Melbourne, Australia March 17- April 1, 2007 - Hanson Media Group
Melbourne, Australia March 17- April 1, 2007 - Hanson Media Group
Melbourne, Australia March 17- April 1, 2007 - Hanson Media Group
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<strong>Australia</strong>n Aquatics <strong>Media</strong> Guide - XII FINA World Swimming Championships – <strong>Melbourne</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>17</strong> – <strong>April</strong> 1, <strong>2007</strong> © HSM<br />
AUSSIE TEEN TEAM READY TO ROCK THE BOARDS AT MSAC<br />
GONE ARE THE OLD FAMILIAR FACES – Matt Helm, Loudy Tourky, Chantelle and Robert<br />
Newbery and Steve Barnett –the main stays of <strong>Australia</strong>’s elite international diving troop for the<br />
past decade.<br />
But usher in the new generation – Melissa Wu, Sharleen Stratton, Bree Cole, Alex Croak, Grant<br />
Nel, Scott Robertson and Peter Hill – an average age of 19, not one Olympian among them but<br />
they have talent to burn.<br />
The “Emerging Seven” will form the basis of <strong>Australia</strong>’s Olympic squad not just for 2008 in Beijing<br />
but certainly 2012 in London.<br />
Under the watchful and astute eyes of National Head Coach Hui Tong, the teenage divers from<br />
<strong>Australia</strong> are not expected to match it with the class, the style and the poise of their Chinese,<br />
Russian and Canadian opponents.<br />
Qualifying for finals will put them on track, medals in <strong>Melbourne</strong> for “Generation Next” will be hard<br />
to come by – but a stepping stone to bigger and better things.<br />
It is a team laden with <strong>Australia</strong>’s brightest young talent with their sights set high in front of a home<br />
crowd at the <strong>Melbourne</strong> Sports And Aquatic Centre.<br />
The <strong>Australia</strong>ns will be spearheaded by triple <strong>Australia</strong>n gold medallist Sharleen Stratton who will<br />
be joined by Bree Cole, her partner in their gold medal win at the 2006 Commonwealth Games<br />
who will both be looking to replicate their performance, which wooed the <strong>Melbourne</strong> crowd just<br />
over 12 month ago.<br />
Teen sensation Melissa Wu, will once again line up against the worlds best on the 10m-platform at<br />
the very same pool that has seen her take two consecutive National titles.<br />
But unlike last year’s Games, where Wu won 10m synchro silver with former Olympic gymnast<br />
Alex Croak, she will have a new partner in the versatile Cole.<br />
Croak who is rising up the ranks after making the switch from Gymnastics to Diving in 2004, will<br />
join Wu in the individual 10m.<br />
In the men, Commonwealth Games finalist Scott Robertson – now the senior member of the male<br />
brigade - is hoping to continue his great form leading into the World Championships.<br />
With a number of perfect tens now under his belt Robertson is set to take on the world on both the<br />
3m-springboard and the 10m-platform becoming <strong>Australia</strong>’s latest diving all-rounder.<br />
Peter Hill and Grant Nel will be stepping up into the senior ranks for the very first time after some<br />
great performances at the World Junior Championships – Hill off 10m and Nel off 1m, with<br />
Robertson joining Hill on 10m synchro.<br />
<strong>Melbourne</strong> will be a major stepping stone as Beijing beckons and London lingers….! – IAN<br />
HANSON.<br />
Their first steps into the elite senior competition are sure to be nervous ones but important as Diving <strong>Australia</strong> looks to cement its position as<br />
one of the best nation’sDiving <strong>Australia</strong>as invested heavily in the current crop of divers ensuring each one has gained all rnational<br />
competition.
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