SY People

Radio Sheffield has been keeping up with James Kirton's progress up to the World Swimming Championships in March 2007 and the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

:: 29th March 2007

BBC Radio Sheffield and Five Live's Bob Ballard went to the World Swimming Champs in Melbourne where James failed to make the final of the 200m breast stroke. James speaks after the race...

"I have no idea what happened. The preparation was fine - I was calm and fine before the race, it just didn't happen in the race.

"I'm pretty gutted. It's not just that I swam bad, it's that I haven't put my name up there for everyone to see before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"I thought I could pre-qualify. You lose some funding... so it's made it a hell of a lot harder to get where I want to be now.

James Kirton and coach Russ Barber at Ponds Forge

"The next step? Straight back in. I've got work to do before the Olympic trials - plenty of work!"

:: 27th February 2007

Radio Sheffield's Bob Ballard visits James at a training session at Ponds Forge, days before he flies out to Melbourne for the World Swimming Championships.

Bob: What are the indications that you know you're ready?

James: You wake up one morning and feel a lot rested, a lot happier, a lot more raring to go.

Bob: So if you're spending 24-30 hours in the air [on the flight to Melbourne], what do you do to make sure you don't get any strange cramps or anything that'll knock you back for a few days?

James: I'm still a stranger to flying that sort of distance to be honest. I've been advised by doctors to get flight socks, not sleep too much, and to take a few pro-biotic drinks before I fly - just things like that.

Russ Barber (coach): He's looking really good. We're reducing the amount of aerobic training James has been doing so that the anaerobic side can come through as well as his speed and strength. All his race-specific things come good at this point.

It's very easy to do the physiological training (well, from a coach's point of view not a swimmer's point of view!) but to actually get them swimming fast on the day is very much a mental thing.

Bob: You're going out too Russ - is it like nurse-maiding him for four weeks?

Russ: James is very low maintenance - he's not a hard guy to coach. He looks after himself very well and we've got a good relationship.

I'm there to walk him through it and make sure that I do everything I can to help him.

Bob: Well Radio Sheffield are fully behind you; we'll see you out there!

:: 9th February 2007

As part of his gruelling training regime, James Kirton gets up at four o'clock in the morning and travels 40 minutes from Barnsley to Pond's Forge in Sheffield...

"It's so tough to get up and swim fast at half five in the morning" says James. "Your body has to be ready to swim hard and fast - and that's such a big ask."

His gruelling training regime is paying off though - he's already national champion at 200m breast-stroke and at the time of writing (February 2007) he is ranked 12th in the world, having already swam the qualifying time for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

James' coach Russ Barber is impressed by his attitude: "He's got a lot of training honesty. Even when my back's turned he always tries 100%."

James Kirton

James's dad Alan is head coach of Rotherham swimming club and Kirton's first sporting success, as quoted on the British Swimming website, was at the age of 10 when he won "a silver medal for 50m breast-stroke at the Yorkshire Championships, from lane 8! Outside smoker!"

James jumps back in the pool every evening for his second training session, and like all professional athletes he has to push himself through the pain barrier: "I cannot describe this pain!" he says as he stops for a rest at the pool side. All this lactic acid racing through your body, making you want to be sick or just curl up in a ball and die."

Finally at 8pm, after 16 hours, James's day is over. "Every now and then I dream about swimming - I'm swimming 24-7. But usually I'm not asleep for long enough to get into a dream."

James Kirton is sure that swimming is what he wants to do though: "You've got to train like this if you're going to be an Olympic champion. Whatever it takes to get to number one."