British Swimming has announced 21 athletes who will compete at the 2014 European Championships in pool swimming at the 2014 European Aquatics Championships, which will begin on Monday in Berlin, Germany.
The stars will be Commonwealth Games champions Jaz Carlin, Ross Murdoch, and Ben Proud, along with National Record holding sprinter Fran Halsall.
Halsall and Murdoch will have the best battles of the meet, as they’re in two of the most high-profile races of the week. Halsall will have multiple showdowns (at least three) with Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom in the 50 fly, 50 free, and 100 free, while Murdoch will take on Germany’s Marco Koch, the defending silver medalist at Worlds, in the 200 breaststroke. Murdoch came dangerously close to the World Record in the 200 at the Commonwealth Games with a 2:07.30.
While Hungarian Daniel Gyurta’s absence in that 200 breaststroke will be felt, the competition for Murdoch should still be intense as he swaps his Team Scotland cap for a Team Great Britain cap for this week.
The most glaring absences include Olympic medalist Michael Jamieson; Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, who won 6 total medals at the Commonwealth Games; Dan Wallace, who won gold in the 400 IM at the Commonwealth Games; and Liam Tancock, the European and World Record holder in the 50 backstroke.
O’Connor had to withdraw for the meet because of “illness” according to British Swimming, and Robbie Renwick also pulled out at the last minute for “personal reasons.”
- Jazz Carlin (Swansea University)
- Georgia Davies (British Gas National Centre Loughborough)
- Fran Halsall (British Gas National Centre Loughborough)
- Shauna Lee (Plymouth Leander)
- Jemma Lowe (British Gas National Centre Bath)
- Molly Renshaw (British Gas National Centre Loughborough)
- Lizzie Simmonds (British Gas National Centre Bath)
- Sophie Taylor (City of Leeds)
- Rebecca Turner (City of Sheffield)
- Aimee Willmott (Middlesbrough)
- Adam Barrett (British Gas National Centre Loughborough)
- Cameron Brodie (University of Stirling)
- Jay Lelliott (Bath University)
- Max Litchfield (City of Sheffield)
- Stephen Milne (Perth City)
- Ross Murdoch (University of Stirling)
- Roberto Pavoni (British Gas National Centre Loughborough)
- Adam Peaty (City of Derby)
- Ben Proud (Plymouth Leander)
- Chris Walker-Hebborn (British Gas National Centre Bath)
- Andrew Willis (British Gas National Centre Bath)
Yes. Really disappointing to not see SOB. Hosszu is alone now in the 200 IM.
Overall, I wonder if the British swimmers will be able to swim decent times in Berlin. Their biggest meet of the year, unlike some of the Australians, was the Commonwealth Games.
It will be probably hard for most of them to perform again.
No Adam Brown?
He became a father just before the CG, maybe that’s the reason.
It’s really disappointing to see O’Connor out.