Swimming: Shackell bound to wife's demands

The British swimmer Nick Shackell pulled out of the European championships just before the team departed because of his wife's concerns about security in Istanbul following bomb attacks in Turkey. Shackell, the 100m freestyle national record holder, decided not to join his team-mates on the flight from London after speaking on the telephone with his wife at the airport. "He's just got married. I think his wife probably put some pressure on him. It's difficult for an athlete to come to an area in which there is political trouble," the British team manager Craig Hunter said.

James Hickman interview, page 12