Joanne Jackson and Rebecca Adlington clinched the silver and the bronze medal respectively in the women’s 400m Freestyle at the World Championships in Rome. The home favourite Federica Pellegrini won the gold with a record breaking time of 3: 59.15. Pellegrini became the first woman in the history of swimming to break the four minute mark for the 400m freestyle.
Britain’s Jo Jackson from Richmond set a national record (4:00.60) and Becky Adlington from Mansfield finished in 4:00:79. The two British swimmers bagged the first medals for Great Britain in this year’s World Championships.
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The 400m freestyle final was one of the most exciting events of the day with Jackson making an incredible start. It was at the 100m point that Pellegrini took the lead.
“I am so proud of what Becky and I achieved tonight. For me it’s a place better than Beijing and I’m really happy with that,” said an ecstatic Jackson, who is coached by Dave McNulty.
Adlington who was disappointed with her heat results and who admitted to having struggled to get her rhythm in the championship was also satisfied with her performance. “This race was always going to make history and to do a best time and be a part of it is amazing….There’s more expectation and pressure on me so to come off the back of the Olympics and get a world medal means everything.”
Aside from Jackson and Adlington, the other British women swimmers also performed well. The British women’s relay team in 4X100m Freestyle broke the national record on Sunday morning and sealed a berth in the final. The team consisting of Fran Halsall, Caitlin McClatchey, Katherine Wyld and Amy Smith finished in 3:36:99.
In the women’s 200m Individual Medley, British Olympic finalist Hannah Miley qualified third fastest for the final. She created another British record by finishing the race in 2:07.03.
Ellen Gandy faced tough competition in the second semi-final of the women’s 100m butterfly. Gandy clocked 58.25 and was ranked overall 16th.
Payoshni Mitra, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
