Top city swim coach voices concern over Commonwealth Games

TOP city swimming coach Jon Rudd is mulling over whether to take his team of international stars to terrorist-threatened New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games in October.

Rudd, who is likely to be a coach at the games, has several swimmers who are in line for an international call-up for New Delhi.

But the Plymouth Leander supremo admitted today that he is thinking twice about risking either his swimmers or himself, despite the insistence by England sporting chiefs that they will be going to the games.

Outstanding Plymouth swimmers like Antony James, Emma Wilkins, Trinidad's Christian Homer and Kenya's Achieng Ajulu-Bushell are preparing themselves for qualification for the games.

Others, such as England's Steven Beckerleg and David Gregory, plus Calum Jarvis from Wales are expected to be pushing for places on the Commonwealth team.

But Rudd said he was concerned about security issues in New Delhi.

He told Herald Sport: "You only have to go back to last year, when the England cricket team were attacked by terrorists, to realise what can happen.

"Some of our swimmers are hoping to be representing their country in the London 2012 Olympics, but they won't do very well in London if they get shot in the swimming pool in New Delhi."

Rudd added: "I do feel a certain amount of worry about the possibility of terrorist attacks.

"If it was the Olympics, which is bigger than life, I wouldn't have any second thoughts.

"But the Commonwealth Games, with all due respect to the athletes taking part, is not as big as the Olympics.

" I have been told that the volleyball courts over there had just been completed when somebody walked into the middle of them and blew himself up.

"Is the Commonwealth Games a big enough event to risk your life for, or the lives of our swimmers? That's the question I've got to ask myself."

Rudd said that it was possible, if New Delhi was a no-go area in October, that the games would be split up, with the various sporting disciplines spread across other venues.

But he added: "We've got a camp booked in Tenerife in August where we are training for the Commonwealth Games which is costing us between £10,000 and £15,000.

"If I don't need to spend that money, I don't really want to.

"At the end of the day, it will be down to the individual athletes if they want to go, or their parents if they are under 18."

Plymouth Diving's Andy Banks, who coaches city World Champion Tom Daley, plus international stars Tonia Couch and Brooke Graddon, said he was keeping a close eye on the situation.

All three divers are expected to qualify for the games.

Banks said: "I think the answer is to watch this space.

"I am quite sure that security at the games is top of the agenda at the moment – everybody is talking about it.

"The divers are aware of the situation, but they have other things to focus on now, with the World Cup and the European Championships coming up.

"It's not really at the forefront of their minds."