The British Swimming Team, powered by British Gas, are finalising their preparations for the 13th LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships which begins tomorrow in the Turkish capital of Istanbul.
The four-day event will see some of Britain’s seasoned athletes, including European record holder Hannah Miley, join a number of new faces on the senior international scene. Speaking ahead of the competition Miley said:
“It’s been a really good year with a few ups and downs for me and having come so close to a medal at the World’s I’m really looking forward to competing here. Last year, I came so close to a medal, coming 4th twice so I’m hoping to step it up a gear and improve on that”.
Previous medal winner Matthew Clay added:
“I haven’t competed at the European Short Course for a couple of years but having medalled previously I’m setting my sights high and hoping to do so again. This is such a great event and a fantastic learning experience for some of the younger athletes within our team. Hopefully the tough competition here will entice them to swim that little bit faster”.
Ten time European Short Course champion Mark Foster, who will be travelling out to Istanbul to offer his support to the team commented:
“I’m really looking forward to going out to Istanbul to cheer on the team. This is a great opportunity to give some up and coming athletes international experience and we also have a few swimmers who could do really well.
“I’m particularly excited to see what Hannah Miley, Eli Faulkner and Jess Dickons have to offer, they each have a lot of potential to get it right on the day and our female British swimmers have such strength and depth at the moment which is fantastic”.
