Jo Jackson beat close rival Rebecca Adlington in a record breaking 400m freestyle at the British Swimming Championships.
Olympic bronze medallist Jackson set the new mark of 4:00.66 to pip her British team mate who also broke Federica Pellegrini’s previous world best by finishing in 4:00.89.
Jackson led throughout, and had more than half a second in hand on the final turn, but Adlington wouldn’t give up and remained on Jackson’s shoulder.
With both swimmers continuing at a world-record pace, it was Jackson who managed to hold on and claim the victory.
Adlington, who swam 1.35 seconds quicker than when she took gold seven months ago had only just returned to full training following a busy schedule after Beijing.
Victory for Jackson means she qualifies automatically for the 400m freestyle at this year’s World Swimming Championships in Rome. Adlington will have another chance to gain qualification at the event at the second trials in Scotland in June.
Scarlett Smith, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
