Duel In The Pool - Germany vs Great Britain

Germany will have a chance to exact revenge on Great Britain when the two teams meet again February 5-6 in Essen, Germany.


Day One Results

Last year in Swansea saw a one-sided contest in which Britain (207 points) dominated an unprepared German team (109 points). The drubbing last time around had a lot to do with the different stages of training the two teams were in. Whilst Britain were tuning up for their nationals just a month later, Germany were still in heavy training with their nationals five months away.

The competition last year saw a breakthrough meet for Jaz Carlin as well as strong performances from Liam Tancock, Elizabeth Simmonds, Fran Halsall and Germany's Paul Biedermann. This year the Brits are sending a younger and less experienced team which is missing a lot of their stars (Adlington, Halsall, Simmonds, Jackson, Tancock, Davies not  attending).

This time around the Germans intend to put up a better performance and are sending their first team to Essen. Their biggest stars, Britta Steffen and Biedermann, are both set to compete, UPDATE - have both just withdrawn from the competition. Their withdrawal will go a long way towards levelling this competition up. So much so, that I would now say the British women are favourites with the German men still slightly infront of the British men on paper.

The other big news from the German camp sees the return of Helge Meeuw to international competition for the first time since Istanbul 09. Meeuw is a vital part of Germany's 4 x 100m Medley hopes and should he get back to full fitness, the Germans will be back in the hunt for medals in Shanghai.

This year's British Nationals are scheduled for March 5-12. German Nationals will take place May 31 - June 5.

German Team

Women (21):

Dorothea Brandt, Annika Bruhn, Deborah Gonschorek, Lisa Graf, Isabelle Härle, Franziska Hentke, Franziska Jansen, Silke Lippok, Jenny Mensing, Theresa Michalak, Sarah Poewe, Nadine Reichert Juliane Reinhold, Caroline Ruhnau, Nina Schiffer, Katharina Schiller, Daniela Schreiber Britta Steffen, Sina Sutter, Lisa Vitting, Alexandra Wenk

Men (20):

Robin Backhaus, Paul Biedermann, Markus Deibler, Steffen Deibler, Christian Diener, Hendrik Feldwehr, Christoph Fildebrandt, Jan-Philipp Glania, Stefan Herbst, Christian Kubusch, Marco Koch, Yannick Lebherz, Christian vom Lehn, Helge Meeuw, Johannes Neumann, Clemens Rapp, Jan David Schepers, Benjamin Starke, Tim Wallburger, Felix Wolf

British Team

Women (17):

Achieng Ajulu-Bushell, Jaz Carlin, Georgia Davies, Lucy Ellis, Megan Gilchrist, Kate Hutchinson, Rachel Lefley, Jemma Lowe, Amelia Maughan, Hannah Miley, Emma Saunders, Amy Smith, Sophie Smith, Stacey Tadd, Alys Thomas, Emma Wilkins, Aimee Willmott

Men (15):

Tom Allen, Ryan Bennett, Jack Burnell, Craig Gibbons, Scott Hathaway, Antony James, Ieuan Lloyd, Robbie Renwick, Joe Roebuck, Lewis Smith, Christopher Steeples, Joshua Walsh, Richard Webb, Andrew Willis, James Young