Representatives of the Canadian Olympic Committee toured sites including the English Institute of Sport, Attercliffe, and Ponds Forge.

The visit to the swimming pool co-incided with the FINA Diving World Series, last weekend

 

Mitch Geller, Canada's elite Pperformance manager, said: "I was almost in a state of shock at the amount of sports infrastructure here because of the initiative required to put it into place.

"That in itself speaks quite strongly of Sheffield's credibility in trying to make that all work in one city.

 

Geller added he was impressed at the way the FINA event had been hosted.

He said: "It was slick and flawless operation and one of the best-hosted events on the world circuit."

 

Geller has participated in four Olympic Games - as a coach in the 1992 Barcelona Games, as a CBC commentator at the 1996 Atlanta Games, and as the head coach of the Canadian diving team at the 2000 Sydney Games and 2004 Athens Games.

Most recently, Geller was Diving Canada's director of sport and the competition manager for the outstanding diving event at the world aquatic championships.

 

He was recently hired by the Road to Excellence, a Canadian initiative designed to ensure Canada finishes in the top 10 of the medals table at the 2012 Olympics.

 

His visit to Sheffield was secured by sports development organisation SportsPulse, based at Sheffield Hallam University, for whom city-based diver Leon Taylor acts as an ambassador.

He was among those who met the Canadians, alongside Gary Clifton, Sheffield Council's head of major events.

 

Sheffield have also been in talks with Serbia about them using their facilities in 2012.