GB win double relay gold on final day of London 2016

English swimmers helped Britain to a historic finish in the elite swimming events at LEN European Aquatics Championships 2016, claiming double gold at the London Aquatics Centre.

The men’s and women’s 4x100m Medley Relay teams swam fantastic races last night, ending the competition with 22 medals for GB. This is the first time Britain has won both long course medley relay events at a European Championships.

English swimmers Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Fran Halsall put in great times to assist with the victory, and the final time was over two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Their Scottish and Welsh counterparts, Kathleen Dawson and Chloe Tutton, showed great promise as international debutants.

It was O’Connor who created the resounding lead in her Butterfly leg, clocking 57.69 to leave Halsall with a great competitive edge.

She commented, “It feels absolutely amazing to win gold on the final night of the European Championships in London.

“The crowd have been amazing all week and having that home support has really made a difference to our performances.

“We’re all on such a high now. There’s lots of confidence within the team.”

In the men’s team, Chris Walker-Hebborn, Adam Peaty and James Guy provided the English contingent, and each put in some fantastic times alongside Scotland’s Duncan Scott. Between them, the quartet finished a full second clear.

Peaty split 58.08 to put the team ahead by over two seconds at the halfway point, and both Guy and Scott held onto the lead to help the men retain their title from two years ago.

“It’s a great arena to demonstrate our form and class and the rest of the world should be ready,” said Peaty.

“The chemistry is building within this team and that’s only going to grow in the build up to Rio, which will benefit us and help us perform stronger.”

Ben Proud took his second bronze of the competition, putting pressure on the lead pair in the 50m Freestyle to touch in 21.85 to reach the podium.

Halsall also powered her way to a silver medal in the women’s 50m Freestyle, taking her third individual medal of the competition in a time of 24.44.

  • Click here to view full results of the London 2016 European Championships
  • Click here to watch a full replay of the action from London.
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