Beijing 2008 swimmers head Grand Prix line-up
Olympic and Paralympic swimmers will be among the athletes in action at this weekend’s University of Bath Grand Prix.
University of Bath swimmer Andrei Cross, who represented Barbados at the Olympics, is due to contest three events at the Grand Prix, which gets underway on Friday (5 December) and concludes on Sunday.
And Louise Watkin, winner of four medals for Great Britain at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, will also be in action in the 50m pool at the Sports Training Village, along with her fellow Kelly College Paralympian Lauren Steadman and University of Bath student and British team-mate Kate Grey.
Sports Performance student Cross contests the 50m freestyle on Friday, the 50m breaststroke on Sunday and the 100m freestyle on Sunday.
Sixteen-year-old Louise Watkin, who won silver for Great Britain in the S9 100m freestyle and bronzes in the SB9 100m breaststroke, the SM9 200m individual medley and the S9 50m freestyle, is a member of the Kelly College team in action at the Grand Prix.
On Friday she goes in the 200m individual medley and the 50m freestyle, on Saturday she goes in the 200m freestyle and the 100m backstroke, and on Sunday she contests the 100m freestyle.
University of Bath Coach Education and Sports Development student Kate Grey will also be in action at the grand prix. Grey represented Great Britain at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, finishing fifth in the SB9 100m breaststroke final. She is entered for the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and the 100m butterfly, all on Friday.
Lauren Steadman of Kelly College, who made her Paralympic Games debut in Beijing aged 16, contests the 50m freestyle on Friday and the 100m freestyle and 50m backstroke on Sunday.
David Hill, who represented Great Britain at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens and is now a University of Bath Swimming Club member, contests the 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke on Friday and the 100m backstroke on Saturday.
University of Bath swimmers Richard Webb and Charlie Barnes will also compete at the Team Bath Grand Prix – their last event before representing Great Britain at the European Short Course Championships in Croatia next week.
Webb contests the 50m breaststroke on Saturday, while Barnes goes in the women’s 200m breaststroke on Sunday. Her opponents will include another talented young University of Bath swimmer, Alex Warren.
And British modern pentathlete Mhairi Spence, bronze medallist in the 2006 European Championships, goes in the 200m freestyle on Saturday.
Meanwhile Stacey Tadd makes her comeback after a year out of action following surgery on a knee injury she sustained in 2004. She goes in the 100m butterfly and 200m backstroke on Friday, the 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke on Saturday and the 200m butterfly and 400m freestyle on Sunday.
Admission for spectators is £3 per session or £8 per day, with seating available on a first come first served basis.
Sessions are as follows:
Friday 5 December 2008
Session 1 – start 09.00
Session 2 – heats
Session 3 – finals start 17.30
Saturday 6 December 2008
Session 4 – heats start 09.00
Session 5 – heats start 13.45
Session 6 – finals start 17.30
Sunday 7 December 2008
Session 7 – heats start 09.00
Session 8 – start 13.00 – heats
Session 9 – finals start 16.20
For further information please contact the Team Bath press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 383518 or by email at press@matchtight.co.uk
You can also find out more about Team Bath at www.teambath.com , follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teambath or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/teambath
The University of Bath is The Sunday Times University of the Year 2011/12.
