Swimming World 30.07.11 Shanghai, China

REBECCA Adlington led when it counted, at the final touch, to win the women’s 800 free world title at the FINA World Long Course Championships.

Denmark’s Lotte Friis, the 1500 free champion and defending champion in this event from 2009, led nearly the entire race, but Adlington outsplit her 28.91 to 29.81 in the final 50 meters to win in 8:17.51. The win is Adlington’s first individual world title. Friis, meanwhile, grabbed silver with an 8:18.20.

“That was such a tough race,” Adlington said. “Lotte kept edging forward. I get a two-week vacation after this, so it is totally worth it. The support I have had around me is amazing, I am such a lucky girl.”

The second race in the pool was between the Americans for bronze with Kate Ziegler holding off a hard charging Chloe Sutton, 8:23.36 to 8:24.05. Sutton came charging home in the final 50, but had not done enough throughout the course of the race to make up for the lead Ziegler initially built. The bronze returned Ziegler to the 800 free podium, which she had reigned over with wins in 2005 and 2007.

“I am a bit disappointed,” Ziegler said. “I wanted to be faster. Honestly, I gave everything I had. When you are swimming a race, you always want to go faster. I will see what I can do for next year’s Olympics.”

Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas (8:24.79), Australia’s Katie Goldman (8:29.20), South Africa’s Wendy Trott (8:30.45) and New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle (8:32.72) made up the rest of the final.

FINA Website 30.07.11
In the longest event of the session, the women’s 800m free, an interesting duel opposed 2008 Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington (GBR) and 2009 gold medallist Lotte Friis (DEN). Alternating in the lead of the race, the victory smiled to Adlington in a time of 8:17.51, allowing her to obtain the first world title of her career (in Shanghai, she had been silver medallist in the 400m free). The silver was obtained by Friis in 8:18.20 (second medal for the Danish swimmer, after the title in the 1500m free), while Kate Ziegler (USA) earned the bronze in a “distant” 8:23.36 (she was the winner of this event in 2005 and 2007).
“It was a tough race; I just tried to get involved as much as I possibly could in the race. At last Worlds, I came away with two bronze so I am very happy with the gold and silver from this meet and I can’t really ask for any better. Now that I have the gold obviously it adds pressure for next year but I welcome the pressure. If I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t be swimming that well,” revealed Adlington. “I knew Lotte was going to be amazing, she’s had a fantastic week. I knew she was going to be strong so I just tried to stick with her. In the last 25, I saw myself go past her and I thought ‘just keep going!” she concluded.

Adlington Treasury Complete
Craig Lord: SwimNews 30.07.11

Day 7 finals, Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai

Women’s 800m freestyle

For courage, for bravery, for heart, for guts, the gold goes to both Rebecca Adlington (GBR) and Lotte Friis (DEN) but there could be only one winner after a boiling 16-lap stroke-for-stroke battle – and that belonged to the double Olympic champion, over the defending world champion 8:17.51 to 8:18.20. The argument was decided with a blistering 28.91 last lap, while the bronze went to former world champion Kate Ziegler (USA), in 8:23.36.

Adlington, Olympic champion over 400m and 800m in 2008, sunk in the dark sea of suits in 2009, Commonwealth champion over 400m and 800m last year and European champion over 400m in a week in Budapest that saw Friis take the 800m crown as the Brit fell off the pace in the midst of training for her priority meet of the year in Delhi, now has a world crown in her collection.

The naked eye barely able to split the difference between the leaders a league apart, Friis’s 0.31sec advantage after 14 of 16 laps was the biggest the gap between twentysomething rivals until Adlington dealt the Dane a the killer blow of a 28.91 last 50m split on the way to settling the argument 8mins 17.51 to 8:18.20.

Every time Friis, gained from her superior turns, Adlington, coached by Bill Furniss in Nottingham, responded with superior swimming speed in tune to the thunderous support in the stands from a Britain squad that gave their hero a standing ovation from the moment she walked out on to her blocks on the burning deck to the moment she climbed down from the podium, the gold around her neck.

By the last turn, Friis 0.21sec to the good, Adlington showed she was sick of her steely shadow with a last lap that even outshone shiny suits: in Beijing in a LZR Racer (of the kind now banned) on her way to the world record of 8:14.10, the 22-year-olf from mansfield clocked a 29.66 finish. Friis mustered a terrific 29.81 tonight but had no more to give after having twice tried to break her opponent’s resolve.

“At 400m I tried to get away but I couldn’t do it,” said the 23-year-old Friis with a smile after hearing Adlington chuckle as she confirmed that her tactic had been no more that to “stick to her whatever”. The two foes of the fray have long been friends in sport too and have shared many a fine race down the years since their days at European junior level.

Today’s tussle had a little history to it. The Dane donned a 100% poly X-Glide in Rome two years ago to win a race in which Adlington, having refused to move up from her 50% poly LZR to full rubber suits, was locked out of the medals and left the pool distraught. The feeling was never personal, many of Adlington’s teammates making a different choice in the chaos of choices around them.

Tonight, it was smiles all round as Adlington said: “I’m so happy. It’s absolutely amazing, It was thrilling. At the last world championships I got two bronzes so to come away from here with a gold and a silver is just amazing.”

Friis, who enjoyed the rough of battle, would take away from Shanghai valuable lessons for London 2012 and work on different tactics that could help her avoid the same flow as that in today’s horn-locking thriller. Ziegler, also a sub 8:20 swimmer and on a fine recovery path towards her Olympic ambitions next year, said she was pleased with her time in her first competition back in the big-time pool. All to play for a year from now.

Asked about the pressures of a home Games, Adlington said: “I’m the type of person that it doesn’t know me down when I have a bad swim, I just get more motivated. I’m quite resilient in that way. I have pretty much learned to cope with that now, I think I’ve had to after the Olympics. I want to do well, I want to succeed, I don’t put all the hard work in and get up early in the morning just to come and not make it happen. A lot of people do that sometimes.”

The result:

1. Rebecca Adlington (GBR) 8:17.51
2. Lotte Friis (DEN) 8:18.20
3. Kate Ziegler (USA) 8:23.36
4. Chloe Sutton (USA) 8:24.05
5. Boglarka Kapas (HUN) 8:24.79
6. Katie Goldman (AUS) 8:29.20
7. Wendy Trott (RSA) 8:30.45
8. Lauren Boyle (NZL) 8:32.72
Splits compared:

1989: 1:00.20; 2:02.53; 3:05.12; 4:07.92; 5:10.27; 6:12.82; 7:15.44; 8:16.22 Janet Evans (USA) Tokyo 1989
2008: 59.37; 2:01.32; 3:03.58; 4:05.72; 5:07.62; 6:10.30; 7:13.24; 8:14.10 Rebecca Adlington (GBR) Beijing 2008
2011: 59.69; 2:02.61; 3:06.01; 4:09.32; 5:12.59; 6:15.23; 7:18.08; 8:17.51 Rebecca Adlington (GBR) Shanghai 2011
2011: 59.49; 2:02.50; 3:05.99; 4:09.38; 5:12.30; 6:14.94; 7:17.39; 8:18.20 Lotte Friis (DEN) Shanghai 2011
History in the making:

Records:

WR (all suits): 8:14.10 Rebecca Adlington (GBR) Beijing August 16, 2008
WR (textile): 8:16.22 Janet Evans (USA) Tokyo August 20, 1989
First woman inside 8:30: Tracey Wickham (AUS) 8:24.62 Edmonton, August 5, 1978
First woman inside 8:20: Anke Moehring (GDR)* 8:19.53 Strasbourg August 19, 1987
World-class stats:

World Record wins: Novella Calligaris (ITA) 1973
Title retained: Janet Evans (USA); Hannah Stockbauer (GER); Ziegler (USA)
Biggest margin: Evans beat Grit Mueller (GER) by 6.15sec in 1991
Closest shave: Evans beat Hayley Lewis (AUS) by 0.09sec in 1994
From the archive:

Janet Evans (USA) endured as world record holder between 1989 and 2008. Evan’s Olympic titles of 1988 and 1992 were followed by world titles in 1991 and 1994, those successes making her the first woman to stand aloft the winner’s rostrum in any event for two back-to-back Olympic Games and World Championships. She bowed out of the sport after having handed over the Olympic flame to Muhammad Ali at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Just over a year out from the Beijing Olympic Games, Rebecca Adlington (GBR) could be found in tears after falling shy of her own expectations more than 10sec from her best at the 2007 world championships as Kate Ziegler (USA) took the crown. A year later, Adlington cracked 8mins 20sec for the first time and arrived in China a medal prospect just as Ziegler’s form deserted her. In 8mins 14.10, she took gold and broke the world record that had stood to Janet Evans (USA) since 1989. In Rome, she refused to wear a 100% polyurethane suit and finished fourth in a race won by Lotte Friis (DEN) in the second-fastet time ever, 8:15.92. Time rolled back in 2010, when Adlington, Commonwealth champion, led the world rankings in 8:21.25 ahead of Ziegler, heading back to best on 8:21.59 for the Pan Pacific crown. Friis took the European title in 8:23.27.

Full results for the event can be found by clicking HERE

BBC website 310711

Liam Tancock secured Great Britain’s third gold medal at the World Championships in Shanghai with a dominant swim in the 50m backstroke.
The defending champion, who has now won five medals in four World Championships, touched in 24.50 just ahead of France’s Camille Lacourt.

Britain’s Hannah Miley produced a superb display in the 400m individual medley to win silver in 4:34.22. “This is the closest thing to the Olympics. I’m so happy,” Miley said.
“I saw the Chinese girl coming back and my little legs couldn’t kick fast enough but I managed to hold on,” said Miley, who finished second to the American Elizabeth Beisel, who won gold in a time of 4:31.78.
“It shows that sometimes it is not all about the facilities but about great coaching and I have certainly got that.”

Britain’s Fran Halsall was forced to settle for another fourth-place finish, this time in the 50m freestyle. The gold went to Sweden’s Therese Alshammer, who ended her long wait for World Championship gold after winning in a time of 24.14, narrowly ahead of Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands.
But an upbeat Halsall insisted she was pleased with her performance.
“I am not too disappointed to be honest,” Halsall told BBC Sport.
“I didn’t expect to do anything in this event so if I can get some good training in over Christmas then maybe I can convert some of these fourths and fifths into medals.”

British Swimming national performance director Michael Scott admits the meet has been a “rollercoaster” for GB but believes the team can enjoy even more success at London 2012.
“It has been a challenging meet, at times a rollercoaster, but every team has had their highs and lows,” said Scott.
“The strength of our team is its positivity and resilience. We didn’t crumble and got stronger as the meet went on. We pulled together as a team and we have to maintain that for next year.”

China’s Sun Yang set a new world record in the men’s 1500m freestyle, finishing in a time of 14:34.14.

Sun did not look like breaking swimming’s longest-standing world record but, spurred on by his vociferous home support, Sun toppled Australian Grant Hackett’s 10-year-old mark of 14:34.56.

American Ryan Lochte added a fifth gold medal to his collection after he destroyed the field to win the 400m individual medley in a time of 4:07.13, just four seconds outside Michael Phelps’ world record time.

Britain’s Roberto Pavoni finished eighth.

In the men’s 4×100m medley relay, the final event of the competition, Great Britain produced a good swim to finish sixth as the United States won in a time of 3:32.6. Australia claimed the silver and Germany the bronze.

Full report & video footage can be see n by clicking here

Swimming World; SHANGHAI, China, July 31.

ELIZABETH Beisel demonstrated some remarkable range by putting together an incredible effort in the women’s 400 IM at the FINA World Long Course Championships.

Beisel clocked a sterling time of 4:31.78, better than the previous textile best of 4:32.89 turned in by Katie Hoff at the 2007 World Championships. The win gave Beisel her first individual world title.

“My strategy is really just not to worry too much,” Beisel said. “It was a very good surprise, and I just try to do my best to win medals.”

Great Britain’s Hannah Miley checked in with a second-place 4:34.22, while Australia’s Stephanie Rice collected bronze with a 4:34.23.

“I missed the 2007 World Championships, and was fourth in 2009,” Miley said. “Tonight was just a fantastic swim. I just went in there and fought for it. I saw Stephanie [Rice] was ahead, and I just wanted to get a medal, even if it was just bronze.”

The bronze is Rice’s third in a row in the event, while Miley gave Great Britain its first medal in the event’s history since it first began being offered at the 1973 World Championships in Belgrade.

“It was a great finish, and I’m really happy,” Rice said. “I had no idea where I would wind up, and I just wanted to finish fourth or fifth. So, I’m really happy about the finish tonight. It gives me a lot of confidence.”

Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia (4:34.94), China’s Ye Shiwen (4:35.15), China’s Li Xuanxu (4:35.78), Czech’s Barbora Zavadova (4:38.04) and USA’s Caitlin Leverenz (4:38.80) also put up swims in the finale.

Miley’s 1:16.98 breaststroke leg was the basis for the send half fight back. Full results and spllits can be found at http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2011/shanghai2011/C73A1_Results%20(One%20Heat%20-%20Individual)_139_Heat1_Women_400_Medley.pdf

Pedro Adrega & Sarah Chiarello, FINA Communications Department
31 July 2011

Exactly 10 years and two days later, the oldest World Record in the charts, established by Grant Hackett (AUS) in the men’s 1500m free (14:34.56) at the 2001 edition of the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka (JPN), was improved by China’s Sun Yang in the last day of the swimming finals in Shanghai. Yang touched home in 14:34.14, bettering Hackett’s mark by 0.42 and getting the second World Record of this competition, after Lochte’s effort in the 200m individual medley. It was the fourth medal in front of his fans for Yang (19 years old), after the gold in the 800m free, the silver in the 400m free and the bronze in the 4×200m free relay. The Chinese star was already the second best performer in history in this event, after clocking 14:35.43 in November 2010. At 17, in Rome 2009, he had been the bronze medallist, behind Ryan Cochrane (CAN, again silver in 14:44.46) and Oussama Mellouli (TUN, the current Olympic champion). In China, the Tunisian finished only 15th of the heats, which opened a new possibility for Gergo Kis (HUN), third at the Oriental Sports Centre in 14:45.66.

“I’m very happy to have won the gold and broken the World record. I didn’t think I could break the record; I just wanted to keep my pace. In a long-distance swimming event like this one, anything can happen in the middle of the process so my aim was to keep the good energy and a stable mindset to the end. This is a result of all the hard training and preparation I went through in Australia with Denis Cotterell [Grant Hackett’s coach],” commented Sun Yang on his race.

The full set of splits for the swim can be found by clicking HERE for the link but a final 50m of 25.94 was what brought the World Record about and clearly illustrates that there is a lot more to come from the very raw young swimmer.

Adlington wins freestyle silver

Double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington produced a strong finish to win silver in the women’s 400m freestyle final in Shanghai.
The 22-year-old was seventh at the 100m stage but battled back to clinch silver behind Italian Federica Pellegrini.

Mansfield-based Adlington produced a much-improved performance to make the podium after only scraping into the final as the seventh-fastest qualifier.

After starting in lane one, she trailed the field in the opening stages but she soon moved through the gears and was second at the midway point.

There was no catching defending champion Pellegrini, who touched home in four minutes, 1.97 seconds, but Adlington stuck to her task to take silver in 4.04.01 ahead of Camille Muffat of France (4:04.06).

Afterwards, Adlington said she had been “quite down” after swimming so slowly in her heat.

“I tried to get in that race as much as I could and to come away with a silver medal in an event that isn’t my best, I’m so pleased,” she told BBC Sport.

“I stuck with Kylie [Palmer] and did my own race – I couldn’t see, I saw Pellegrini at 350m because I saw feet and thought it had to be her.

“I just tried to work as hard as I could because I saw that no-one was with her so I thought I’m in with a shot of a medal here.

Adlington came back in similar circumstances to win bronze in the last World Championships in Rome in 2009.

And although her time was 2.04 seconds behind Pellegrini and outside her season’s best, Adlington said she took heart from the experience.

Adlington added: “I feel like I’ve made mistakes this cycle. We tried a few things this year in preparation for next year and we’ll learn from that.”

Great Britain team-mates Jemma Lowe and Ellen Gandy made it through to Monday’s 100m butterfly final.

Lowe, 21, was fifth fastest in 57.57 seconds with Gandy scraping through in eighth in 57.97.
Hannah Miley won through to the 200m individual medley final after heats that saw European champion Katinka Hosszu and multi world medallist Kirsty Coventry fail to progress.

I considered quitting – Spofforth

Britain’s Gemma Spofforth has admitted she almost quit swimming after losing her 100m backstroke title at the World Championships in Shanghai this week.

The 23-year-old spent last night pondering her retirement but on Wednesday morning made the decision to continue and focus on 2012.

Spofforth said: “It was a huge decision to make overnight. A lot of thought went into it. I didn’t get much sleep.

“But I decided this morning that it’s 100% commitment from hereon in.”

Spofforth, who arrived in Shanghai on a bad run of form and suffering from food poisoning, failed to defend her 100m backstroke title after finishing 23rd fastest on Monday, prompting the 23-year-old to consider her future.

But following a night of soul-searching, Spofforth, who set a new world record on her way to gold at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, decided to continue in her pursuit of Olympic glory in 2012.

“Last night there was a really big decision for me – whether I should do one more year or whether I should give up because this year hasn’t been fun and 2009 was maybe my time,” she added.

“I came down this morning, had a relatively good race, got through and realised that this is where I want to be.

“Next year is the one and I am only going to do it if I really want to do it and if I have one inkling over the next couple of weeks that it’s not the right thing for me then I will quit but now it’s 100% commitment.”

Spofforth admitted that she first questioned her future during the Commonwealth Games in Delhi where she won three silver medals.

“I’ve been thinking like this for probably quite a few months leading up into this competition and it has been on the edge [of my mind],” she said.

“You can only do this sport if you are 100% invested and this year hasn’t been 100% for me.

“It’s been a disappointing year all round, the trials were even bad so I’m going to go back and get in shape again.”

Brit Gandy wins butterfly silver

Britain’s Ellen Gandy won silver in the 200m butterfly at the World Swimming Championships in Shanghai.

Gandy, 19, came on strong down the final length but China’s Jiao Liuyang clocked two minutes 05.55 seconds to pip her by 0.04 seconds.

Gandy’s fellow Briton Jemma Lowe, who qualified fastest for the final, finished a disappointing seventh.

Olympic, defending world champion and world record holder Liu Zige was third in a time of 2:05.90.

Ryan Lochte broke his own world record to beat Michael Phelps and win the 200m individual medley gold.

Lochte, who also overcame Phelps in the 200m freestyle final, touched home in 1:54.00 seconds to edge out his fellow American by 0.16.

It was the first world record to be set since the controversial high-tech body suits were banned at the start of 2010.

Britain’s James Goddard, who has been battling a shoulder injury, was fourth.

Phelps, the 14-time Olympic champion, was seeking to add to the 200m butterfly title he won on Wednesday, and led for the opening butterfly leg.

But Lochte surged into the lead during the second length before powering home in the freestyle.

Lochte breaks world record to beat Phelps
The victory was a huge confidence boost for Lochte with the London Olympics now less than one year away. The 26-year-old won the silver behind Phelps in the same event at the last two Games in Athens and Beijing.

Lochte said: “Any time you break the world record you’ve got to be excited. I trained hard and it paid off. I knew this was going to be a battle between me and Michael and I got the better end this time.”

Phelps said Lochte’s performance demonstrated that records could fall despite the end of the ’super-suits’ era that saw 43 world marks shattered at the Rome World Championships in 2009.

“It says a lot we’re still able to do those times,” said Phelps, winner of 16 Olympic medals. “It’s not impossible for us to see world records right now, I think we’re going to start seeing more.”

Goddard, who was close to tears, said: “I’m really disappointed. It was anyone’s game for the bronze medal. The semi-finals kind of showed it was up for grabs and I’m pretty gutted I missed it.”

Fran Halsall was the fastest qualifier for Friday’s 100m freestyle final after winning her semi-final in 53.48, but Amy Smith finished last and did not go through.

The 21-year-old Halsall said: “I’m really happy with that. This morning I was a little bit nervous, I hadn’t swum since Sunday. On Friday I’ve got to give a little bit more, a medal would be nice.”

Britain’s women’s 4×200m freestyle relay squad fnished sixth in the final, while Britons Andrew Willis and Michael Jamieson qualified fifth and sixth fastest respectively for the 200m breaststroke final.

The IPC European Swimming Championships in Berlin was another fantastic example of how Britain heads the way in this area of the sport worldwide. Despite missing some of the names who have become synonomous with paralympic & disability swimming since Atlanta in 1996 the GB team won 83 medals, attaining UK Sport Medal Targets, with 27 of them being Gold’s it is a great achievement by all the swimmers and coaches.

This attached document (click HERE) shows the GB medals won at the IPC European Swimming Championships, at which we placed second on total medals and also second on Gold Medals, grouped by swimmer, grouped by swimmer total medals, grouped by swimmer Gold Medals and finally by Coaches number of medals. Also shown is the medal table for the event for all medals and also Paralympic Games medal events only.

Ellie Simmonds won 2 Individual Gold medals in the 200 IM and the 400 FS both in world record times (Coach Billy Pye Swansea HPC).
Jon Fox won 3 Individual Gold’s breaking the world record for his S7 class in both the 100 BK in the final and the 400 FS in the heat (Coach Mick Massey Manchester HPC)
Both of the above won other medals as shown in the spreadsheets.
Susie Rodgers and her coach Steve Bratt, also she swims with Ron Philpot at the Crystal Palace Beacon programme won 5 Gold Medals in her first major international (4 in individual events and then one in a relay) Most Golden swimmer on the team.
Heather Frederiksen won four Gold’s 3 in individual events and 1 in a relay and Louise Watkin won 3 Gold’s 2 from relays and one in Individual events, both coached by John Stout at City of Salford.

This is a great result and sets all swimmers & coaches up for the challenges they face heading into the 2012 paralympics in London (30 August – 8 September 2012)

For full details of the Paralympic Swimming programme in London 2012 click HERE

If you want to keep up with which swimmer is swimming which event & when, we have put together a little file to help you with the pool events. Thanks to British Swimming for the access to the information which allowed us to pull this together so that you can lend your support, where it’s needed, when it’s needed.

Go Team GB!!

Click on the link below for information:

http://www.gbswimcoaches.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/British-Swimming-Team-Shanghai-2011-whoe-swimming-what-when.pdf

BBC Website – 19 July 2011

Keri-Anne Payne has become the first British athlete to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The 23-year-old swimmer won the gold medal in the 10k open water event at the Fina World Championships in Shanghai to seal her spot.

The top 10 finishers in the race automatically earned Olympic places.

The 2009 world champion and 2008 Olympic silver medallist completed the course at Jinshan City Beach in two hours, one minute and 58.1 seconds.

Italy’s Martina Grimaldi finished second, while Greece’s Marianna Lymperta was third.

It was Great Britain’s first medal of the competition in China and Payne can now turn her attention to the pool programme, where she has qualified for the 1500m freestyle and 4×200m relay.

“I couldn’t be happier right now and it’s great to make the team but I know I have to keep going as next year is going to be even harder,” said Payne.

“It’s an amazing feeling. There is a massive sense of relief because now I can just concentrate on training to make sure I’m at my absolute peak in London.”

The Stockport swimmer led from the start of the race in scorching conditions, although Australia’s Melissa Gorman and Grimaldi never allowed Payne to get out of sight.

Grimaldi, the 2010 World Open Water Championships winner, and Gorman closed down the Briton as they entered the final stretch, moving to within a body length before Payne responded.

As the front two swimmers surged clear, Gorman dropped off the pace dramatically in the closing stages and was overtaken by the fast-finishing Lymperta.

The final squad for the 2012 Games still needs to be ratified by British swimming and the British Olympic Association, but subject to fitness and form, Payne will be included.

Payne’s qualification for the Olympics earned praise from Team GB chef de mission and BOA chief executive Andy Hunt.

He stated: “Keri-Anne’s outstanding performance to win gold is a terrific personal accomplishment and the Olympic qualification represents a significant milestone on the road to 2012 for Team GB.

“In terms of Team GB Olympic qualification, that’s one down, around 549 to go – well done Keri-Anne Payne for getting the ball rolling.”

Payne added: “Last year wasn’t the best for me so this is a massive positive and I’ve also just found out my sister [Janine] is in labour back in the UK so hopefully it will be a good day all round.”

From Swimming World Website 18.07.11

GREAT Britain’s Keri-Anne Payne returned to the top of the podium after a one-year hiatus during open water swimming at the FINA World Championships.

Payne, who won the 10K event in 2009 in Rome, but was not a member of the 2010 podium in Roberval, held off a hard-charging lead pack to emerge victorious today and punch her ticket to the 2012 London Olympics. The title is the second for Great Britain, and its fourth medal in open water competition as Cassandra Patten took silver for Great Britain in 2007 and 2008. Payne completed the swim in 2:01:58.1 for the win.

Defending 2010 champion Martina Grimaldi of Italy took second in 2:01:59.9 for her third straight podium in the event. She took bronze to Payne in 2009, and won a controversy-filled event in Roberval. Techsuit questions flared up during the 2010 event, with claims that only some nations received the fastest suits. With techsuits off the table now, the playing field has been leveled.

Greece’s Marianna Lymperta finished third for bronze in the event today with a 2:02:01.8 to give Greece its first open water podium at a world championships.

The rest of the top 10, which all automatically qualified to compete in the 10K at the 2012 London Olympics were Australia’s Melissa Gorman, Argentina’s Cecilia Biagioli, Brazil’s Poliana Okimoto, Czech’s Jana Pechanova, Germany’s Angela Maurer, Switzerland’s Swann Oberson and Spain’s Erika Villaecija Garcia. USA swimmers Christine Jennings and Eva Fabian finished 13th and 30th, respectively. Five swimmers were unable to finish the race, while Hungary’s Eva Risztov was disqualified.

With 10 out of 25 spots selected, the next step in qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics will take place at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier to take place in Setubal, Portugal.

From FINA Website

19 July 2011

Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain, the 2008 Olympic silver medallist convincingly defended her title of world champion in the women’s 10km on Jinshan City Beach in Shanghai. Payne edged out Martina Grimaldi of Italy by 1.8 seconds, completing the race in the time of 2:01.58.1. Marianna Lymperta of Greece earned the bronze medal finishing 3.7 seconds behind the British champion.

Payne was the 10km champion in the 2009 edition held in Rome. She becomes the first British athlete to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games. “It’s hasn’t sunk in yet that I have qualified or that I have won. I’m waiting to hear from my sister who is pregnant with her first child. I’ll be in touch with her as soon as I get out of doping control. Then I am looking forward to a swim down and a good nights sleep,” said Payne.

“The media have asked me if I have felt any pressure in the lead up to this race, but I really haven’t noticed any. My main focus has been in making the Olympic Team. I will be swimming the 1500m in the pool next week and I may also be on the 4 x 200m free relay as well. I’m looking forward to getting into the pool to see how I feel.” When asked about her race Payne admitted “leading the race is my usual tactic and I wanted to be out front from the start. I don’t like it when we fight in the pack. When I am leading I have a pretty good idea where everyone is and I know that they must pass me if they want to lead.”

Twenty-three year old Payne is coached by Sean Kelly of the Stockport Training Centre, a suburb of Manchester. Kelly coached Payne and 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Cassandra Patten as well as Olympian Steven Parry. Patten finished in a disappointing 21st place in the Jinshan Beach 10km. Due to the FINA qualification system, there will not be a second British female athlete in the 2012 Olympic 10km event.

Kelly said he was “delighted with the outcome of today’s race; it proves that what we are doing is not a fluke. Keri-Anne has given up a lot to get where she is today, in fact we both have sacrificed a lot. She has been training hard and it showed today.” Kelly revealed their strategy planned more than a year ago: “We decided that our tactic was to be in front and she executed it perfectly”.

Asked if Payne will be in the August 13th Olympic 10km test event to be held in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, her coach said: “No, she won’t be there, she will be on holiday until August 22nd when it’s time to get back into the water. She will be racing in the 1500m next week but it will all depend on how quickly she recovers. The 10km takes a lot out of her but we will know more after I give her a test set. Hopefully she will be ready for the pool.”

Today’s silver medallist Martina Grimaldi (ITA) was the 10km champion in the 2010 FINA Open Water World Championships in Roberval (CAN), and previously placed third in the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. The Italian recapped her race: “I just tried to stay focused and keep track of who attacked. I hope I gave the rest of the team more motivation, even though we’re all well trained, as we showed today.”

Australian Melissa Gorman was in the lead pack for much of the race, often swimming stroke for stroke with Payne. The 26-year-old was an equal leader in the race with 2.5km to go, only to drop off from a lead pack at the 1000m mark. Gorman was the bronze medallist in the same event at last year’s open water world championships in Canada, and earned the gold medal in the 5km in Rome in 2009.

“It’s fantastic to know that I’ve qualified for London a year out from the Games, and that’s only going to help with my preparation for next year,” said Gorman. “I was right up to the leaders coming into the final turn and when they put on a bit of pace I tried to give it everything I had, but just had nothing left to give so I just tried to hold my position and knew that as long as I didn’t let too many people pass me that I would still qualify for the top 10. Once I let the leaders get away from me that was my next objective, to finish in the top 10.”

On the line in today’s 10km race were 10 spots for automatic qualification into the 2012 Olympic Games. The 10 women qualified in Shanghai for the second ever Olympic 10km race to be held in the Serpentine Course in Hyde Park in August 2012 include: 4th place: Melissa Gorman, (AUS); 5th: Cecilia Biagioli (ARG); 6th: Poliana Okimoto (BRA); 7th: Jana Pechanova (CZE); 8th: Angela Maurer (GER); 9th: Swann Oberson (SUI) and 10th: Ericka Villaecija Garcia (ESP). All 10 athletes are from different countries. The only opportunity for a second athlete to qualify from the same nation would be if both finished in the top 10.

The air and water temperatures taken at 8am, one hour before the race, was 29.2 and 28.3 respectively at Shanghai’s Jinshan City Beach. A total of 56 athletes hailing from 29 different nations entered the water at 9am with 50 of them completing four loops in the rectangular 10km course. Hungary’s Eva Risztov received a red card without warning and was ejected from the race for illegal contact with Australian Gorman. Risztov insisted that “it was kind of a water polo match that she was playing with the Australian” alluding to a great deal of physical contact between these two athletes.

A total of 25 women will race in the Olympic 10km in London. With the selection of 10 today, the remaining 15 athletes must qualify at the Olympic Marathon qualifying event to be held next June in Setubal, Portugal.