Swimming: Michael Jamieson takes silver and sets new record

OLYMPIC silver medallist Michael Jamieson added another medal to his collection after taking second in the 200 metres breaststroke at the World Short-Course Championships in Istanbul last night.

The 24-year-old had only squeezed into the final as the slowest qualifier but he underlined the hunger that drove him to silver at this year’s Olympics by touching second behind Daniel Gyurta, who also beat him to gold in London.

Jamieson lowered his own British record to two minutes 03.00 seconds, with team-mate Andrew Willis in fifth, just 0.21secs off the podium.

The 24-year-old Jamieson had described his effort in this morning’s heat as “hopeless”, saying he had little drive off the wall, a problem which is exacerbated in a short-course (25m) pool where there are seven turns.

His frustration after the heat, and following the 100m earlier this week, was clear but it is part of the hunger that helped drive him on when he was living in Paris without funding in an attic room so small he could stand in the middle and touch both walls and with a shower that doubled as a wardrobe.

Jamieson said: “It just goes to show the power of psychology. I was disappointed with the 100m the other day and this morning.

“To be honest, after I came out of that heat I didn’t even want to swim the final after seeing the result, I was just so annoyed.

“But I just went back and dressed myself down a bit – it just goes to show you can race best times unrested.

“I just went it for it tonight – it was a bonus to get in so I just decided to go for it from the start. I didn’t want to lose I guess.”

Winner Gyurta said: “Based on the heats I decided to push from the beginning. I wanted the race to be decided after the first 150 metres and I managed to do that, because the others could not take the pace.”

Lizzie Simmonds, a Bath stablemate of Jamieson and Willis, was fifth in the 200m backstroke.

The 21-year-old also squeezed in in eighth place but was third with 50m to go although the fact she is in the midst of heavy training had an undoubted effect in the latter stages.

Simmonds, fourth in London, was overhauled and finished in 2:04.55, 0.40secs off the podium.

In other events, Paul Biedermann of Germany won a second gold medal for Germany in the 400 freestyle, overtaking China’s Yun Hao with 50m to go and winning in 3:39.15. Hao took silver in 3:39.48 and Mads Glaesner of Denmark bronze in 3:40.09.

Hao said the last turn didn’t go well and that he didn’t realise Biedermann was gaining on him in the last leg. “I was keeping an eye on the others, but when I touched the wall I thought I was first,” Hao said. “I didn’t see him.”

In the women’s 400 freestyle, Melanie Costa Schmid of Spain staged a similar acceleration in the final leg to get the gold in 4:01.08. Chloe Sutton of the United States won silver in 4:01.20 and Lauren Boyle of New Zealand was third in 4:01.24. World record-holder Camille Muffat of France did not participate.

Chinese women won gold and silver in the 50 butterfly when Ying Lu touched the wall first in 25.14 and Liuyang Jiao was next in 25.23. Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen took the bronze in 25.55.