Twenty-one-year-old Bath swimmer Alan Bircher shook up the sport of Open Water swimming when he won the British 5K Championships in Ponds Forge pool in Sheffield. Up until now Bircher specialised in 1500m events and his victory in the 5,000m was the first time he had competed at the long distance. His time of 53 minutes 56.05 was good enough to qualify him for the Open Water World Championships in Barcelona this summer.
20 March [british swimming news]

They call him Braveheart but his real name is Graeme Smith. The Scottish Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in the 400m freestyle secured his selection for this year's World Championships in Barcelona when he won tonight's final at the British National Championships in Sheffield.His time of 3.49.71 was just shy of a Scottish record. He was chased all the way by the best swimmer to emerge from Wales in decades. 18 year old David Davies took the silver in 3.51.30 breaking his own Welsh record in so doing. Eight years his senior, Smith's strength and experience shone through.
19 March [british swimming news]

Day 3 of the Madrid Diving Grand Prix got off to a good start for the British team, with Gareth Jones (Plymouth) and Blake Aldridge (Sheffield), taking third place in the Platform synchro event. Hayley Lambert and Brooke Graddon also put in some impressive performances to claim bronze in the corresponding women's event.
16 March [british swimming news]