ELLEN GANDY’S fifth place in the 100m butterfly was the best result for Great Britain on the second day of action at the World Championships in Shanghai.
Melbourne-based Gandy moved from last on the final turn to 0.49 seconds off the bronze medal position, three places ahead of teammate Jemma Lowe.
Hannah Miley was then seventh in the 200m individual medley while both Liam Tancock and Lizzie Simmonds both faced agonising waits before discovering they had reached their respective 100m backstroke finals.
The day got off to a bad start when Gemma Spofforth’s defence of her 100m backstroke title ended at the first hurdle following a bout of sickness on the eve of the competition, with open water champion Keri-Anne Payne also missing the 1500m final.
The evening was also notable for Cesar Cielo’s victory in the 50m butterfly, days after the Brazilian was cleared to compete after the Court of Arbitration chose not to impose a ban despite a positive drugs test, instead upholding a warning.
As at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Cielo, a double defending champion, wept on the podium.
Gandy and Lowe were in the first event of the night at the Oriental Sports Centre where, with each swimmer emerging through a sliding door with a spotlight trained upon them, the introductions were more akin to a boxing match.
Commonwealth silver medallist Gandy admitted she had changed tactics after going out too fast previously.
She said: “I tried a different approach so I was able to come back a lot stronger.
“I am really happy with that swim.
“It’s the fastest I’ve gone at this meet so I’ve got to be pleased.”
The race was won by American Dana Vollmer in a blistering 56.87s ahead of Commonwealth champion Alicia Coutts with Lu Ying in third.
Lowe has blossomed since moving back to Britain to train under Bud McAllister at Swansea ITC after an 18-month stint in Florida.
But after finishing last in the final, she said: “I’m a bit disappointed.
“It would have been nice to have gone faster in the final but I was really happy last night I had managed to get into my first world final.
“I’ve got the 200 on Wednesday so I’m really looking forward to that.”
Miley faced a fearsome field in the 200m individual medley and was never in contention, although a repeat of Sunday’s semi-final time would have lifted the Scot two places.
Instead, she was 0.41 slower in 2:10.95 in a race won by China’s Ye Shiwen, whose charge from fifth with 100m to go to win by 0.10 from Coutts was greeted with a deafening roar.
