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AllFlying |
Our
swimmers aim for gold
 After
Australia's amazing success at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, the
Aussies are set to take on the 71 nations that will be competing in the Melbourne
Commonwealth Games in March next year.
The Manchester Games proved to be
the most successful performance in history for Australia at the event, with a
record number of 371 Australian athletes competing. Our competitors won a record
207 medals- including 82 gold, 62 silver and 63 bronze, leaving Australia on top
of the medal tally.
Australia's best performance was in the pool with 48
of these medals being won in the discipline including 27 gold. Three world records
were also broken along with numerous Commonwealth records.
Being home to
so many female Australian swimming legends in the past including the likes of
Dawn Fraser who won 8 Olympic gold medals and 8 Commonwealth Games medals and
was also the first woman to swim the 100 metre freestyle in under
one minute, and more recently Susie O'Neill. Nicknamed Madam Butterfly for her
amazing skills in the event, O'Neill went on to become the most successful Australian
female athlete to ever compete at a Commonwealth Games meet, winning a total of
15 Commonwealth Games medals at the 1990, 1994 and 1998 Games, ten of which were
gold.
With many of our female swimming greats no longer competing at an international
level, they have opened the doors to a new breed of talent who are set to take
on some of the world's best at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Jodie
Henry
After her success at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, Brisbane
born swimmer Jodie Henry looks to be one of Australia's biggest female contenders
set to enter the pool at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Henry won three Olympic
gold medals at the 2004 event, breaking fellow Australian Libby Lenton's world
record to win the 100m freestyle, as well as helping her team win the 4x 100m
freestyle relay as well as the 4x 100m medley- all of which were won in record
time.
That year, Jodie Henry was also named Australian Swimmer of the Year,
ahead of Ian Thorpe who had been given the honour for five consecutive years.
She is currently reigning Olympic and World champion in the 100m freestyle.
Jodie Henry said, "I'm focusing on Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games at the moment
with my swimming- and aside from that my goal is to always have fun in whatever
I'm doing."
Libby Lenton
Lenton is also a big
hope for Australia. The swimmer was outstandingly successful at the 2004 Olympic
selection trials, setting the fastest Australian time ever in the 100m butterfly
and also breaking the 50m freestyle record to qualify for her first Olympic Games.
Lenton was able to defend the 50m freestyle title at the World Championships in
Montreal earlier this year, but came second in the 100m butterfly.
She continued
her great form at the Australian short course championships where she claimed
four gold medals as well as one silver medal.
The swimmer remains confident
about the Commonwealth Games, saying, "I think any one of us has a real opportunity
at taking on the rest of the world at that event [100m freestyle]. No one has
really dominated it that much over the past few years."
Libby Lenton hopes
to qualify for 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle events and the 100m butterfly at next
year's Commonwealth Games. She has also said that she would like to be a part
of the relay teams.
 Liesel
Jones
At 20 years of age, the young swimmer already has a long list
of achievements. She made her Olympic debut at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
at only 15 and became the youngest Australian to ever win a medal at the Olympic
Games.
Liesel Jones has since continued to thrive in the pool. Her most recent
achievements include winning first place in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke
at the Telstra Australian Championships this year.
The young swimmer is looking
forward to competing in next year's Commonwealth Games. She has said, "It will
be really exciting to perform in front of a home crowd in Melbourne."
Brooke Hanson
Hanson will also try out for the 2006 Commonwealth
Games after missing out on many competitions due to illness. The swimmer underwent
surgery to have her tonsils removed in early September. She has since went back
into her training routine and should be at full strength for the Games next year.
South Africa could be one of Australia's biggest competitors at next
year's Commonwealth Games after leading the youth Commonwealth Games in December
last year.
Australia however looks to have a strong team, after being successful
in many events in the pool in the World Championships in Montreal held in July
of this year. Australia dominated the women's side, winning first place in the
50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 100m freestyle,
100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 200m breaststroke, 4x 100m freestyle relay
and 4x 100m medley.
By Danielle Tralli
Commonwealth Games aquatics
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