London 2012: Keri-Anne gets first taste of Olympic venue

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Beijing silver medallist Keri- Anne Payne has taken to the waters of The Serpentine at Hyde Park as the first athlete to test the London 2012 open water venue.

The 24-year-old open water swimmer had to battle through the reeds in the lake and dodge some ducks during her morning swim.

“It was brilliant, I had to fight with a couple of ducks though but other than that it was pretty good,” she said.

“It was quite fun swimming through all the reeds and getting tangled up in them but I managed to overcome that which was good! Seriously though, I’m glad I did it today because I got the first taste of it and was able to swim hard through the reeds, so that was great.”

She will be hoping that this sneak peek at the venue will help her go one better then her Beijing medal and take gold on August 9.

But dealing with ducks and reeds will pose no real test to Payne who has experienced much more dangerous obstacles during her career as an open water swimmer.

“I can assure you that as an open water swimmer I’ve swum through much worse. I remember swimming in a beautiful location in Hong Kong, but we kept swimming past these big buoys and when I asked what they were for they said they were shark nets!” she said.

“We were swimming on the wrong side of them so I kind of made sure I stayed in the middle of the pack in that one! Then I remember another occasion when we were swimming down a river in China, and everyone said there was a dead horse in the water but there wasn’t, just a dead dog!”

However experiencing dead animals in China and competing in shark-infested waters in Hong Kong have not been Payne’s most frightening moments; she was most panicked whilst taking part in an event in Australia.

“I remember the 2007 Melbourne World Championships, which was my first major championship appearance and only my second ever open water swim,” she said.

“We were just off the beach in St Kilda and there were thousands and thousands of jellyfish in the water, all the size of dinner plates. The day before the race we usually do a practice swim, so I got in the water but only managed to swim about 300 metres before I properly freaked out!”

What Payne can be sure of is that The Serpentine will be clear of any shark or jelly fish when she takes the plunge for gold.

Jessica Long, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

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