Hannah Miley of Britain won gold in the 400m individual medley on the first day of swimming's European Championships in Budapest yesterday.
Miley overtook pre-race favourite Katinka Hosszu of Hungary with two laps to go and held on to win in 4min 33.09sec, a new meeting best. Hosszu, the European record holder, was 3.34sec behind, with compatriot Zsuzsanna Jakabos third. "It's great, a fantastic race," the Swindon-born Miley said. "The Hungarians put a lot of pressure on me."
Hosszu's first lap was the fastest of the race, but it may have contributed to her poor finish. "I am not disappointed with the silver medal, but rather by my time," Hosszu said. "I probably started the race too fast."
The 200m backstroke semi-final was won by Duane Da Rocha Marce of Spain, ahead of two British swimmers, Elizabeth Simmonds and Gemma Spofforth.
In the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, Germany, expertly anchored by Daniela Schreiber, took gold. She began the last two laps with her team in fourth place but was able to take gold. Britain took silver and Sweden bronze.
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