Briton Jodie Swallow finishes second in World Cup

Jodie Swallow moved to Switzerland to improve her chances at London 2012

Britain's Jodie Swallow had to settle for second as she was pipped to the post by Ukraine's Yuliya Sapunova at the World Cup event in Hungary.

The pair had pulled away from the pack in the final lap of the run, with Swallow attempting a sprint finish 300 metres from home.

But it was not enough to hold off Sapunova who burst past to beat the Briton by two seconds.

"I've never felt that strong at the end," the Ukrainian said.

"I was not very confident in my sprint. I usually try to break away early in the run, because I have never been very good at sprinting, but today I felt different."

Sapunova finished the race in two hours and one minute exactly to win her first World Cup race.

World Cup events are in the second tier of the international calendar, below the World Championship Series, which included a leg in London earlier this month.

American Sara McLarty had led the swim and cycling stages, managing to build up a 90-second advantage at the front.

But that quickly vanished as the running stage entered the second lap, and Swallow and Sapunova pulled away for a thrilling sprint finish.

Swallow made the first move with 300 to go, but she couldn't hold off the impressive Sapunova who responded well, edging ahead in the final 100 metres to take the title.

The second-place finish comes four months after Swallow decided to relocate to Switzerland in order to train full-time and prepare for London 2012.

An injury-troubled 2009 meant the 29-year-old faced a funding shortfall.

"It's not a massively high-profile sport," she told BBC Essex in April.

"We're not multi-millionaires like footballers, but we work very hard and I've just got to keep the faith and just keep on going.

"There's not really another London triathlete going to the Olympics in 2012. I'm that girl, I need to do it."