Sam relishes the Rice challenge

SWIMMING superstar Stephanie Rice is just one of the the rivals Samantha Hamill will have to overcome if she is to win a maiden world title.

Samantha Hamill is off to the FINA World Swimming Championships in China. . Picture: Cade Mooney

SWIMMING: Swimming superstars do not get much bigger than the triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice, one of the the rivals Samantha Hamill will have to overcome if she is to win a maiden world title.

Hamill, from Kawana Waters, will leave the Sunshine Coast tomorrow for China, where the FINA World Swimming Championships start in a fortnight.

It was less than a year ago that Hamill produced a gutsy swim to win Commonwealth Games silver in the 400m individual medley.

Although her confidence is still riding high, she realises the challenge in front of her – particularly as Rice missed the Delhi Games through injury.

“It's a challenge, but that's what we do. We love racing and we do it because we love the challenges,” Hamill told the Daily yesterday.

“Steph is swimming very well at the moment. I've never beaten her and every time I race her, I know I'm coming up against the best in the world.”

Hamill finished second to Scotland's Hannah Miley in the 400 IM at Delhi – clocking a time of 4:39.35 – just 20 minutes after finishing fourth in the 200m butterfly final.

While it was a gutsy effort for her to back up so quickly after a major race, Hamill's time was nearly two seconds slower than the personal best she recorded at the 2009 world championships.

“It was a silver medal but it was still two seconds off my PB, so it wasn't a fantastic swim,” she said.

“I had the 200m fly that night, so I was very happy with the swim and to be so close to Hannah Miley, who's obviously a great swimmer, gave me a lot of confidence.

“I'm really looking forward to racing again.”

It has not, however, been a silky smooth preparation for the 20-year-old.

She has been battling a persistent shoulder injury since Delhi, spending six weeks out of the pool late last year.

“I'm trying to manage it at the moment because it's still not 100%, but you can only do what you can,” she said.

“I've got to do a lot more training this time than before (world championship) trials, which is good though.”

The Australian team heads to Singapore tomorrow for a training camp before the Shanghai meet.

Originally published as Sam relishes the Rice challenge