Interview with Craig Figes
Craig Figes is the Great Britain water polo captain and has just guided the side through their biggest tournament in many years at the LEN European Nations Trophy in Manchester, where they finished sixth. Now he starts a five-year mission to help prove that GB can compete at the 2012 London Olympics. We caught up with him to see what he's been up to since returning to England from playing in Spain.
1. You played in the LEN European Nations Trophy in Manchester over the summer, how was that?
It was good, very good to play in front of a home crowd. The support there from the aquatic community was tremendous. I think we exceeded expectations by finishing sixth.
2. You were only narrowly defeated by the Ukraine in your last match – did you think you could have finished higher?
I don't think we could have broken into the top four, but playing water polo at that level, games are decided on very small mistakes. A lot of our games were very close and to be competing at that level is fantastic.
3. How did you first get into water polo?
Through my family. My mother was a professional swimmer and pretty much everyone in my family, right through to my cousins, has competed at a professional level.
4. What has been the highlight of your career?
It's hard to say. Playing in the Commonwealth games was amazing, but so was captaining the Great Britain team. But personally, just playing against some of the top players in the world when I was in Spain and Australia was great.
5. I hear you’re a football fan, who do you follow?
I'm a Bristol City fan. I've been playing abroad a lot recently so I haven't been to see them, but I think when you are involved in sport you get even more passionate about your team - I also follow Bristol Rugby Club.
6. You’ve just moved back to England after living in Spain for a while, what are the differences in water polo here and in Europe?
The main difference is that there is a full professional league in Europe. It's no coincidence that the teams with the leagues - Spain, Italy, Serbia, Hungary - also have the best national teams. English sport is dominated by one or two sports, but in Europe I can have a conversation with somebody in the street about water polo and they know what I'm talking about.
7. If you weren’t a water polo player, what do you think you would be doing?
A teacher. The main reason I came back to England was to study for my PGCE in Manchester - otherwise I might still be in Spain! I'd love to become a teacher or a sports coach in the future.
8. Do you think you will still be part of the Great Britain team in 2012?
I don't know. I will be 33 by then so if I do then it will be the pinnacle of my career, if not the end of it. It depends on my body, I am taking it year by year. The age range for water polo is similar to football, so at 33 I could still be at the top of my game, or I could be on the way out.
9. The team can qualify as hosts, but they will want to be competitive. What do you think they need to do to improve?
To qualify as hosts, we have to be as competitive as the team we would replace. That makes it difficult because at the moment we would have to be better than the eighth-best team in Europe. And because Europe is the powerhouse in the sport that means the eighth-best team in the world. We have got a lot of work to do but the right steps are being taken to get us there. It's not cut and dried that we will be there in 2012 but things are looking positive, apart from me, most of the players are quite young.
10. What advice do you have for budding young swimmers?
At a young age just do as much as you can of any sport you can until you get to a point where one sport takes over. When I was young I was a professional swimmer and I also played football, rugby, volleyball. You have to work as hard as you can, and expose yourself to as much top-level water polo as you can.
