Swimming: Six day meet a step on road to London

Daniel Bell is among the New Zealand swimmers whose times mean they are favoured to progress to Shanghai. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It's about 20,000km from Auckland to London. But that distance is much more tangible for swimmers in the New Zealand Championships that begin at the West Wave Aquatic Centre in Henderson tomorrow.

The six-day meet doubles as the official trial for July's 14th Fina World Championships in Shanghai, which in turn are a litmus test for swimmers with genuine designs on performance in next year's London Olympics.

Once young talented swimmers have made a significant leap up the international rankings, once they reach world class, the gains from that point on become more measured.

It is just not possible to take big chunks out of personal best times. They must expect just incremental moves forward.

So although swimmers will and can qualify for London at next year's trials, those who have their focus on semifinals, finals or podium finishes need to be showing indicators at this year's world championships in order to springboard forward in 2012.

That makes this week's championships pressingly important.

Fina, the world swimming body, has set testing standards to ensure only the best progress to July's world championships in Shanghai.

After New Zealand's excellent progression at last year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where their six medals bettered expectation, the focus is likely to go on swimmers who emerged with hardware from India.

New Zealand qualified nine swimmers in 15 events for the last biennial world championships in Rome two years ago - the meet best known for the illegal rubber suits that overshadowed the sport in 2009.

Ten beat the standard for last year's Commonwealths, with one of those, Moss Burmester, now retired.

There's a strong expectation that the remaining nine should qualify for Shanghai, and potentially the successful relay swimmers from Delhi may gain individual qualification.

And no doubt there will be hope that some of the new wave of promising young swimmers will push forward into the picture.

While several have already gone under the standard to make the world championships, swimmers must achieve the times in the final at the trials which adds a significant element of pressure. Last year's two best performers in terms of Fina points - the universal system of measuring different disciplines and distances - were Southland's Natalie Wiegersma and Wellington's Gareth Kean. They are favoured to progress to Shanghai.

Wiegersma, coached by Jeremy Duncan, has already gone under the standard in both the 200m and 400m individual medley while the Delhi silver medallist Kean, coached by Gary Hurring, has been under it in the 100m and 200m backstroke.

Auckland's Lauren Boyle, just returning for trials before completing her degree at the University of Southern California, will base herself at Millennium under coach Mark Regan.

The driving force behind the freestyle relay medals in Delhi, Boyle too has already gone under the times in both the 200m and 400m freestyle, and may find the 800m to be her best event come London.

Glenn Snyders, 24, based like most at the Swimming New Zealand High Performance Centre at Millennium, has bettered the standard in the 100m and 200m breaststroke.

So too has the ebullient Daniel Bell, coached by Scott Talbot at the HPC, who has met the time in the 50m and 100m backstroke.

Aucklander Hayley Palmer has beaten the standards in the 50m and 100m freestyle. The standout female sprinter moved to the US in January to be coached by long-time Florida University coach Randy Reese, who has coached 18 Olympic medallists, mostly sprinters.

The highly experienced Melissa Ingram, 25, coached by Talbot, has gone under the time for the 200m backstroke but by her own high standards achieved a pass mark but not the keys to the city in Delhi.

Tash Hind, from the Capital club in Wellington but based at the HPC under Regan, has bettered the time in the 100m and 200m freestyle and wants to qualify as an individual and not through the relay ranks.

There's real interest in 15-year-old Christchurch swimmer Sophia Batchelor, who continues to churn out age group records by the dozens and now has experience at the Junior Pan Pacs in Hawaii and world short course in Dubai under her belt.

She has gone under the time in the 50m and 200m backstroke but she and coach Leanne Speechley have been sorely tested in their preparations with the Aqua Gym pool out of action from the earthquake.

Several others are on the cusp including US-based Nick Ferrif, North Shore's Samantha Richter, sprinters including William Benson and Nilsen Varoy from Roskill Magic, Orinoco Faamausili-Banse and exciting teenager Velimir Stjepanovic from Laser Mt Eden and Carl O'Donnell from North Shore, as well as Taranaki fly exponent Charlotte Webby.

There's strong expectation of qualifying for the women's freestyle relays and potential in the men's medley relay.

The championships run from tomorrow until Friday with heats from 10am and finals from 6pm, with a special skins and relay meet next Saturday at West Wave.