Duel in the Pool Meet in Swansea. 22 Feb 2010

Tom Haffield made the most of home advantage at the British Gas Duel in the Pool meet against Germany in Swansea from 20-21 February.

In his main event, the Men’s 400m Individual Medley, Tom took the lead in the freestyle leg ahead of teammate Joe Roebuck.

He had a strong finish to make sure of victory ahead of Roebuck and German Yannick Lebherz, sealing maximum points for GB on Saturday evening. The British and Commonwealth Record Holder clocked a time of 4:21.31, but said it was the win that mattered most.

He said: “My time was OK, but it was all about head to head racing this weekend and taking a victory for the team. I was so surprised with my performance, as I felt tired all week, so I’m pleased to swim well.

“It was a really good atmosphere; it was great to see the stands full. It is nice to have an international meet in Wales, as it doesn’t happen very often!

“I love being away with the GB team; it was great to see everyone. We all get on really well.

“We’ve got five weeks now until the British Championships, so I will have two weeks of really hard training before we start tapering before the Championships.”

The British Swimming team finished the two day meet with a 98 point victory ahead of Germany.