Ellen Gandy Defects, Australia Celebrates

Ellen Gandy has 'done a Fargus' and chosen to represent Australia in future international competitions. Having been based in Australia for five years and citing difficult travelling arrangements back and forth to Britain for trials, Gandy has taken the major step of switching allegiances.

It is safe to say the Aussies are pleased...

Burning Questions

•  Could British Swimming have done more to keep Gandy swimming for her homeland? This is the second high profile change of allegiance in the last few years following Ben Hockin's switch to Paraguay.

• Coming a day after the review into Britain's failure, is the timing of Gandy's decision a coincidence / a direct response / a kick in the nuts?

•  Will Gandy go full Aussie in future interviews?

- Journalist: "How do you feel about your switch to Australia?"
- Gandy: "True blue mate. It's all fair dinkum, British swimming's leadership is a brown-eyed mullet"


In recognition of her service to the nation she leaves behind, here is a reminder of Gandy's best moment as a British swimmer...

 

Ellen Gandy Will Not Wear The New Speedo Suit At Trials

Ellen Gandy will be competing in the closest race at trials, the women's 100m Fly, and she will be doing it a supposedly inferior suit. The below is taken from Gandy's column in The Guardian.

All the talk on the circuit right now is about the new Speedo suits, which launched last December. Speedo say it is their fastest ever. People were trying them out in NSW and will be again at the trials. I've decided I'm not going to wear one in the trials. I've been thinking about it a lot and there is no way I would change any other aspect of my swimming, like my start or my turn, a week before an important competition. I just don't need that kind of distraction. Everyone expects me to wear the latest thing, but I love my old Speedo suit and I reckon that if you're comfortable in what you are wearing it doesn't really matter. I believe I can achieve whatever I'm in.

Choosing which suit to wear depends so much on the individual, on body shape and what you feel comfortable in. So some people absolutely love Speedo's new suit, and some people don't. I know one girl who wore it for one race, took it off and it ripped. If I win selection for the Olympics then I will definitely try it out, but right now I'm sticking with what works for me.

Looks like we are back talking about suits again.

Top 51 Swimmers of 2011 - 41 to 32

As another year of great swimming comes to a close, here is a rundown of the Top 50 Swimmers of 2011. There is no set criteria, but clearly the World Championships in Shanghai carried a big weight in the decision making process. That being said, outstanding achievements away from Shanghai were still acknowledged.

Here is the rundown from 40 to 31.

41. Brendan Hansen – 2011 Highlight – Beating world champion Daniel Gyurta at the Duel in the Pool.

Hansen makes the list not so much for his performances, which still put him in the world top 10, but for the fact that of all the comebacks during the last two years, his has been by far the most successful. To be under 2:10 in the 200m Breast at this stage of Hansen’s return is scary. Hansen v Kitajima v Gyurta should be a classic, Tomita, von Lehm and Shanteau will all try to crash the party.

40. Camille Muffat – 2011 Highlight – Missing out on two silver medals in Shanghai by a combined 0.10 seconds.

This selection may raise a few eyebrows, especially considering that Kylie Palmer who finished ahead of Muffat in the 200 Free in Shanghai missed out on the Top 50. Muffat’s inclusion was based on her impressive last 12 months. The Nice trained swimmer is a model of consistency in middle distance Freestyle. In the last year she has registered 7 of the top 25 performances in the 200m Free and 6 in the 400 Free (including 3 of the top 7). Her 4:03.23 400 Free effort at French nationals puts her in elite company with Federica Pellegrini and Rebecca Adlington.

39. Paul Biedermann – 2011 Highlight – Silencing some of his critics by taking two bronze medals in Shanghai in two of the deepest events on the men’s side.

Biedermann, like Muffat, came back from Shanghai with two bronze medals, but when you consider the swimmers he beat on his way to those medals, his place in the Top 50 should become clearer: Park Tae-Hwan, Yannick Agnel, Nikita Lobintsev, Ous Mellouli, Peter Vanderkaay, Ryan Cochrane. It is also worth remembering that Michael Phelps beat Biedermann by just 0.09 in the 200m Free. His time of 1:44.88 moved him ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband to 4th 5th on the all-time textile ranking list.

Commonwealth Games Swimming Preview - Women's Butterfly

50m Butterfly
1. Yolane Kukla - Watch Kukla's starts, they are lightening quick. Particularly helpful on a 50m sprint.
2. Marieke Guehrer - Won Pan Pacs in 25.99 (Kukla won the B final in the same time). Reigning World Champion in this event.
3. Francesca Halsall - Expect a blanket finish. Halsall might miss out on this one to the Fly specialists.

Wildcard
Emily Seebohm - Was just 0.09 seconds behing Guehrer in the A final at Pan Pacs. Certainly an event we could see an Australian 1-2-3.



100m Butterfly
1. Francesca Halsall - Has to be considered favourite after pushing World Champion Sarah Sjoestrom so close in Budapest untapered.
2. Alicia Coutts - Leads the Australian charge after her 57.99 at Pan Pacs.
3. Yolane Kukla - Felicity Galvez and Kukla is a hard choice for Bronze. I'm going with youth over experience


Wildcard
Ellen Gandy - I expect 3 Australian's in the Top 4 positions, however Ellen Gandy could break that up. 100 isn't Gandy's distance but if her training has gone right she could challenege for a medal.

200m Butterfly
1. Jessicah Schipper - I always seem to underestimate Schipper in major competitions and I don't know why. Surely age is going to catch up with her soon as she's been around for so long. Yeah, she's still only 23.
2. Ellen Gandy - I tried as hard as I could to find an argument to pick Gandy ahead of Schipper but fell short. Gandy won't be far off though having been 2:07.54 at Europeans. Expect even faster in Delhi.
3. Jemma Lowe - Missed the European final by 0.01. If the taper went well in Florida she will challenge.


Wildcards
Audrey Lacroix & Samantha Hamill -Both women made the final of World's last year and will be in the hunt for medals.