Keri-Anne Payne believes the huge home crowds around the Serpentine will give her open water hopes a real boost.
Stockport swimmer firmly on track ahead of busy year
Keri-Anne Payne believes the raucous home support around the Serpentine during the Olympic 10kilometre open water event will give her gold medal hopes a real boost as she prepares for the biggest year of her life.
The 23-year-old was the first British athlete to secure qualification for London 2012 when she regained her world title in Shanghai earlier this year and now she's returned to the water after a minor back injury for the long hard slog of winter training.
Having missed the Olympic test event at Hyde Park's Serpentine lake in August, Payne admits there's no real advantage to be gained by practicing the course but insists the fans packed on the banks for the ticketless event will have a huge role to play.
Payne, who won silver when open water swimming made its Olympic debut in 2008, said: "I think the home advantage will be huge - if you think about where the Serpentine is, there will be people stood on all sides and we will be able to see what's going on and all the supporters around us.
"I think it's going to have a huge impact on us, seeing all the Union Jacks being waved on both sides every time we swim around the course.
"We probably can't take in all the noise while open water swimming but if all the people are crowded on the banks then we'll see them and that's bound to help.
"I think we'll get an opportunity to swim the Olympic course but I'm not sure exactly when. I've swam it a few times but I'm not sure you can get an edge on the competition.
"Every course is different and every day of every course is different depending on the weather, the conditions and all the other variables that can affect it.
"I'm not sure if swimming in it before hand is going to give me much of an advantage. What the conditions are like on the day is what you get - you can't really practice for that and predict what it will be like."
Sad news
Payne is sad she won't be sharing the experience with her close friend Cassie Patten, who recently announced her retirement at the age of just 24 due to a persistent shoulder problem.
Patten claimed bronze behind her Stockport ITC team-mate in Beijing but, hampered by her troublesome injury, could only finish 21st at this year's World Championships which wasn't good enough for Olympic qualification.
Payne said: "It's such a loss to the sport. She was such a great training partner for five to six years and we travelled the world together, sharing rooms wherever we went.
"We were the best of friends so it's such a shame to have lost someone from the sport with so much experience. But I'm sure whatever she decides to do she'll do just as well if not better than she did at swimming.
"You can't live your life thinking 'what if I get injured'. But I guess it makes us all appreciate what we have and making sure we're all enjoying what we're doing."
With her open water spot already booked, Payne is turning her attention on trying to qualify for the 200 and 400 metres individual medley in the pool.
Hard work
She said: "We started our winter training in the water at the beginning of September so it's been a while now. I've actually just been injured but I'm over it now which is good for me because it's been a long process and I can get a really big block of work in.
"Training is similar to previous years. I wish I could say a year before the Olympics everyone trains harder but I'll be training just as much as I have during the last 12 years of my life to go to the Olympics.
"Maybe we feel a little more pressured to make sure we get all the training in and doing it hard but generally in the grand scheme of things everything stays the same.
"I'm pretty much focused on pool swimming at the moment because the trials are in March next year.
"There won't be too many open water swims between now and then so I'll mainly be concentrating on training for the pool trials."
Wedding bells
Payne is also getting married to fellow Olympic swimming hopeful David Carry next year and says all the organisation for this big day will continue to be a welcome distraction away from the build-up to London 2012.
She said: "We both train at the same pool in Stockport so we're getting on with training at the moment.
"We've actually got most of the wedding organised which is brilliant. Obviously next year is going to be really important so I've got the dress sorted, the venue and other major stuff. It'll just be the frilly things that need doing next year really.
"It will keep me from worrying about the Olympics knowing I've got something else to focus on. I do much better with distraction."
Keri-Anne Payne is a Speedo sponsored athlete. For more go to www.speedo.co.uk
