Rio’s out but Tokyo now the focus

SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING: COWIE COMPETES IN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS AS ROAd TO 2020 bEgINS

The Olympics is the pinnacle of every synchronised swimmer’s career but after injury ruled Jodie Cowie out of possible selection for this year’s Games, the Ashford teenager is determined to use the disappointment to her advantage.

The 18-year-old, who last year competed at the inaugural European Games in Baku, looked set to be in with a chance of qualifying for her maiden Olympics, before a hip injury postponed any chances of her flying to Rio.

Despite her injury, Cowie will compete at the European Aquatics Championships in London next week and after winning gold at the National Championships in April, confidence is high in the British camp.

And for Cowie, the championships offer the perfect opportunity to show off the team’s development over recent years. She said: “I’m looking forward to competing in London. There is a good spirit in the team and everyone is going to work hard.

“We want to make a big step up in this last week of training before the competition.

“Everyone enjoys the routines that we have got which is important when they are so hard and that is going to help us in our performance next week.

“We know we are going to have to push ourselves, but we all want to finish knowing we have done our best.

“Our team is quite different to that which competed in Baku and for a few, it’s the first major competition they have done.

“But we work well together so we will be pushing for a good position next week.

“I’m not sure if that will be among the medals but we will definitely be competing for a finals spot. Jodie Cowie – Rio dreams ended by hip injury

“The most important thing for us is looking at scores rather than placings. We want to make sure we improve our scores from one competition to the next.”

The European Championships start on Monday at the London Aquatics Centre and will showcase the best of the continent has to offer across almost two weeks of competition in the first major event at the event since the 2012 Olympics.

But despite the disappointment of missing out on Rio, Cowie believes the championships offer the best start to her new goal – qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in four years time.

“The European Championships are a big building block for us going into other competitions and with all the hours we put into training, we need to make sure our performance counts,” she added.

“We’ve sacrificed so much to get here and it is such a big competition, and it’s a real privilege to be one of the swimmers that gets to compete there.

“My injury has ruled me out of the Olympic Games this summer which is why this has been a tough year for me, but being able to go to the Europeans has made that a bit easier. “The timing of the injury is bad and it’s a huge disappointment because the Olympics is the dream for every synchronised swimmer.

“But hopefully I will have another opportunity in four years’ time and the Tokyo Games are my new aim.”

Tickets for the European Aquatics Championships – the biggest event to be held at the London Aquatics Centre since the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games – from May 9-22 are now available at www. euroaquatics2016.london

‘The timing of my injury is bad ...... the Tokyo Games are my new aim’