• ASA National Championships

Adlington books relay spot, but may not want it

Rebecca Adlington is set to be part of the six-man 4x200m relay squad for Team GB © Getty Images

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Rebecca Adlington is ready to sacrifice her bid for three medals at the London 2012 Games in order to boost Team GB's hopes of winning the 4x200m relay.

Adlington won the 200m freestyle final at the ASA National Championships on Wednesday, booking her spot on the six-man relay squad with a time of 1:58.68s. Victory sees her ranked fourth in the event for Team GB, meaning on paper she would be part of the fastest relay team Great Britain could offer this summer.

The girl Adlington overhauled, Rebecca Turner, had already qualified for the individual event and the 4x200m relay back in March. Along with Caitlin McClatchey and Eleanor Faulkner, that quartet could lead GB's bid for relay gold in London.

However, Adlington is unsure she will have the required energy to compete, given her commitment to the 400m and 800m individual events.

"I think you have to put in the four girls who are fresh," Adlington said. "I will have done the 400m, I will have the 800m the next day, whereas Jo [Jackson] will have done the 400m the first day. She will be fresh and ready, and have no more swims.

"It would be right if they put Jo in, she has got the most experience over 200m out of any of us girls, and she is the best relay girl I have known and I think it is only right that she is in it."

Team GB must name six competitors for the relay squad, from which four are chosen. Adlington will undoubtedly be among the six, but she harbours serious doubts over whether she should be among the four.

"We have made mistakes before in the 4x200m by swimming different swimmers, resting different swimmers," Adlington said. "If they want to include me in the heat then brilliant, we will see what their decision is and what they want to do with it."

Elsewhere on Wednesday, 30-year-old David Carry booked his spot at the Olympics in the men's 400m freestyle. Carry swam a personal best 3:46.86s, booking a place at an Olympic Games for a third time.

"I've never been so emotional after a race before," Carry said. "This season more than any has been really quite tricky for me - I've had an injury and other things going on. So to come back to swim like that is just really incredible.

"And there was so much more caught up in it - knowing it is going to be my last Olympics, knowing my fiancee, my wife to be, is going to be there and I want to be part of that team too.

"It's just been an incredible journey this year - to compete like this at the last chance, the Olympic trials, is just incredible and at the age of 30 too. It's a dream come true."

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