The contrast in emotions with Rebecca Adlington was stark but the result was the same for another of Britain's Olympic medal hopes as Liam Tancock sealed his place for this summer's Games with victory in the men's 100m backstroke final on Monday night.
While Adlington was a picture of unadulterated joy following her gold medal in the women's 400m freestyle, Tancock declined to get carried away after comfortably coming home in 53.16sec on day three of the British Championships, a little over his British record time of 52.73 sec.
"I'm really pleased but it was about coming here, doing a job and making the Olympics," said the 26-year-old. "I'm a pretty calm guy and that's how I swim. But it's also about looking at the bigger picture; this is a stepping stone towards the Games, obviously a big one, but a stepping stone nevertheless."
The hard work, then, has paid off for Tancock, who as part of his preparations for the final was made to push the car of his coach, Ben Titley, up a hill during a team cross-training session in Derbyshire last month.
It was an exercise designed to improve Tancock's endurance and make him capable of transferring his excellent abilities at 50m backstroke, where he is the world record holder and a two-time world champion, over a longer distance, a necessary requirement given the absence of the 50m backstroke at this summer's Games. Stronger and determined, he can look forward to a return to this venue later this year.
"I love the pool and it felt fantastic to have finally got the chance to swim here," said Tancock, who had to overcome seven swimmers who had all recorded their personal bests in qualifying for the final. "It's going to be even more incredible come the Olympics."
Gemma Spofforth also sealed her place in Team GB with gold in the women's 100m backstroke final. The 2009 world champion came home in a time of 1min 0.19sec, kicking hard in the final 10m having been fifth at the turn.
The 24-year-old was ebullient after her win, which she feels will help her move on from what was a traumatic 2011, a year in which Spofforth's father lost his partner to cancer and the swimmer failed to make it past the heats of the world championships in Shanghai. She also suffered a broken nose in a cycling accident.
"I've had my ups and downs and there have been times when I wondered whether I had the strength to come back," said Spofforth, who finished just outside the medals in Beijing four years ago.
"But I've always tried to overcome adversity and for me it comes down to those last 10m and trying to finish stronger than everyone else. If I hadn't qualified [for the Olympics], that probably would have been it for me; this would have been my last race. I'm delighted to have made it."
The Welsh swimmer Georgia Davies finished second to qualify alongside Spofforth but there was disappointment for Lizzie Simmonds, the European silver medallist, who did not secure a place at the Games after finishing third in 1min 0.43sec. The 21-year-old will, however, return for Thursday's semi-finals of the 200m backstroke, an event she has always felt represented her best chance of making the Olympics having won gold in the event at the 2010 European Championships.
Elsewhere in front of an enthusiastic 2,000-strong crowd, the Commonwealth gold medallist Robert Renwick was victorious in the men's 200m freestyle final in 1:47.33.
It was the 23-year-old's second win at these championships, which are doubling as a test event for the 17,000-capacity Aquatics Centre, following his triumph in Saturday's 400m freestyle final. He will compete in both disciplines at the Games.
In the women's 100m breaststroke final Kate Haywood won in 1:8.07 to seal her Olympic place but there was a shock as the top seed, Sophie Allen, finished third and failed to qualify.
source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/mar/06/liam-tancock-gemma-spofforth-london-2012?newsfeed=true
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