Olympic Games: Swimming: Denison's disappointment

First Edition

AFTER the worst showing in the Olympic pool for 20 years, there will be a full investigation into what went wrong in Barcelona when the team and officials come back home.

A bronze from Nick Gillingham in the 200 metres breaststroke was the worst performance by Britain since David Wilkie's solitary silver in the same event at Munich in 1972. With the European championships coming to Sheffield next Summer, the British coach Terry Denison wants to know what went wrong.

Denison summed up his feelings about the games: 'I feel disappointed and frustrated because I can't explain what went wrong.

'There were a lot of talented and experienced swimmers in the squad and everything indicated they were going to do well.'

One thing the British were not weighed down with was cash. 'If the Government wanted to have excellence in sport and if they gave swimming enough money we would certainly have it because all the basics for success in Britain are there,' Denison said.

'I've been talking to some Australian coaches who told me all their leading swimmers are earning over pounds 50,000 a year. Apart from one or two, our top swimmers get peanuts compared to that.'