By Mark Foster Former British Olympic swimmer

Parry claims butterfly bronze

It's been a long time coming, but Stephen Parry's bronze medal has finally got the GB swimming team off the mark.

Stephen very nearly didn't even make the semi-final. He sneaked in by 0.05 seconds and as soon as that happened I had a feeling the gods were smiling on him.

He was in an outside lane in the semi-finals, with no pressure and he came up with an absolutely awesome swim - a British and Commonwealth record.

Of course that meant the pressure came back on him in the final.

Starting a final as the fastest qualifier and in lane four is always tricky because there's only one way you can go and that's down.

Let's be honest - he was never going to beat Michael Phelps.

But he held his nerve, came up with another Commonwealth and British record, and you can't really ask for more than that.

Stephen said he was disappointed because it wasn't a gold. It goes without saying that everyone who competes in the Olympics wants to win, but you have to know your limitations.

When the pressure was on, he produced his best time and that shows enormous guts and determination.

He came fourth at the world championships last year so he knows what it's like to lose out. He really deserves this success.

Hopefully the rest of the team will look at Stephen and think 'if he can do it, I can do it' Mark Forster

When he was coming through the ranks, he trained in the US and really learnt his trade there. He's a true professional.

But as a bloke, he's always up for a laugh, and loves the craic.

He's a very relaxed guy and he's got a lovely personality - always mucking around and keeping the spirits of the whole team up.

He's a great team guy because he makes sure the atmosphere stays relaxed.

It can get pretty tense at a major championship like the Olympics and you need someone like Stephen around to stop everybody building things up in their mind too much.

Stephen's success could inspire the team on to more medals now, and I really hope it does.

Hopefully the rest of the team will look at Stephen and think 'he's got two arms and two legs just like me so if he can do it, I can do it.'

It can be a case of waiting for someone to break the ice and then everyone else will follow.

It might rub off on the team, or all the cheering him on could leave them exhausted!

We shouldn't forget the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team either. Those guys did a fantastic job and, although they finished out of the medals in fourth, their performance could also really lift the team.

This has been our best day by far, but we should be looking for a lot more to come.