Performances at British Last-Chance Qualifier Fall Off

SWANSEA, Wales, June 19. WHEN the British last-chance qualifying meet started on Friday night, several quality swims were produced, positive signs for next month’s World Championships in Montreal. Well, the second night of action brought different results, as several competitors missed their chance of earning a qualifying mark for the World Champs.

Looking for an invitation in the 100 butterfly, Todd Cooper missed the necessary qualifying mark when he managed a time of 52.85. Cooper, the British-record holder, needed to hit 52.50 and was surprised at his inability to produce a quicker swim. Matt Bowe was second in 54.34 and Matt Edwards claimed third place in 55.65.

"That has really upset me," Cooper said. "To be honest, I thought I was going to light it up tonight with a great performance. I've been swimming well and expected to go much quicker than that. I need to sit down with my coach Chris Martin to figure out just what went wrong. The time needed was well within me but it just didn't happen. I'm totally bemused."

One night after earning a qualifying standard in the 400 freestyle, David Carry narrowly missed advancing in the 200 free. Carry touched the wall in 1:48.44, but failed to match the required time of 1:47.74. Robbie Renwick finished second in 1:51.09. It seemed that Carry exerted too much energy in the 400 free and didn’t have the staying power in the final stretch of the 200 distance.

In other action, Katy Sexton prevailed in the 50 backstroke, going 29.39, and Kirsty Balfour was the top finisher in the 200 breaststroke, but only went 2:30.48. Kris Gilchrist took top honors in the 200 breast on the male side as he was timed in 2:16.07. Becky Cooke bested the competition in the 800 freestyle with an effort of 8:31.12.

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