Swimming: Keri-Anne Payne and Lizzie Simmonds miss out in funding cuts

Rebecca Adlington will be a bridesmaid at Payne's wedding (PA)

The legacy of Britain's disappointing performance in the pool at London 2012 has finally hit home. After suffering a £4m cut in funding, having picked up only three medals last year, British Swimming has announced that the former world champion Keri-Anne Payne and two-time European gold medallist Lizzie Simmonds are among those to have lost their personal funding for 2014.

Simmonds failed to qualify for this year's World Championships, while Payne was 14th in the 10km open water event, having just missed out on a medal at London 2012.

Only 62 swimmers will be given funding, compared with 97 in the build-up to the home Olympics. But the US-based 100m freestyle specialist Adam Brown is included for the first time as British Swimming will now support athletes based outside the UK.

Simmonds responded to the news by winning gold in the 50m backstroke in the Fina World Cup in Beijing, winning in a time of 26.83sec, and followed it up with a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke.

In the short-course event, Sophie Allen won silver in the 100m breaststroke, setting a British record of 1min 05.74sec, and bronze in the 200m individual medley.

Fran Halsall secured 50m freestyle silver, while Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson took silver in the 200m breaststroke.