Caitlin McClatchey: Beijing-bound in a superhero suit

British swimmer Caitlin McClatchey tells Mike Pattenden her medal hopes rest on more than a hi-tech costume that is helping break world records

When Caitlin McClatchey, one of Britain’s top freestyle swimmers and an Olympic medal hopeful, was asked to model Speedo’s new LZR Racer swimsuit at its launch in February no one paid much attention. There was an air of “the emperor’s new clothes” about claims that a swimming cossie, even one that cost £2m to develop and drew on the expertise of Nasa scientists, could really change all that much.

But since McClatchey first unveiled the figure-hugging black costume, records have been falling in the pool at the rate of one every four days - including nine world records in just eight days at the US Olympic trials last month where all of the swimmers were wearing the LZR.

Speedo’s suit, which is coated in a water-repellent Teflon-like substance to reduce drag, is now at the centre of a growing controversy about the role of technology in sport. It has been likened to “doping on a hanger”. Unsurprisingly, McClatchey, winner of two gold medals at the last Commonwealth Games, has no time for such comparisons. “These swimsuits are available to everyone,” she reasons, “so wearing one myself is a way of keeping the playing field level. I’m confident in my ability but I have to say I find it feels great in the water.”

McClatchey is planning to wear her LZR, which will be available to the general public from next month for £320, when she competes in the 100m and 200m freestyle and in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays in Beijing. Her hopes are high: earlier this year she helped set new British records in both the 100m and 200m freestyle relay and recorded a lifetime best in the individual 200m freestyle.

The 22-year-old insists her recent suc-cesses are down to the intensity of her preOlympics training rather than her “superhero” suit. “It’s an Olympic year. Everyone is training their best.” McClatchey trains at Loughborough University, where she is also reading for a degree in politics, although she’s had to put her studies on hold for a year while she prepares for Beijing.

She’s up every morning at 6.45am, in the pool by 7.30am and trains through, with a break for lunch, until 6.15pm. When she’s not in the pool, she’s in the weights room, building up the strength she felt she lacked during a disappointing performance at last year’s world championships. She also does Pilates to keep supple, has to watch what she eats - no Pot Noodles and other such student delicacies - and is usually in bed by 10pm. Her only apparent vice is a fondness for cake: Victoria sponge cake, cheesecake and chocolate fudge cake are her favourites, although she’s trying to resist her sweet tooth until after the Olympics.

Swimming, she says, is in her genes. Her parents both represented Scotland at successive Commonwealth Games while her uncle won bronze in the pool at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Born in Portsmouth, she moved to Northamp-ton in her early teens, and demonstrated her sporting prowess by swimming for the Scotland youth team (she chose to follow in her parents’ footsteps, rather than join the England team) and sprinting at county level.

Eventually the water, or to be accurate, warm water, proved too great a draw. “I had to decide which one to pursue because I couldn’t train for both. I went for the swimming, partly because the pool was warmer in winter. I didn’t really enjoy running in the freezing cold.”

While her fellow students are out carousing in the union bar, she is chilling out at home. It’s a very narrow life, but one that leaves her no regrets. “I don’t get frustrated at not partying,” she claims. “I did that when I was a bit younger. It’s too hard to balance with my sport and I love swimming too much to jeopardise it.”

In fact her biggest concern living in an environment with hundreds of other young people is avoiding them – or at least the illnesses they carry. “Pools can be a bit unhealthy anyway, but the other students will be leaving soon and the germ level will drop.”

Fortunately, not everyone will depart. She has a support network of several other top swimmers preparing for Beijing at Loughborough, not least Liam Tancock, 23, her boyfriend, who set a new world record for the 50m back-stroke in April and is another medal hope for this summer.

McClatchey, with her long blonde mane and blue eyes, and Tancock, with his equally blond hair and model square jaw, have jokingly been referred to as the “Posh and Becks of the pool”, but she dispels any hint of glamour in their lives. “Although we’re often in the pool at the same time, our sessions are different,” she says matter-of-factly. “He focuses more on sprint sessions, I do more distance work. Out of the pool we don’t really talk about swimming much. You need to switch off.”

Eight years ago Great Britain came away from Sydney without a swimming medal, Athens 2004 yielded two and expectations have risen accordingly. Is she feeling the pressure?

“I’m not aiming for a specific colour of medal,” she says. “I have a gameplan worked out for each race and I’m going to stick to that. I have no idea what my rivals’ times are, though I’m sure my coach does. I don’t waste too much energy on other people’s times, it’s just down to me to keep improving and then it’s about who’s fastest on the day.”

CAITLIN’S PERFECT TUMBLE TURN
The tumble turn is a “flip turn” technique - a bit like a somersault under the water - which speeds up the time it takes a swimmer to finish one length and start the next one. The technique was developed by Tex Robertson, a swimming coach at the University of Texas, while training Adolph Kiefer for the 1936 Olympics. Caitlin explains how it’s done.

GET READY TO ROLL
In freestyle races, swimmers do not have to touch the wall with their hands - using the feet to push off makes for a much faster turn. “Put your arms straight ahead as you reach the end of the pool,” says Caitlin. “A few inches from the wall tuck your head in tight and roll,” performing a forward somersault.

PUSH OFF
Get the positioning in step one right and your legs should be well placed to push against the wall after your turn. “Too close to the wall and you’ll hit it with the back of your feet. Too far away and you can’t push off or you only get a toe on it. Ideally your legs should bend to around 45 degrees for a strong thrust and twist off the wall.”

KEEP MOVING
“Twist on to your front, maintaining a streamlined position with hands on top of each other and arms tight against your head. You can remain submerged for 15m - use it because you can swim more quickly underwater. Butterfly leg-kick a few times then go into a standard freestyle kick as you break the surface.”

ABDOMINAL MUSCLES The arms may appear to do more of the work in freestyle but strong core muscles, around the abdomen, are what really power fast propulsion, which is why competitive swimmers always have very flat abdominals

LEG MUSCLES When working to build up her leg muscles, McClatchey must be careful not to add too much bulk that would make her less streamlined and slow down her passage through the water

SWIMSUIT

McClatchey has replaced this conventional swimsuit with a £320 Speedo LZR Racer suit for competitions (see Kit Bag)

KIT BAG
NIKE REMORA MIRROR GOGGLES £10, from www.allensswimwear.com The key to choosing a pair of goggles is the comfort of the headband and the efficiency of the seal around the eyes. Both factors will be influenced by the shape of your head, which means you may go through a few pairs before finding the model that best suits you. Like every other aspect of competitive swimming kit, they should be constructed to reduce drag, but these Remoras - named after a semi-parasitic fish - bring plenty of other features to the party, including three interchangeable nose pieces, antifog lenses and a mirror finish to reduce glare off the water.

TEMPO TRAINER £22.50, from www.swimshop.co.uk If you’re serious about your swimming, you’ll need to beat out the strokes like a machine. The Tempo Trainer is fitted inside a swim cap or attached to your goggles and will beep like a metronome, adjustable to one-hundredth of a second accuracy, allowing you to build muscle memory and a consistent stroke rate as you scatter pensioners in your wake.

SPEEDO FASTSKIN LZR RACER SWIMSUIT £320 (preorder), from www.speedointernational.com Speedo’s world record-smashing LZR bodysuit is constructed of a Teflon-like water-repelling weave of elastane-nylon and polyurethane. It is “stitched” together using acoustic vibrations - a process known as ultrasonic welding - which leaves no seams and reduces drag. A corset-like midsection helps redistribute oxygen to the arms and legs; other panels squeeze the body into a more streamlined shape, shaving seconds off a swimmer’s best times. Currently available only to competitive swimmers, the LZR range hits the open market in September. Your local pool may never be the same again.

THE REGIME
MORNING I get up at 6.45am and have cereal and fruit juice for breakfast. I also take vitamin C plus zinc and iron supplements because I’ve had anaemia in the past.

I do some stretches to warm up, then I’m in the pool by 7.30am. I swim for 2½ hours until 10am. I also do an hour of weight training three days a week. I had a disappointing 2007 world championships, and looking at the other competitors I could see that they were bigger and more powerful than me. I realised I was struggling in the wake of other swimmers and had to improve my strength.

AFTERNOON After a good meal - usually pasta - I’m back in the pool by 3.30pm and I’ll swim for another 2½ hours. Usually I do a 2,000-metre warm-up with bursts of speed after that. Some days I’ll do 1,000 metres at speed. My coach tries to vary it to keep it enjoyable. I average about 7km a session, which adds up to 60-70km a week. Swimming is a low-impact sport so any problems are usually from repetitive actions. Once a week I do an hour of Pilates to stay supple.

DOWNTIME I take Saturday afternoon and Sundays off but I won’t taper down my routine too much before the Olympics like some athletes. My body tends to wonder what’s happening if I stop working it and I actually feel tired and listless. I generally eat healthily but I’m into cakes.