24th – 31st July 2011

 

Shanghai is my 4th World Championships. My 1st being in Montreal, Canada in 2005 followed by Melbourne Australia in 2007 and then Rome Italy in 2009. It’s always an amazing feeling representing Great Britain at an International competition. Travelling with the team to compete against the best swimmers in the world is something I look forward to and thrive off.

 

When we arrived into China from Japan, we checked straight into our hotel and then ventured to one of the training pools to have a nice stretch and loosen off swim. China has a very different climate to what we have in Britain, but much like what we have just experienced in Japan. It’s very hot and humid, with temperatures not dropping below 29 Degrees, even at night.

 

I was rooming with Joe Roebuck again, which was great. We were lucky enough to have our room on the second highest floor in the hotel, so we had fantastic views over the city. One thing I noticed about Shanghai is that they have lights everywhere, and the city looks amazing at night. Such a cool skyline.

 

The day before the competition started I went down to see the race pool. It’s a 10 lane 50m pool with a depth of 3m and a seating capacity of 15,000. It looked amazing. I was excited about getting the racing started, but seeing the pool for the first time made that excitement grow even stronger.

 

Racing

The Heats sessions of the World Championships started at 9am and the Finals at 6pm. But China is +7hrs GMT, so it was either really early or late for all those watching back in Britain. Warm ups in the Competition pool finish 15 minutes before the start of the session, however there is a 10 Lane 50m Swimming Pool behind the scenes which competitors can use at any time.

 

World Championships – Competition

4 x 100m Freestyle relay

My 2011 World Championship started with the Heats of the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay. I was in a team with Adam Brown, Grant Turner and Simon Burnett. In the heats Adam leadoff in a split of 49.0, with me 2nd in 48.5, Grant was 3rd in 48.7 and Simon bringing us home in a 49.0. This gave us a time of 3.15.35 putting us into the final in 8th position.

 

Final

In the final we kept the same order, and as a team we swam slightly faster with a time of 3.15.03 We actually finished in 8th position, which was a great achievement for this team. But best of all we qualified the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay team for the London 2012 Olympics next year!

 

100m Backstroke

In the Heats of the 100m backstroke I swam a fast but controlled race, touching home in a time of 53.84 splitting at 50m mark in 25.82 This put me into 4th position for the Semi-Final. After the race I swam down, had protein shake, a banana, and had a massage. Then it was back to the Hotel to have some lunch and relax before my Semi-Final that evening. Walking out for the evening sessions here is Shanghai is pretty special. All the lights in the 15,000 capacity stadium are turned off and you step out on to poolside under a spotlight from behind sliding doors in lane order, starting with the slowest lane first. I.e. lane 8,1,7,2,6,3,5 and finally lane 4. I was swimming in lane 5 of the 1st of 2 semi-finals. I swam a slightly quicker race splitting in a time of 25.59 and coming home in a 53.60. This put me into the final the following evening.

 

The morning before my 100m Backstroke Final I stayed in the hotel and watched the swimming on TV whilst eating my breakfast. After breakfast I went for a loosen off swim in the 25m hotel pool and then I just chilled out for the rest of the day.

 

I was really excited to be going out and racing some of the fastest Men in the World Championships Final. For me I don’t really feel pressure I just get excited about racing the best. It was an amazing feeling walking out into the stadium and hearing the roar of the crowd just before I raced. However I tend to switch off and Zone out, and just focus on what I need to do. It was a great race and I turned at the 50m mark in 3rd place with a split of 25.55. In the last 50m I let my stroke rate drop and ended up touching home 6th in a time of 53.25. I was actually really pleased with my performance. Getting faster through the rounds and I was only 2 tenths of a second outside of a medal.

 

I then had a couple of chilled days where I got chance to cheer on the rest of the British swimmers before my 50m at the end of the week.

 

50m Backstroke

With the 50m dash being so close, there was no holding back. It was all about making it through the Heats and Semi-Finals so to be in contention in the Final. In the Heats I touched home in 10th in a time off 25.26 putting me safely through to the Semi-Final that evening. I wanted to step up the game in the Semi-Final and touched in a time of 24.62 to put me through 1st to the Final.

 

I couldn’t wait to race in the Final of the 50 m Backstroke. It’s an event where you need to hold your nerve and get everything right. I got off to a great start and managed to hold my stroke rate down the whole length. Touching home in a 24.50 in 1st position and thus becoming World Champion! :-) I actually was defending Champion after winning the title in Rome in 2009, so to retain my title was just incredible. There is no better feeling than standing on the top step of the podium and listening to the British National Anthem.

 

Medallists 50m Backstroke

1st Liam Tancock GBR 24.50
2nd Camille Lacourt FRA 24.57
3rd Gerhard Zandberg RSA 24.66

 

4 x 100m Medley relay

Straight after the Final of the 50m Backstroke I was back in the pool racing the 4 x 100m Medley Relay. I was racing the Backstroke leg with Anthony James doing the Fly, Michael Jameson on the Breaststroke and Adam Brown on the Freestyle. Earlier that morning we had defied the odds and beat some great teams to make it into the final in 8th position, with a time of 3.36.19. So the Final was all about racing the other teams and giving it our best shot. We actually swam a great race and finished in 6th position in a time of 3.36.58.

 

This was a fantastic end to an amazing World Championships.

 

Now it’s time to have a short break before I start my training in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympics! I can’t wait! :-)