By Rob Cole
Having dipped her toe in the murky waters of open water swimming for the first time last year, Welsh swimming’s golden girl Jazz Carlin will get her first big test in her new discipline when she competes at the European Championships in Scotland.
The Commonwealth gold and Olympic silver medallist is hoping to follow in the slipstream of David Davies by stepping out of the pool and making a go of it at marathon swimming in the open water. Davies, of course, won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Carlin wasn’t included in the British squad for events in the pool at the European Championships in August and looks set now to concentrate all her efforts on making the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 in the open water section.
She began her transition into the world of open water swimming by winning the women’s elite 1 mile race at last year’s Serpentine Swim in London. She also competed at two FINA World Cup 10k marathon circuit events, finishing 11th and 22nd respectively.
After finishing sixth in the women’s 800m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in April, Carlin scratched from the 200 and 400 metre freestyle events in Australia. From the sunnier climes of the Gold Coast, Carlin will be diving into Loch Lomond, the largest inland stretch of water in Great Britain, between 8-12 August.
Included alongside Carlin in the eight-strong British team is Jack Burnell, a silver medallist at the 2016 Europeans. There will be races over 5k, 10k and 25k.
“Jazz has worked very hard to transition from the pool to the open water so it will be a great opportunity for her to take on this new challenge,” said British Team Leader, Bernie Dietzig.
Carlin made her debut over the 10K distance at the FINA 10k World Cup Event in China on 15 October last year. She was the first to admit it was a tough learning experience for her.
“There was an experienced field, I got pushed under on some of the turns and I made a few mistakes. I learned a lot, though,” said Carlin.
“I had a gel in my suit and I couldn’t get it out at first and then I lost it. It is about learning how to swim with a pack because it is so different to being in the pool.
“It is something new, something exciting and something I’m looking forward to. There are no turns, which is good because that’s something I’ve always been weak at in the pool.”
British Squad
Jack Burnell, Jazz Carlin, Alice Dearing, Polly Holden, Caleb Hughes, Danielle Huskisson, Hector Pardoe, Tobias Robinson