Osrin surges to silver for Britain at European Junior Swimming Championships

Great Britain’s Honey Osrin produced a stunning turnaround to win a silver medal on the second day of the European Junior Swimming Championships in Kazan.

The Plymouth Leander swimmer was fifth at the halfway mark of the Women’s 200m Backstroke final, but moved into the podium positions at the final turn.

Osrin chased down Italian Erika Francesca Gaetani and looked to have caught her rival as the pair touched the wall almost simultaneously.

But the Brit was just 0.02s away from the title as she won silver in a personal best time of 2:10.30.

Osrin – who will also represent Great Britain at the World Junior Championships next month – will be back in action when the 100m Backstroke gets underway on Saturday.

Pipped to the podium

Britain’s Mixed 4x100m Freestyle relay team were agonisingly close to winning bronze, finishing just 0.67s off the podium places.

The team of Matthew Richards, Jacob Whittle, Tamryn Van Selm and Evelyn Davis finished strongly, but couldn’t chase down the third-placed Italians, settling for fourth.

Team-mates set for final showdown

Matthew Richards and Jacob Whittle both qualified for Friday’s Men’s 100m Freestyle final.

The pair were part of the team that won bronze in the 4x100m Freestyle relay on the opening day.

Welshman Richards qualified fastest after winning the first semi-final in 49.50s, while Derventio Excel Swim Squad’s Jacob Whittle dipped just under the 50-second mark to book his place in the final.

Charlie tested by strong field

Charlie Brown finished sixth in a tightly contested Men’s 100m Backstroke final.

The City of Sheffield swimmer – who will also feature at the World Junior Championships – touched the wall in 54.96s, just 0.83s behind Italian winner Thomas Ceccon.

Valuable experience for Freeman

Plymouth Leander’s Sophie Freeman was eighth in the Women’s 200m Butterfly final, but will take plenty of confidence from challenging Europe’s elite.

The 15-year-old was the youngest swimmer in the field, with the winner almost two years her senior.

Freeman finished in 2:14.29, just 0.02s slower than her semi-final time.

Kayla on track for final

Kayla van der Merwe qualified third-fastest for Friday’s Women’s 200m Breaststroke final.

The Winchester City Penguins swimmer was second in her semi-final, finishing in 2:27.18, just 0.05s behind Russian winner Anastasia Makarova.

Mildred makes his move

Edward Mildred continued his impressive start to the championships, reaching the final of the Men’s 200m Butterfly.

The Northampton Swimming Club member – who won relay bronze on the opening night – swam a personal best time of 2:00.27 to qualify fifth-fastest for Friday’s final.

Photo: Tim Jones/Twitter