OLYMPICS UPDATE: Spofforth qualifies for semi-final

West Sussex swimmer Gemma Spofforth safely negotiated the heats of the 100m backstroke at the Aquatics Centre on Sunday morning.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Jul 2012, 13:21 BST

Spofforth admitted she had plenty to improve on in Sunday evening’s semi-final, which will also involve her GB team-mate Georgia Davies.

Twenty-four-year-old Spofforth, cheered on by members of her Slindon family, was seen laughing and joking with Beijing silver medallist Kirsty Coventry before her race.

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The Shoreham-born ace did enough to qualify, reaching the night’s semi-final 12th quickest in 1.00.05min.

Spofforth said: “(There was) a lot of little mistakes there, my start wasn’t great I slipped on my streamline, finish was awful, there’s a lot of things I can improve on. I let the crowd get away from me a little bit. I’ve been saying all along that it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

Shoreham-born Spofforth, who swam at the Littlehampton and Bognor pools as a youngster, has never won an Olympic medal - she missed bronze by the narrowest of margins in Beijing in 2008.

We’ll have the outcome of Sunday evening’s semi-final here later. The final is on Monday evening.

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