STACEY Houldsworth has been chosen as one of 11 young British swimmers to attend an elite training camp in Florida.

The 16-year-old Borough of Burnley freestyle star's half-term trip has been funded by the National Lottery.

National performance director, Deryck Snelling, of Darwen, has arranged for the group to train and swim alongside the latest American golden girl, Brooke Bennett, the 16-year-old rising star who stormed to victory in the 800m freestyle final in Atlanta last summer.

The all-girl team, which will be led by coach Mike Higgs from Southend in Essex, will travel out to Brandon for two weeks hard distance training, returning on November 17.

"I hope that by training alongside one of the best swim squads in the world, the team will realise the level of work needed to be successful at this level," said Higgs.

"We will take the opportunity to increase the distance many of the team are swimming each week to approximately 100km.

"On average most put in between 45km and 50km a week, and we hope that they will bring home everything they learn, and continue the work with their individual coaches. The training will also make the girls a lot tougher mentally. "These foreign training camps can also be a great motivation for swimmers," added Higgs. "Knowing they could be rewarded for all their efforts really encourages them to work hard throughout the year."

Snelling and his team of top national coaches feel there is a real weakness in distance swimming at the moment, and not just in this country.

Even Bennett only managed a time of 8:27.89, almost 12 seconds below Janet Evans' World Record. Sarah Hardcastle, who retired after the last Olympics, had previously managed an 8:24.77 in the Commonwealth Games in 1986, a British record that still stands.

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