Upon entering Loughborough University’s Olympic sized swimming pool, the enthusiasm for excellence is as palpable as the smell of chlorine.

Loughborough Swimming Team’s effervescent Director of Swimming, Ian Armiger, greeted our photographer and I with the words, “Gentlemen, welcome to the Pool of Dreams.”

That term is not an exaggeration as the Leicestershire-based swimming programme has produced Olympic Medallists, including Joanne Jackson and David Davies, World Championship victories and world records from the likes of Liam Tancock.

The facilities at Loughborough provide a setting for sporting success. Things haven’t always been that way though, as Ian, a former head coach to the British Swimming Team, revealed.

“When I started in 1997 we had a four lane 25 yard pool, probably one of the worst in Britain. We built the best team out of those facilities, but there’s no comparison to how it is now. When I came in I decided to totally change the image and the culture and focus on being one of the best teams in Britain and becoming a prominent force in world swimming.”

The success of the team and the worldwide recognition it receives is the result of years of planning and hard work from Ian and his coaching team.

“I wrote down all my short and long-term goals and how we were going to achieve them. It’s about a constant striving for those goals, the enthusiasm of the programme and the energy that’s within it. Even from those early days the focus of the team has been remarkable.”

Added to that focus, Ian explained how a whole host of coaching specialists provide support.

“The British Swimming Team has a network of sports scientists, including an exercise physiologist, a bio-mechanist, a nutritionist, a physiotherapist and a psychologist. We have a central pool of sports scientists that each of the sports at the university can tap into.

“That’s the good thing about being a coach when you sit in the middle and liaise with where the expertise is. You pull it all together so that the swimmer can perform.”

With so many world class swimmers in one programme, Armiger and his coaches are not prepared to rest on their laurels.

“We’re always looking for that edge. At Loughborough you’re surrounded by excellence and people at the top of the world rankings. Once you start getting that excitement you inspire other swimmers and attract swimming fans. There’s professionalism and swimmers get recognition and attract sponsors. We’ve got a sponsor called St. James’s Place, a £21 billion company who are enthusiastic about our team.

“Once you get the likes of Rebecca Adlington, who has become a celebrity, but for the best reasons, because of achievement, people begin to notice. You need results to get the support and I think British Swimming is doing that now.”

The Loughborough ethos provides something for young swimmers from clubs around the county to tap in to.

“It’s good for kids who use the pool to see that people from here go to the Olympics and break world records, and that lifts their game all the way through.”

Ian is looking for more British and Loughborough success at London 2012.

“We had about 12 swimmers in the British Olympic team in Beijing and London is a massive motivation. We’re hoping to have at least the same number, if not more swimmers, from Loughborough.”

Despite this worldwide success, Ian is determined to maintain a team ethic at Loughborough.

“We want our swimmers to aspire to be the best in the world, but it’s about them being part of the team and being proud of their connection with the university.”

Kevin Renshaw has been part of the Loughborough set-up for three years, coaching the likes of Joanne Jackson and David Davies. Also, the Senior Coach for the British Swimming Intensive Training Centre, Kevin gave an indication of the dedication required to be a top class swimmer.

“An average week’s training for David Davies is quite extreme. David trains for 10 two and a half hour sessions a week, with Sunday his only full day off. He trains once on a Wednesday and Saturday, and is in here twice on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

“He does land sessions twice a week and gets to the pool at 6.45am for preparation work at the gym, before getting into the water at 7.30am. It totals up to about 30 hours a week of training.”

Kevin revealed the huge satisfaction he receives from working with such top class athletes.

“It’s great when we’ve got a piece of work that’s really going well. When somebody gets into the zone it inspires competition between the other swimmers and that’s an excellent training tool.”

Dennis Pursley

Head coach of the British Swimming Team and former head of the USA for 14 years, Dennis Pursley is a regular visitor to Loughborough to monitor the form of his swimmers.

Pursley on the Loughborough Swimming Programme…
“It’s a magnet that attracts the best swimmers from around Britain and there’s a reason for that. It’s the tradition that comes out of Loughborough and Ian is more responsible for that than anybody else. We’ve got the strongest University Programme facility in Britain. It’s the standard the others aspire to.”

The state of British swimming…
“I’ve only been here a little over a year, so based on my impressions from the outside looking in, it seems that British swimming is probably at its strongest ever. A lot of people have been working very hard for many years to get to this point, long before I came here and it’s a tribute to all their hard work.”

London 2012…
“I’m not going to predict who’s going to do what. Our aim is to get stronger and stronger this year as British swimming has done for several years. If we continue on that progressive curve we’ll have our share of exciting swims in London.”

For more information on Loughborough Swimming visit http://www.loughboroughswimming.com/