British trio make swimming finals

Liam Tancock qualified for the final sixth fastest

Britain's Gemma Spofforth, Robbie Renwick and Liam Tancock all qualified for their Olympics finals in Beijing.

Sussex-born Spofforth reached the 100m backstroke final, with Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry also setting a new world record of 58.77 seconds.

Scotland's Renwick reached the men's 200m freestyle final with the eighth fastest time after earning a late entry to the semi-finals.

Devon's Tancock qualified sixth fastest for the men's 100m backstroke.

Spofforth, a student at the University of Florida, finished third in her semi-final in a time of 59.79 seconds but team-mate Elizabeth Simmonds could only manage fifth place in the same race to miss out in 10th place overall.

In the 200m freestyle Renwick initially looked to have missed out on Monday's semi-finals by just 0.01s in the heats, but was handed a late reprieve when two other swimmers withdrew.

And the 20-year-old from Aberdeen took full advantage with a time of 1:47.07 to reach the final, finishing seventh in the fast second semi-final where Michael Phelps eased through in third.

"The last day has been a rollercoaster and I nearly didn't make it but it's great to make a final," said Renwick.

There was disappointment for Britain in the semi-finals of the 100m breaststroke, where both Kirsty Balfour and Kate Haywood missed out on a place in the final.

World record holder Tancock qualified in a time of 53.61 with Australia's Hayden Stoeckel setting an Olympic record of 52.97 in the second semi to lead the qualifiers into Tuesday's final.