Swiss swimmers settle for eighth

(l to r) Nicole Zahnd, Angela Zumstein and Sandrine Paquier watch their teammate Hannah Milushka on the last leg of the relay race Keystone

Switzerland's women swimmers have enjoyed some unexpected success at the European Championships in Helsinki with the 4x200-metre freestyle relay team reaching the final.

Angela Zumstein, Nicole Zahnd, Sandrine Paquier and Hanna Milushka broke the Swiss record by more than half a second during qualifying. Although they could only manage eighth place in the final itself, their performance was seen as an unexpected boost to an otherwise disappointing day.

None of the Swiss individuals in action on Tuesday made it into the finals. Agata Czaplicki and Carmela Schlegel failed to qualify for even the semi-finals of the 100-metre breaststroke.

Karel Novy, who has already qualified for the Olympics in the 100 metre freestyle had a bad day in his favourite discipline, finishing in 21st place overall. His compatriot, Christoph Bühler, who is also heading for Sydney in the 50-metre freestyle, was 13 places behind.

Dominique Diezi completed the misery, finishing 45th in the women’s 100 metre freestyle.

swissinfo with agencies