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Nobody thought the European team had much of a chance against the Americans at swimming's in Manchester this weekend, but that didn't make the realisation of those fears any less grim.

One look at - 185-78 - tells you the United States team operated at a level far beyond that the combined British, German and Italian line-up could reach.

You may wonder why those latter nations are the three chosen to compete under the European banner. The answer is politics - those were the national teams prepared to take part and, even then, there were several German and Italian stars missing.

After this prototype event, hailed as a success with the media and fans and likely to become an annual fixture, top British swimmers and their head coach demanded more support from European colleagues.

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If you are a 22-year-old British swimmer with an unspectacular record after one Olympic appearance, and unknown outside the sport, you could not script a better way to announce yourself to the public.

Liverpudlian picked a head-to-head clash between Europe and the United States, shown live on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One, to in front of the nation.

has been the first event of its kind in Britain and, according to a delighted Rock, the format could spur British swimmers on to greater things.

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There was a point, early in , where it was by no means certain Europe would reach double figures.

After three races of their against the United States, the Americans led by 22 points to one and had set four world records. More than one world record per race (one was set in a leg of the men's medley relay) is a formidable average.

Over the last few years, Britain's swimmers have consistently improved. They now win more medals, and make more headlines. set, if you'll excuse the pun, a new high water mark.

Ahead of this event, she told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport that earning a duel against the US proved "they think we're pretty good, and they're probably worried". If there was worry out in the pool on Friday, it certainly wasn't wearing an American suit.

But she had given away the gulf that still exists between British and American swimmers when she spoke to me a day earlier, at the team hotel in Manchester.

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There's never been buzz around a swimming event in Britain like this. But then, there's never been a swimming event in Britain like this.

As night descends over Manchester on Friday, the city's will be illuminated by stars from four countries.

The United States, the superpower of world swimming led by in his first United Kingdom appearance, take on a European team comprising a host of top British names alongside swimmers from Germany and Italy.

While the firepower on display may be impressive, it's a made-for-TV event at the end of the season, so all the swimmers are talking about fun, not form.

Does that mean we should forget this event in the grand scheme of things? Or can the duel's demob-happy swimmers deliver?

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What do you expect the atmosphere to be like inside the locker room of an ice hockey team?

I can't remember what I expected before the game.

The plan was to film with the English Premier League's as they hosted fellow pre-season favourites the . I had visions of practical jokes, which became visions of hockey sticks going through camera lenses, which became visions of filling out one of the more ridiculous insurance claims in ´óÏó´«Ã½ history.

Mercifully, none of that came to pass, but it goes down as one of the more lively and tense evenings, even in the locker room of a team never once trailing during the match - as you can see from the video.

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