Smith turns up the volume

Ireland's history maker was back in the business of reshaping swimming at Cork on Saturday. A 15-year-old European record pocketed in the 200 metres butterfly. The promise that maybe four or more titles are at risk in Seville at next week's European Championships and the warning that, in time, Mary T Meagher's 1981 world record over the same distance is within her reach. Irish swimming is again facing heady times.

Smith captured Ines Geissler's 1982 European mark and Meagher's time, unshakeable throughout the last 16 years, seems more vulnerable than ever before. After a low-key year following the Atlanta Olympic Games, Ireland's triple gold medallist is once again beginning to turn up the volume.

At the Leisureworld complex, Smith swam the short course 200m butterfly in two minutes 7.04 seconds and further elevated herself in the world of international swimming.

Ireland has never experienced an athlete of Smith's capabilities in any sport, one who can say with some degree of certainty that if she swam six different events over six days of European competition, she could perform well in all and one who believes that, with the right focus and preparation, Meagher's record could tumble.

"Each time I compete in this race, I'm learning a little bit more about how to swim it. The swim was an encouragement and reinforces my own belief that I can get that record. If I put my head down and get the first 50 metres right, then I think the last 50 will be there.

"I think that I have a realistic chance of doing 2:05.65 (world record). But, if I want to do that, I'll have to just think about it and train for about six months. If I do that, I think I can break it."

Smith's European counterparts will find little relief in the fact that, of the six events she has entered in the European Championships, she will only finally decide which ones she is contesting when she reaches Seville and takes her first splash for some time in a 50 metres pool. But even that seems to cause little concern to this uniquely-talented swimmer who now looks certain to add to her collection of four Olympic and three European medals.

"The fact that I've been training in a four lane 25 metre pool in Kilkenny, and Seville will be a 50 metre pool, doesn't bother me too much at this point in time. I can normally adjust fairly quickly to the bigger pool. The only thing I can see that might be a problem is adjusting in the backstroke. So we are planning to do quite a lot of extra backstroke as soon as we get to Seville.

"I'll arrive there on the 16th and I'll swim each day until the 19th when I'll compete. I'll try to get as much swimming in on those days as I possibly can. That's about all the long course training I'm about to get before Seville."

Far from adopting a casual approach to the biggest swimming event of the year, however, Smith will look at her competitors, their times, how they swim their races and what new names may cause concern.

"I haven't set any specific targets for myself at the European Championships but I have my ideas about how I will swim the races. I'll look at how they swim the race and the tactics that might come into it. Very often it's not even the person who has the fastest time but who swims the best tactical race that will win. I judge each race differently.

"I've been looking at the top competitors and how they have competed in major championships up until now. Out of the six events, I think I can probably do well in six events. I won't be doing that. If I decide to swim some of the shorter races, it could be three or four events. But, if I decide to swim the 400m or 800m freestyle, it will limit the amount I can do because I won't be able to recover as much."

Smith was on world record target at the sell-out meeting in Cork through all of the stages of Saturday's race, billed as the TNT Challenge, until the last 50 metres. The target for the first leg of her solo swim was 29.40 seconds. She hit it at 28.90 seconds. The 100m mark had to be reached in 1:01.70 and Smith touched in at 1:00.83. The three-quarter point of the swim required a time of 1:33.90 and Smith turned four-tenths of a second ahead but was unable to sustain that pace over the final two lengths.

It was another milestone for Irish swimming that this time came as a by-product of her training as much as through a long-term, deliberate and organised assault. Judging by form that seems to be approaching her pre-Atlanta levels of fitness, Ireland may well be on the cusp of another remarkable phase in Smith's career. Like Sonia O'Sullivan she has set her own standards. Different pressures will now come into play.