bond.

In interview after her 800m free, she fondly referred to him as her second dad.

Dave McNulty and Jo Jackson no doubt have similar bonds and Team Miley needs no introduction. Such bonds happen throughout the UK in the sport of swimming. It is inevitable when coach & swimmer spend so much time working together. It is this bond that brings success at this level. They must be helped to develop and not shunned as a coach showing favouritism. No doubt swimmers throughout Mansfield and Nottinghamshire are reflecting in the glory of their team mate, and those self same swimmers will be given equal opportunities by Coach Furniss & his team. Every successful coach in the UK & the World has worked this way - not all have been allowed to in the UK. It is something we must address for the long term.

London 2012 is now the Target. Expectation will be massive, but the performances in the Far East this week, suggest that the trends of improvement of our swimming team are heading in a direction that we can all be confident of.

Good luck to all, and well done to every single member of the GB Swimming Team - you did us all proud!