England's swimmers ready for hostile crowd

Apr 05, 2018 06:00 am

England's swimmers, spearheaded by Olympic breaststroke champion Adam Peaty, expect a rude reception from the Australians when the competition begins today, but their boss promised they will rise to the occasion.

"Australia are a powerhouse, they're the team to beat," team leader Grant Robins told AFP. "They're strong across pretty much all the events and have a production line of swimming quality. It's going to be a hostile crowd."

Robins predicted a strong showing from England's 32 swimmers, even if Britain's relay teams have had to be broken up under the Games format where the British home nations compete separately.

"We've got to be careful not to put everything on Adam Peaty - but he's our jewel in the crown," said Robins.

Singapore's swimmers Roanne Ho (women's 50m breaststroke), Darren Lim (men's 50m butterfly), Quah Ting Wen (women's 100m butterfly) and para-swimmer Han Liang Chou (S14 200m freestyle) are also racing today.