bscta : Archive Jul

Edinburgh appoints French coach
Scottish Swimming and City of Edinburgh Swimming today announced the appointment of Frederic Vergnoux as Head Coach at City of Edinburgh Swimming (CES). Vergnoux joins CES from France, where he has coached the country’s number one swimming club, CS Clichy 92, for the past two years. Olympic relay medallist Darian Towsend is amongst Vergnoux’ prodigies, having coached the South African to his first final in the 2003 World Championships that led to the 4 x 100m Freestyle gold in Athens. During his time at CS Clichy 92, Vergnoux was also national coach for Belarus and sights the career progression of double Athens Olympic finalist Alena Popchanka’s as one of his top achievements as a world class swimming coach. In a swimming career spanning 16 years, which has also seen him compete at national level in France, Vergnoux has worked closely on the development and performance of swimmers from the age of 9 years old. His most recent experience puts him in a strong position to further enhance the results of the Edinburgh club.

Turin to bid for 2008 European Championships
The Italian city of Turin has declared its intention to host the 2008 European Championships. Turin last staged the meet in 1954, while Italy has hosted the event in Bologna in 1927 and Rome in 1983.

Montreal unable to host 2005 World Championships!
The Government of Quebec in Canada yesterday refused to hand out the extra funds required to host the 2005 World Championships, scheduled to be held in Montreal next July. This will mean the cancellation of the championships in Canada and a new host city to be found. Confusion reigns however as a final decision will not be made until January 18, 2005. If, as expected, Montreal does withdraw, Long Beach in California could be the substitute as the American city finished second by just one vote when the decision was made by FINA three years ago. However, reports from Long Beach suggest they will not be able to host it at such short notice and that too many hotel rooms in the city are already booked up.

Baker to shun GB
50m breaststroke world record holder Zoe Baker has declared her intention to swim for New Zealand at future international events and not her home country of Great Britain. "I'm hoping to swim for New Zealand at the FINA World Cup in Berlin in January," she said. "I won't be swimming for anyone else," added the 27 year old. Baker holds citizenship of New Zealand having lived there for several years but it is unclear whether her decision has anything to do with the priority on Olympic events in Britain.

Fletcher finally recognised in home town
Britain's former Olympic champion Jennie Fletcher, has been finally recognised in her home town, Leicester. Jennie, was born in 1890 in Leicester and died in 1968. She was six times English champion and also won gold with the 400m freestyle relay at the 1912 Games in Stockholm. Leicester City Council finally recognised the achievements of Ms Fletcher by unveiling a plaque in her honour at Cossington Street Baths on Tuesday.

FINA signs new pool deal
Swimming's world governing body, FINA, has signed a new contract with swimming pool manufacturer Astralpool until 2008. Under the agreement with FINA, Astralpool will supply a temporary pool at each World Championships free of charge.

Bree to miss European Short Course
Andrew Bree of Ireland looks set to miss the forthcoming European Short Course Championships in Vienna. Bree, who won silver in the 200m breaststroke last year in Dublin, has announced that he suffered an injury to his knees earlier in his preparation and thus, he is not fit for the event. The swimmer said he will now prefer to focus his attention on the 2005 World Championships and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Manaudou breaks oldest womens world record!
Laure Manaudou of France has broken the oldest women's swimming world record on the books, the 23 year old world mark in the short course 1500m freestyle. Manaudou, 18, clocked 15:42.39 at a swim meet in La Roche sur Yon, France. The previous mark was set by former East Germany's swimmer Petra Schneider at 15:43.31 in 1982. At this year's Athens Games, Manadou set the 400 freestyle European record when winning the Olympic title.

Tributes paid to Trevor Thomas
A founding member of City of Coventry SC Mr Trevor Thomas has died. Mr Thomas, who was honoured by FINA for the services to sport served as President of the ASA in 1988 after a lifetime spent working across all levels within the sport. The 80 year old, was also a successful coach to many swimmers including Olympians Kim Wilkinson and David Parker. He died over the weekend at a care home in Bedworth Warwickshire. He leaves behind a wife, a son and two daughters. Originally from Swansea, Mr Thomas moved to Coventry where his passion for swimming began. In 1955 he took his children to learn to swim and soon became involved in many facets of the sport. He gained his ASA Coach certificate and in 1969 formed a training squad that became the basis for the first professionally run training scheme in the country. A qualified referee and starter, Mr Thomas was selected to the FINA list and officiated at Commonwealth Games, the European Championships in Rome in 1984 and the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. He was first appointment as English Team Manager in 1971 and later became team manager for several years with Great Britain. He was presented with a FINA Silver Pin for services to swimming in July 2002. Funeral arrangements are to be announced at a later date.

Rome joins cities bidding for World Championships
Rome has joined the list of cities bidding to stage the 2009 FINA World Swimming Championships, the Italian Swimming Federation (FIN) announced Monday. Rome joins a wide ranging field which already includes Athens, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dubai, Moscow, Paris, Stockholm and Tokyo. The Italian capital was host to the 1994 World Championships.

French team for European Short Course
Olympic champion Laure Manaudou and European champion Malia Metella will lead a 32-strong French team to contest the European Short Course Championships in Vienna next month. The full team roster is available on Swimming France website.

Tim Jones resigns
Scotland's performance director Tim Jones has resigned from his position, Scottish Swimming announced on Wednesday. Jones, who was in charge for a year, was a member of the British coaching team at the Olympics in Athens.

Canadian Swimming sacks head coach
Canada's swimming coach Dave Johnson has been fired from the national governing body following the poor results produced at the Athens Games, where Canada failed to get a medal for the first time in 50 years. Johnson, who held the position for 11 years, is the first change to be made in a period of renewal, the country's swimming federation announced.

Jones breaks 200 breaststroke world record!
Star Australian breaststroker Liesel Jones has broken the 200m long course world record. Jones recorded a time of 2:22.96 at the Australian Grand Prix in Brisbane today. Her time beat the previous best of 2:22.99 held jointly by America's Amanda Beard and Qi Hui of China. Jones also swam a world leading time of 1:07.03 for the 100m breaststroke yesterday and is not tapered for this meet.

The BSCTA would like to extend its congratulations to all the coaches selected for this team and wishes everyone involved in Team GB for Athens the very best for a successful Games.

Excitement builds as US Olympic Trials nears
The trials for the team to represent America at the Athens Olympic Games begins this week and excitement is building for what is always a very fast meet! Racing gets underway on Wednesday 7th July and lasts for 8 days a purpose built temporary outdoor pool in the city of Long Beach. Of most interest to swimming fans will be the performances of Michael Phelps as he begins his quest for 7 gold medals in Athens. Despite his undoubted brilliance and the high expectations he must first overcome several difficult challenges in the coming days to secure his place on the team. Phelps has entered the 200 free, 200 back and both butterfly and IM races but the likes of Aaron Piersol, Ian Crocker and many others will be determined not to let him have it quite so easy. In other races there will be keen interest in the performances of Natalie Coughlin, Jenny Thompsen, Gary Hall Jnr and Lenny Krayzelburg. Live results will be available from the Omega Timing site.

GB coaches mourn death of popular colleague
British coaches are mourning the sad passing yesterday of their friend and colleague Ivor Tattum following a long battle with cancer. Ivor was a long time member of the BSCTA, a coach of St Helens SC and was part of the GB coaching staff at the 200 Olympic Games. Ivor's funeral will be held on Monday 12 July at St Oswalds Church, Winwick, Warrington at 11:30am.