The British Open Water Swimming Team, powered by British Gas, are preparing to take on the World’s elite at the World Championships which take place in Roberval, Canada.
World Champion Keri-Anne Payne will lead the four-strong team into action as the Brits look to continue their dominance of the sport.
Olympic silver medallist Payne will be joined by Olympic bronze medallist Cassie Patten and LEN Open Water Cup winner Daniel Fogg and young talent Tom Allen.
Payne won Olympic silver ahead of team-mate Patten in the inaugural Marathon swimming event at the Beijing Olympics and then went on to become World Champion just one year later in Rome.
At the 2008 World Championships, Patten impressed with a silver medal performance just three months before the Olympics.
Head Coach Mark Perry believes that the team has the talent to make an impact on the medals at the World Championships.
“We have a group of high quality athletes for this competition,” Perry said. “They have a belief in themselves and the coaches share this belief. The preparation at the holding camp is going really well and everyone is confident and in high spirits going into this competition.
“Obviously, there is a certain amount of pressure on athletes of this level, but we try hard as a team to spread the load and remove the expectation. This allows the athletes to focus fully on their goals.
“The only way that we can qualify two men and two women for the Olympics is for them both to finish in the top 10 at the World Championships in 2011. This World Champs provides the perfect gauge to assess where we are currently placed in the World.”
The British Open Water Swimming team, powered by British Gas, consists of
Cassie Patten – British Gas ITC Stockport
Keri-Anne Payne – British Gas ITC Stockport
Daniel Fogg – British Gas ITC Loughborough
Thomas Allen – British Gas ITC Swansea