Final countdown begins for biggest show on earth

4:00pm Wednesday 6th August 2008

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SWIMMER Todd Cooper will be hoping to achieve his dream of reaching an Olympic final when he steps into the aquatics centre in Beijing.

The 25-year-old has had a longer journey than many of his fellow Great Britain team-mates to China, overcoming an injury which almost ended his career.

However, he proved he is back to his best at the British Championships in April, setting a time of 53.48 seconds in the 100 metres to book his place in the national squad.

“I kind of went through the mill a bit for a while and I lost sight of what I wanted and how to get it and the injury was the route of the problem,” said Cooper.

“It was absolutely fantastic to come back in April and do so well. I always knew I could get back to that point and it was just a matter of getting my head down, getting the work done and staying injury free.

“I do set myself personal goals. My main aim was to get in the squad to China, which I did with a good time.

“So now I have set myself a goal of going half a second faster and that should be enough to get me into the final and once you’re there anything can happen.”

Cooper will also use his previous experience at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, when as a rookie he was unable to make it out of the heats.

“My flatmate is going to the Olympics and I’ve been telling him there's nothing he can do to prepare for such a big event, so it’s always a benefit to have been before,” added the swimmer.

Hopes are high that Great Britain’s squad can also win a host of medals after a series of impressive performances at the World Championships earlier in the year.

Cooper, who grew up in Kidderminster and still has his family in the town, believes that the swimming squad can deliver this time around.

He said: “I look at the team that’s going and pretty much every aspect of it is tough.

“Relay is probably the measure of a team’s depth in strength and we have six great teams.

“There’s certainly opportunities for individual medals so that’s fantastic.”

Great Britain though will be vying for medals with the sport’s traditional giants, America and Australia and the ambitious Chinese team, who are aiming to win a medal in every event in the pool.

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