Adlington Set For First Team England Commonwealth Medal

Rebecca Adlington has the chance of not only winning English swimming's first medal at these Commonwealth Games today, but also Team England's when she competes, barring a disaster, in the final of the women's 200 metres freestyle in Delhi.

Even though the 200 metres is her weakest event out of the three individual distances she will attempt this week, and that she is ranked fourth in the Commonwealth behind three Australians who are all here in the Indian capital, if she can match her speed to her bullish mood  that first medal may be added to Adlington's impressive collection.

"I want to make a statement to the Australians here," she vowed. "It would be a good time to lay down a marker before the 2012 London Olympics and I"m desperate to become a Commonwealth champion, too."

The 21-year-old from Mansfield missed out on selection for the 2006 Commonwealths in Melbourne before claiming two gold medals, and two word records in the 400 and 800 metres freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a feat that, seemingly overnight, made her the queen of British sport.

Since then she has struggled to equal such heights, hampered last year by wearing an inferior swimsuit that saw her win a bronze in the 400 metres and miss out with a fourth place in the 800 metres freestyle at the world championships, before bombing again in the longer distance during August's European Championships in Budapest. She did, however, take European gold in the 400 metres freestyle after she forced herself to relax following an attack of nerves before and during her 800 metres freestyle final race.

It is the new, relaxed version, Adlington insists, who has arrived in Delhi.

"I wasn't tapered down nor rested and I was heavy after so much training when I started the 800 metres at the European Championships," she explained. "It made me nervous because I had no idea how I would go and also because all my competitors were treating the Europeans as their major goal for the year and were therefore fully rested, tapered and at the right weight. For me the Commonwealths has always been my number one aim for this year.

"When it got to the 400 metres I vowed to relax, stop worrying and just go out and race. I won, of course, and now I understand that I must stay relaxed and treat racing like I did in the beginning, with fun and no pressure."

Adlington is still the world's number one in the 800 metres, and number two in the 400 meters. In these Commonwealth Games she is ranked number one in both but, having become the fastest 200 metres freestyle swimmer in Britain too, she is determined to give the shorter distance a try with an aim to add it to her repetoire for the London Olympics.

"It's the perfect chance to try out all three distances, as well as the 4 x 200 metres relay, which I've always loved competing in. They say that as you get older so you get better at the shorter distances and if the 200 metres goes well, and if the programme in London is nicely spaced out, then I may try all three distances. It would be interesting to see if I could handle it. I've never had such an extensive schedule as I have here and I"m excited to see how well I go.

"It doesn't help that the 400 metres takes place the day after the 800 metres final, but on the plus side I'm a lot more confident here in Delhi than I was at the European championships in Budapest."

Adlington certainly appeared relaxed yesterday having arrived in the athlete's village on Thursday. I'm very excited to be here. Our holding camp in Doha was fantastic and the room I have here is much bigger than I had at the Beijing Olympics."      

 
She heads an impressive cast list of English swimmers, with the women likely to take over the might of Australia as the leading women swimming nation in the Commonwealth. Apart from Adlington Team England can also boast world champion and record holding 100 metres backstroke swimmer Gemma Spofforth, plus multiple European medallists Gemma Spofforth, Francesca Halsall and Lizzie Simmonds. World champion 50 metre backstroker Liam Tancock heads up the men.