A full team security briefing at an Australian training camp in Malaysia has failed to calm some anxious Australian swimmers as the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games team readies itself against the risk of last-minute withdrawals.
Team officials fear that the withdrawal of any swimmer might undermine the fragile confidence of others in the team and are also concerned that any subsequent departures will disrupt preparations for the first day of racing next Monday.
Crack butterfly swimmer Jessicah Schipper, who won three golds and a silver in Melbourne in 2006, is still shaky about her participation, saying she is still going "at this stage."
Her coach Stephan Widmer has encouraged her and the rest of his squad to speak openly about their fears, and said he didn't know how many swimmers would fly to India.
"I keep on communicating to them, 'What stage are you at right now?' I told them this already, 'There's no right or wrong. It's not wrong that you feel a certain way it has to be right for you,'" The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.
A briefing by Intelligent Risks, the Australian firm contracted by both the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Australian Commonwealth Games Association to assist with security at the Games, had helped to settle Widmer's own concerns about security.
"The feedback we were given from a professional, a real professional who has seen a lot around the world, said, 'This is world class, best practice.' That gave me a much better feeling," he said.
Widmer admitted: "For some it has eased it a little bit; for some other ones it hasn't shifted it yet. I feel it's still a very, very early stage."
Schipper is taking her participation "one step at a time." The briefing helped but doubts remain.
