In an aim to inspire the nation to swim, Speedo has launched a national ‘Search for a Speedo Star’ competition which will give everyday people the opportunity to become an athletic superstar; raising money for Cancer Research UK in the process!

The hunt will give five lucky winners the chance to compete in all Speedo sponsored open water and triathlon events, culminating in the Virgin Active London Triathlon. Along the way the winners will be supported by Speedo athletes, will receive hints, tips, and training plans from Speedo’s expert coaches and will receive full Speedo kit along with an entry level triathlon bike for the competition.^*

In return all the ‘Speedo stars’ will have to do is create a series of blogs telling us how their training is going including how they’re finding the Speedo open water products; along with a blog reviewing their performance in each competition.  They will also be supported in fundraising for Cancer Research UK, helping to raise vital funds which will ultimately save lives.

Whether you’re a stay at home mum with a secret open water or triathlon ambition, a nervous first timer after a challenge, looking to lose weight, or simply looking for help in improving your performance then this is the competition for you.

The Speedo Open Water Swim Series has swims which start at only 750m going up to a 1.5km or 3km; with the Virgin Active London Triathlon featuring both Sprint and Olympic distance races (750m/20km/5km or 1.5km/40km/10km).

The unique partnership between Speedo and Cancer Research UK aims to highlight the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle; something that can help to reduce the risk of up to half of all cancers.

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research; and has helped save millions of lives with its groundbreaking work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.

To enter the competition and become a Speedo Star simply like Speedo’s TriathELITE Facebook page and upload an image and 250 words explaining why you would be the perfect Speedo Star!

For full details and information please visit www.facebook.com/triathelite

Notes:

^* Terms and conditions apply

^** Prize up to the value of £2,500

Through the use of a portable swimming pool, the programme teaches primary school children a vital life skill and allows them to gain confidence in the water so they can achieve the National Curriculum target of learning to swim 25m unaided.

Speedo’s Sea Squad learn to swim equipment is used to help build the children’s confidence in the water; they also receive a swimming cap and wet kit bag to encourage them to continue swimming once the portable pool has moved on.

As part of the event in Ashington Olympic champion Duncan Goodhew, along with junior swimmers Jess Thielmann and Phoebe Lenderyou, spoke to pupils about their swim experiences and why they enjoy swimming so much. They also joined in with the lessons helping to demonstrate different strokes; as well as getting involved in some fun activities including managing to stretch a Speedo swim cap so that a student could fit their entire body in it!

Duncan said: “It is scary to think of the number of children in the UK that leave primary school unable to swim. The Pools 4 Schools programme ensures children have the opportunity to learn a vital life skill, improve their fitness and have fun in the water. Nationally more than 30,000 children have been taught to swim through the programme so far, I’m really pleased to be supporting such a revolutionary scheme.”

Liz Armstrong, PESS (P.E. and School Sport) Network Manager at Ashington High School said: “The arrival of the pool at Ashington High School has created a real buzz around the school. The students were very interested to see it being built and are now swimming, playing water polo and learning personal survival skills during PE lessons, at lunchtimes and after school.

“Many of our students are not strong swimmers and this will give them a very worthwhile opportunity to develop their aquatic skills. We are especially excited that the pool has come back during an Olympic Year and will support all the sporting activities we will be doing around London 2012 later in the year.”

For more information visit www.totalswimming.co.uk/pools-4-schools

Taking up a challenge by Chris Johnson – CLUMBER CLASSIC 24^th March

This year I wanted to set myself a different challenge.  The challenge was to be triathlon; specifically a half ironman distance race.  I’ve competed in a couple of sprint triathlon and relay events with my work colleagues in recent years, but this year I thought it would be good to take triathlon a bit more seriously.  My favourite sport and hobby has always been swimming, even from a very early age.  I don’t possess natural ability and I’m not lucky enough to be blessed with genetic advantages for swimming such as size 16 feet, but it’s the sport that I love and I’ve competed at club and county level as a junior and now as a masters competitor.

So the main goal for this year is to compete in and finish a half ironman triathlon event.  The chosen event is the Vitruvian in September this year.  I’ve also entered a number of other Duathlon and Triathlon events as preparation for the half ironman event.

2012 race schedule:

• Clumber Classic
• Southwell Sprint Triathlon – B race
• Dambuster Triathlon
• Lakeland Triathlon
• Vitruvian Half Ironman – A race
• Last Minute Sprint Triathlon

My first race of the year was the Clumber Classic Duathlon on Saturday 24^th March.  I’ve never competed in a Duathlon before so my first thought was how will I do this?  I’ve never cycled 40km and never run 15km in one day.  The sprint distance triathlon I competed in at Southwell last year felt long enough as an endurance event for me, but I thought I’m only as strong as my weakest link and those weak links are cycling and running!

Therefore I needed to accumulate some bike and run training before the Duathlon.  I’d already joined Virgin Active in Nottingham so I decided that my bike training would consist of attending the Monday and Friday morning spin classes.  I guessed that this would be enough to get me through the bike section of the Duathlon.  I started my training in January so it was also difficult to fit a lot of run sessions in due to the dark nights and poor weather.  My run training consisted of a long 10 mile run on a Sunday and a 5km run on the treadmill at the gym in the week.  Added to my bike and run training I would continue to swim with my local Masters swimming club and also swim on a couple of mornings at the gym.  I also listen to the IMTalk Ironman podcast in my car every week on the way to work which breaks up the boredom of the drive and provides me with some good training and racing tips.

So when the training plan was sorted and well underway I turned my attention to the Duathlon race day equipment.  What do you wear in a Duathlon? I checked the event website gallery pictures from the previous year and I could see a common trend emerging for tri suits, long sleeved base layer tops and knee length compression socks as the attire of choice.  So I made my purchases on Wiggle and I was ready to look the part of a seasoned Duathlete on the day of the race.  As usual, I borrowed my Dad’s road bike for the event.

The night before the event, I carefully packed my bag and checked the race pack instructions.  The intention was to have an early night, but I still hadn’t fitted the cadence and speedometer unit to my road bike.  The unit fitting took about an hour and a half of fiddling around with excess wire and cable ties, but I was in bed at 11.30pm.

On race day morning I consumed the usual pre swim competition meal of a bowl of porridge and a glass of fruit juice.  Clear blue skies and high temperatures for March of 18 degrees were forecast, but I awoke in Derby to a morning of cold, thick fog.  The fog remained for the entire journey up the M1 to Clumber Park.

I arrived at the race transition area at around 7.30am and set up my bike and race equipment.  My nutrition strategy for the race was to consume a gel on the 10km run then drink a bottle of energy fluid on the 40km bike section.  This was my novice approach which did seem to work, but I think I was the only person re-fuelling with a gel after the first 5km of the race!

The race start was delayed by half an hour because of the heavy fog and safety concerns for the bike section of the race, but at 9.30am I was away at last on my first ever Duathlon.  I was soon to learn that I’d started the race too near the front, as I was continuously overtaken for the first few kilometres.  The first 10km run went fine and I made sure I kept to a steady pace.  Shortly into the bike section I soon realised that I’d made the schoolboy error of forgetting my gloves.  The consequence of this mistake meant that my fingers were too numb to change down gear for the last 5km of the bike section, and then I had to stand around in the transition area for an extra few minutes whilst I tried to wrestle my bike helmet from my head as I was unable to feel and un-latch the helmet strap.  My race strategy was to concentrate on my own race and not to get too competitive and race every one that passed by.  The strategy seemed to work as I ran a negative split for my last 5km and even passed a few of the competitors who had previously ran past me on the first 10km section of the race. I finally finished the race in 74^th position overall in a total time of 2 hours and 24 minutes.  It was a great event, well organised by One Step Beyond with helpful race marshals and a decent long sleeved t-shirt at the finishing line which I’ll wear with pride!  My post-race treat was a McDonald’s lunch at Tibshelf services on the drive home to Derby.

Notes to myself for the next race…

1. Don’t try to fix a cadence and speedometer to your race bike, the night before the race.
2. Remember to wear your gloves on the bike in March.
3. Take a pair of scissors to cut the cycle helmet strap free from your head in transition if required.
4. Tighten all accessories on bike (including the water bottle holder which rattled for 40km).
5. Do a lot more bike and run training!

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Bio: Chris Johnson

·         Works as an Applied Innovation Designer within the Speedo Aqualab, research and development team.
·         Has worked in the Aqualab for 5 years.
·         Chris was lucky enough to land a job in the Aqualab which combines his two passions of swimming and design.
·         Masters swimmer and member of the City of Derby Swimming Club.
·         Swimming career highlight so far is being the 2009 Derbyshire Masters 100m Freestyle age-group champion.

The event saw Michael Phelps demonstrating once again why he’s regarded as the most accomplished swimmer of all time with an impressive performance which saw him claim three gold medals. Wearing the full Speedo Fastskin³ Racing System^®, Phelps topped the podium in the 100m butterfly on the first day of competition, before securing the best time in the world this year and a meet record as he completed the 400m Individual Medley in 4:12.51. A third gold and second meet record followed in the 200m Individual Medley with a finish of 1:56.32.

Tyler Clary also impressed wearing the Fastskin³ cap, goggles and suit combination as he secured gold in the men’s 400m freestyle, while Allison Schmitt claimed gold in the women’s event, also wearing the full Speedo Fastskin³ Racing System. Allison went on to complete her own double with a further victory in the 200m free, with a time of 1:56.79.

Many plaudits went to Nathan Adrian, who emerged as a leading contender for the upcoming Team USA trials in June by securing a double gold success in the 50m and 100m freestyle events. His respective times of 21.88 and 48.62 confirmed yet more meet records for swimmers wearing the Speedo Fastskin³ Racing System.

Dana Vollmer also enjoyed success, taking gold in both the 100m freestyle and 100 metre butterfly, breaking the meet record in the freestyle event with a time of 54.21.

Rebecca Adlington (GBR), winner of two gold medals in 2008, will be hoping to have given the world of swimming a glimpse of things to come in the London Aquatics Centre after claiming victory in the 400m and 800m freestyle events at the British Gas Swimming Championships, one of the first events to be held at the brand new venue.

Wearing the Fastskin³ Super Elite Suit and Cap, Rebecca recorded the fastest time in 2012, shaving 8.5 seconds off the year’s previous best, as she clocked 8:18.54 in the 800m, whilst again setting the standard in the 400m with a time of 4:02.35 to secure a place in the British team to defend her titles, moving a step closer to emulating her double-gold achievements of four years ago.

Rebecca will be challenged in the 400m event in London by fellow Speedo swimmer Camille Muffat, who smashed the French record and achieved the fastest time of the year with a finish of 4:01.13 to guarantee an Olympic berth.

Camille secured a further solo qualification with a time of 1:54.87 in the 200m Free, which saw her break her own French record of 1:55.40 she set only one day previously in the semi-final heat.

Speedo athletes have also impressed in the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide, with Leisel Jones making history as Australia’s first swimmer to qualify for a fourth Olympic Games, whilst James Magnussen demonstrated why he’s earned the nickname of ‘The Missile’, coming within 0.18 seconds of a world record with a time of 47.01 in the 100m Freestyle.

Magnussen soon followed up the triumph with a second gold medal in the 50m freestyle, securing a time of 21.74 seconds to complete an impressive double. The 50m freestyle race also saw fellow Speedo athlete, Eamon Sullivan, finish in second place to confirm his place in the Australian Team.

Phelps, meanwhile, stepped up his mission to add yet more accolades to his legacy as the most accomplished swimmer of all time with an impressive performance at the Columbus Grand Prix in Ohio.

Wearing the Fastskin³ Super Elite Jammer and Goggle, Michael secured three gold medals at the meet, including the year’s second fastest time in 200m freestyle with a time of 1:55.32, remaining on course in his preparations for the Team USA trials in June.

Congratulations to Rebecca, Camille, Leisel, James and Eamon on making their respective teams, and good luck to Michael at the USA trials – here’s to another golden year for Speedo sponsored stars!

For some what they have achieved will only start to sink in now they are home with their family & friends. Imagine the Olympic Games being your first senior major championship? That’s what it will be for Sophie Allen, Craig Benson & Jessica Lloyd.

Normally when you see the reaction of the successful swimmers at the end of a race it is 50% joy and 50% relief. For these up and coming swimmers, with nothing to lose, it was closer to 90% joy.

For Rebecca Adlington though who, as reigning double Olympic Champion, has very high expectations and a lot of pressure on her it seemed it was 90% relief. Job done for Becky who can now concentrate fully on defending those titles.

The performances by the girls definitely stood out. So much depth of talent and with Adlington, Ellie Gandy, Hannah Miley & Fran Halsall leading the way we have one of the best female swimming teams in the World and the best Britain has ever had.

And there were some reasons to feel excited for the men too. Michael Jamieson impressed me by grinding out a place on the team on 200m breaststroke despite not feeling great, Joe Roebuck stepped up a level to qualify on 3 events, Robbie Renwick continues to dominate on freestyle and maybe it’s the year that Liam Tancock can hold on to his lead over the closing stages in the 100m backstroke.

So we’ve seen some great swimming in the Aquatics Centre, now add in another 15000 spectators and some big, shiny gold medals up for grabs and there’s everything you need for an unforgettable 8 days in the summer!

Visit: Facebook.com/SpeedoUK for exclusive interviews, how to guides, articles and lots more…

]]> http://newsroom.speedo.co.uk/2012/03/09/a-chance-to-meet-the-speedo-swimming-team-on-the-10th-march/feed/ 0 http://newsroom.speedo.co.uk/2012/03/09/karen-pickerings-british-gas-swimming-championships-day-6-round-up/ http://newsroom.speedo.co.uk/2012/03/09/karen-pickerings-british-gas-swimming-championships-day-6-round-up/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:04:20 +0000 admin http://newsroom.speedo.co.uk/?p=273 Read more >]]> Sometimes the classification system in disability swimming can be difficult to understand, sometimes the points system in disability swimming can be difficult to understand but everyone understands a World Record and that’s exactly what we got from Ellie Simmonds last night in the 200 IM.

The 17 year old, who was the star of the 2008 Paralympic Games, now has the distinction of being the first swimmer to break a World Record in the Aquatic Centre and the crowd let her know they were impressed. The cheer Ellie got as she collected her medal was huge but it nothing compared to what it will be like if she repeats the feat in 5 months time when there will probably be at least 15000 more people watching.

15 year old Molly Renshaw may have just done enough to secure a place on the Olympic team although she won’t know for sure until June. She finished 2nd to Stacey Tadd in the 200m breast stroke but if no one goes faster at the National Championships she will have earned an Olympic spot. Molly will most likely be the youngest on the British Swim Team and is going to feel pretty cool when she and her school friends chat about what they are going to be getting up to in the summer holiday

23 places have been filled already. No surprise to see the likes of Rebecca Adlington (400 free) Ellen Gandy, Fran Halsall (100 fly) Liam Tancock (100 back) Hannah Miley (200 & 400 IM) & Robbie Renwick (200 & 400 free) but there have been a number of “young pups” who have not been overwhelmed by the occasion and who will now be getting used to the idea that they are going to be part of Team GB.

Craig Benson was a big surprise as he sneaked in for a spot on the 100m breaststroke, Sophie Allen flew down the freestyle leg of the 200 IM to finish 2nd and inside the qualifying time and then there was Rebecca Turner who showed no respect for her elders and their reputations as she took the 200m freestyle title. Rebecca was born in 1992, the year I swam in my first Olympics, which makes me feel very old, and she will turn 20 during the Games….what a way to celebrate your birthday!

“It’s all about coming to the Olympic Trials and racing fast in front of a home crowd and getting the excitement of what it’s going to be like in a few months time at the home Olympics,” Tancock said. “I’m on the team now so it’s pretty much job done. I’ve got to re-focus myself and get ready for the Games itself now.”

Keri-anne Payne, who has already secured her place on the team, has made the final for the 200m freestyle and is now in with a chance for a place in both the individual and relay events; along with fastest qualifier Caitlin McClatchey and Commonwealth Record Holder Jo Jackson who has already made the Olympic team in the 400m freestyle.

Plenty more swimmers made the team for London 2012 on Day 3 of the competition, including:

More fun filled activities were held in the split between the heats and finals sessions, with around 80 students participating in the British Gas Pools 4 Schools event. Students jumped into the dive pit for a session with a number of coaches, and were helped along the way by Olympian Steve Parry.

Keep up with all the live action via Facebook and Twitter, plus have a look at our pictures galleries and video interviews.

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