Impressive Kayla van der Merwe has eyes on a world and European double

Kayla van der Merwe continued her impressive form as she secured another chance of winning a FINA World Junior Swimming Championships medal.

Only 24 hours after claiming a silver in the 50m Breaststroke, the 16-year-old Winchester City Penguins swimmer was fastest qualifier for the 100m Breaststroke final in Budapest.

After qualifying for the semi-finals quickest in a time of 1:07.50, van der Merwe then topped the semi-final rankings after clocking 1:07.17.

That was 0.01 seconds quicker than Russia’s Evgeniia Chikunova (1:07.18) and sets up the prospect for a thrilling final on Friday 23 August.

It also gives van der Merwe the opportunity to claim a golden double after she topped the podium in the European Junior Championships 100m Breaststroke in Kazan, Russia, in July.

Great Britain’s Charlotte Rigg failed to reach the semi-finals after finishing 22nd overall in the heats.

The City of Birmingham swimmer touched home in 1:11.05 to take eighth place in her race.

No joy for Bell or Brown

In the Men’s 800m Freestyle, City of Leicester’s William Bell took 17th spot in a time of 8:08.66.

Bell was 22.74 seconds behind the gold medallist, Croatia’s Franko Grgic, who clocked 7:45.92.

In the Men’s 50m Backstroke, Charlie Brown missed out on a semi-final spot after finishing seventh in his heat.

His time of 26.25 was 0.07 seconds outside his personal best and left him in 23rd place overall.