Renwick's second medal as he nets silver in Sheffield

CITY of Glasgow's Robbie Renwick, winner of the 400m event on the opening day, added a silver medal in the ultra-strong 200m freestyle at the British Gas Swimming Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield last night.

The 21-year-old was outside his British record in 1:47.96 and just missed out to England's Rob Bale (Loughborough) in a blanket finish. Bale touched in 1:47.82 and another Loughborough man, Ross Davenport, was third in 1:48.06. Scot David Carry was fourth in 1:48.17.

In GB terms, the event promises much for the 4x200m freestyle squad for the European Championships in Budapest in August, while it will be a real Scotland v England contest at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October.

In the opening race of the programme, Edinburgh University's Louise Pate clinched a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly. Loughbrough's Amy Smith took the title with a personal best of 26.88 with Beckenham's Ellen Gandy second in 27.20. Pate, who will be hoping to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, took the third place in 27.42.

Michael Jamieson was the leading Scot in the 100m breaststroke, winning his semi-final heat and taking third qualifying place overall for tonight's final. He finished in 1:01.76 – Daniel Sliwinski was quickest in 1:01.45.

Jamieson overshadowed his team mate, Olympian Kris Gilchrist, who qualified in fifth spot in 1:02.39. The pair are both attached to Edinburgh University but train in Paris with former City of Edinburgh coach Fred Vergnoux.

Gilchrist is better known as a 200m specialist and admitted that he has been laid low with a cold this week. His main focus is the Scottish Commonwealth Games trials in Glasgow in June. "Anything this week is a bonus," he said.

Stirling's Lucy Ellis also struck a blow for the new generation of Scots by taking third qualifying place in the 100m freestyle in 55.98, just squeezing out the vastly experienced double-Olympian Caitlin McClatchey (56.38). England's Fran Halsall was fastest in 54.98. One of the new stars to emerge from the championships is 16-year-old Achieng Ajulu-Bushell, who won the 50m breaststroke in 31.18. A former Kenyan international, the youngster was born in Manchester and is now training in Plymouth where she has switched allegiance to England. "Having switched country, there was a lot of pressure on me tonight," said the mature teenager. "But it is good to win my first National title."

In the 50m backstroke, Edinburgh University's Darren Ward just finished outside the medals in fourth place. The title went to Salford's Luke Ward in 26.17.