Swimmers reinforce commitment to compete in Delhi

NEW DELHI - Australian freestyle swimmer Ashley Callus and England’s synchronised swimming medal hope Jenna Randall have said they will travel to the Indian capital to compete in the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi.

Media reports in Australia said the Australian swimming squad flew out to its training camp in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the Games’ opening ceremony in eight days.

“There’s excitement because I’m heading to my fourth Commonwealth Games, but there’s also anxiousness to see what it’s actually like over there,” The Courier Mail quoted Callus, as saying. “They keep us updated on the security issues and how the Games Village is coming along… with this information everyone can make informed decisions.

“For me, personally, (events in Delhi) have not impacted on my motivation or want to go and compete. I am 110 per cent ready to rock ‘n’ roll,” said the 31-year-old who won a gold medal in the 4×100m freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, silver at 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and bronze at 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Across the globe, Jenna Randall insisted reports from Delhi have not put her off her preparation as she bids to further raise the profile of synchronised swimming. The 21-year-old will leave for her training base in Doha on Monday before heading to in Delhi.

Randall, who will compete in Delhi alongside long-time duet partner Olivia Allison, remains committed to the English cause. She is determined to not only travel to India but also improve on the silver she won in Melbourne four years ago. “I’m just concentrating on training and trying to get the best out of the time before the Commonwealth Games, because we leave on Monday,” she told Eurosport. “We are focusing on training and putting in our best performance at the Games. Everything else is out of our hands. We just have to concentrate on what we do.”

The obvious next step on Randall’s career path will be to go one better than 2006 and claim gold at the Commonwealth Games next month. And, after that, an Olympic medal.

“The Commonwealth Games are definitely a stepping stone to Olympic glory,” she said.”It’s a major competition for us and every competition is great for us to go out there and improve Great Britain’s reputation in synchro.” (ANI)