Spofforth qualifies for the Olympics

Spofforth, the world record holder, won the women’s open 100m backstroke final at the British Swimming Championships at London Aquatic Centre in a time of 1min 00.19sec.

Georgia Davies, who finished second, also qualified for the Olympics in 1.00.21.

Spofforth, aged 24, was born in Shoreham, started swimming at Littlehampton Swimming Club and now swims for Portsmouth Northsea. She finished fourth in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in the 100m backstroke when she missed out on a bronze medal by 0.04sec.

A year later, she won the World Championships in Rome in a world record time of 58.12sec.