FINAL FLOURISH HELPS BRITAIN TO CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
The British swim team made history tonight and were named
Champions of Europe after a late medal flourish boosted their
tally to 13 - the largest number ever won by a British squad
at the European Championships (50m).
The women's 4x100m Medley team rounded off a successful meet
with gold in a new British record time of 4:02.24. The quartet
of Mel Marshall, Terri Dunning, Kirsty Balfour and Fran Halsall
smashed three seconds off the previous British best in an
exciting race that saw 16-year-old Halsall go head to head
with German world record holder Britta Steffen on the final
leg.
"I saw the German coming up on me and I thought I can't
let anyone past me - I'm British," said a delighted Halsall.
"It was so hard over the last 50m but I managed to hold
on and I'm thrilled to get the gold."
"I love swimming in the relays," added Balfour,
whose personal medal tally has now risen to two gold and a
silver. "I wanted to do my best for the team and to win
another gold is excellent."
European Record holders Germany touched just a tenth of a
second behind Britain in 4:02.35 and France collected bronze
in 4:03.64.
Boosted by the women's relay performance, the men were hunting
for a medal in their medley event and came home with bronze
in a fast field that saw the Championship Record fall to winners
Russia in 3:34.96. Liam Tancock, James Gibson (both Loughborough
University), Todd Cooper (Stirling) and Simon Burnett (Wycombe
District) were just off the British Record as they touched
home in 3:36.61, four tenths of a second behind silver medallists
Ukraine.
"We watched the girls' swim from the call room and it
gave us real inspiration," said Gibson. "We've got
a great team here with a lot of depth which is good for the
future of British swimming. The guys who swam this morning
got us here, so it really is a team medal."
"That's the last swim of the meet for all of us so we
all gave it 110%," added Burnett. "We're all hurting
a lot, but the girls showed us what's possible. We're a close-knit
team and we've come away with the bronze. It's a great result."
Earlier this evening, the Brits collected two medals in the
women's 400m Freestyle as Jo Jackson (Durham Aquatics) and
Caitlin McClatchey (Loughborough University) pushed their
limits behind French starlet Laure Manadou who swam to gold
in a World Record 4:02.13. Jackson set a personal best for
silver in 4:07.76 and McClatchey touched next for bronze in
4:08.13.
"I really wanted to get in there tonight and swim a
best time," said Jackson. "We did so well and I'm
really chuffed for both of us.
"I knew Caitlin had a fast back 50m and I just had to
go for it. I didn't qualify for the World Championships this
morning so to swim the time tonight was my main aim, but to
get that, set a PB and win silver is great. I'm really pleased
to end my season like that."
McClatchey, who missed out on qualification for the 200m
event earlier this week was back on track and pleased with
her performance.
"I was really disappointed not to qualify for the 200m
so I really went at it in the heats today," she explained.
"I did my best and I was just pleased to make the final
and qualify for the Worlds. I was hurting so bad on that last
100m, but I thought it's my last swim of the year and it's
what I trained for. I saw Jo on that final 50m and I just
went for it."
Loughborough University's Kate Haywood was also on form to
swim to silver in 31.71 in the 50m Breaststroke, but was disappointed
not to win gold after qualifying fastest for the final.
"That finish was awful - I pretty much gave it away,"
she said. "My starts are always a bit ropey, but I managed
to get it right in the heats and semis, it just went wrong
today.
"I've had a good week overall. I swam a lot better here
than at the Commonwealths and I've got silver so I can't complain.
I feel like I'm getting back on track. I've got my time for
the Worlds now, so I'll be back in the pool after the break
and hopefully improve on that performance in Melbourne next
year."
In the 200m Butterfly, 15-year-old Jessica Dickons showed
she can keep up with the seniors as she swam her way to fifth
place in 2:09.76. The Borough of Stockton swimmer pulled back
on the final length but lost out on the touch, with Otylia
Jedrzejczak of Poland securing gold in 2:07.09.
"My plan was to go out in 75 seconds, pick it up and
go as fast as I could on the way back," she said. "I
did that tonight, but the other swimmers were faster.
"This week has been all about experience and I've learnt
a lot of things that I can take home and improve on so I can
do even better on my next senior team."
In the men's 400m Individual Medley, Loughborough University's
David Carry was the only Brit through to the final, but despite
a swift return on the freestyle leg he was unable to reach
the podium, finishing fourth in 4:18.86. Home favourite Laszlo
Cseh won in a new Championship Record of 4:09.86.
"I've really fought at it this week and it's been hard
going, but my short racing has improved a huge amount,"
said Carry. "The Commonwealths took it out of my distance
events, so I'm looking forward to doing a solid block of training
in the run-up to the Worlds.
"My main meet this year was the Commonwealths but I
tried to keep it going to this event. I've finished fourth,
been involved in two British Records and I'm still a little
disappointed with my performance, which is exciting in a way."
The final flurry of medals puts Britain's best ever swimming
performance at a European Championships to 13 (two gold, five
silver and six bronze). With the third largest number of medals
won at this event (behind Italy and France who have 15 medals
apiece) and the greatest number of points scored - a total
of 698 compared to France's 641, Britain were presented with
the Championship trophy in tonight's closing ceremony.
"What a fantastic end to a great meet," said head
coach Ian Turner. "We've brought a large group of swimmers
and coaches and they've all benefited from this experience.
We now need to refocus towards Melbourne and ultimately Beijing."
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