SWIMMERS DEFINING BLUEPRINT FOR BEIJING FINALS

10th November 2006

Britain's swimmers have begun the process of preparing themselves for the morning finals they will have to endure at the Beijing 2008 Olympics following last week's decision that medals will be won in the morning as opposed to evening finals.

The announcement ended months of speculation and debate between the International Olympic Committee and broadcasters following requests from American broadcaster NBC to move swimming finals from the traditional evening position in order to benefit the U.S. audience.

Such a change to the programme means an entirely different approach will be needed by athletes to be at their peak in the mornings where Olympic titles will be decided.

British swimmers competing in Canberra, Australia last week utilised the competition to experiment with different approaches to how they will ensure they're at their physical peak for the Beijing finals.

Under the guidance of British Swimming Coach Ben Titley, the athletes shifted their emphasis for the Canberra event deciding instead to aim for best performances in the morning sessions.

"As a group we woke at 5am to go for a 30 minute walk where we cleared the sleep from our systems," said Titley.

"The venue at the Australian Institute of Sport was opened early for us at 5.30am so we could get into the water for a half-hour light training session which acted as a loosener.

"The athletes returned to their accommodation for breakfast and had an hour in their rooms to themselves before we returned to the pool at about 7.45am with the heats starting at 9am."

Titley is conscious of the fact there are very few opportunities between now and Beijing for his athletes to find the correct approach to dealing with the shift in timing and to practice what they will come to rely upon to give them the best chances of success at the Olympics.

"This is something we need to put into place immediately so the athletes are properly adjusted when we get to Beijing," explained Titley. "It's such a massive change and we need to educate their bodies to deal with the scenario.

"What we did in Canberra was try to change the focus of the meet from the afternoon finals to the morning heats and the swimmers responded perfectly with some great performances in the morning.

"I was impressed with how well they coped with the change of emphasis. The athletes were totally professional, they just accepted having to get up early and attacked every race they contested."

Titley was delighted with performances given the fact it was the first time the group had experienced being at their absolute peak in a morning session while swimming against hosts Australia.

"The athletes swam faster than expected in the morning even though it was alien to them," said Titley. "Our aim was about the process and not about the results but the British swimmers picked up some impressive medals along the way.

"What really interested me as a coach was the fact each of the swimmers took something different from it and all had their own ideas on how to make the situation work."

NBC, the biggest Olympic rights holder, paid £1.88bn for the North American rights to screen the Games between 2000 and 2008.

The IOC also announced that diving finals at the Beijing 2008 Games will be held in the afternoon.