Britain’s men fought bravely in the final of the 4x200m freestyle but eventually succumbed to an Italian quartet who boasted greater strength in depth, leaving the home team to take the silver medal in a new British record time. There were no further medal successes on the penultimate night in Budapest but hopes remain of podium success on the final night as several swimmers progressed through their semi-finals.

A successful heats session for Britain came to an end with the men’s 4x200m freestyle team cruising into the final as second fastest qualifiers behind Italy but more than a second ahead of third placed Greece. The final look set to be a straight shoot out between Britain and Italy, with both teams likely to bring out the big guns for the evening session.

Kirsty Balfour was the toast of British Swimming in Budapest as she confirmed her favourite status and duly took the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke. Britain had no other finalists in the session but successfully progressed six swimmers to tomorrow’s finals.

The British men’s team bounced back after yesterday’s success from the ladies, claiming two bronze medals as the European Championships passed the halfway point. There was also a British record for the girls 800m freestyle relay team, but they finished just outside the medal placings.

There were no great dramas for Britain on the fourth morning of heats at the European Championships as those expected to progress did just that. Kirsty Balfour glided through the 200m breaststroke heats while Simon Burnett led the way in the 100m freestyle and the women’s relay squad comfortably qualified for tonight’s final.