Payne fails in final bid

SWIMMER Keri-Anne Payne failed in her second attempt to reach an Olympic Games final.

The 20-year-old, who scraped into the semi-finals of the 200m individual medley, never threatened to make the final eight today.

Payne reached the semi-finals as the 15th fastest swimmer in the heats, although her time of two minutes 12.78 seconds was slower than her qualifying time for Beijing which had made her the ninth quickest in the event.

But in the second semi-final, Payne finished in 2:14.14 which was well below her best as she finished last overall.

Payne, whose mother is credit controller for Oldham firm Character Options, said: “I was disappointed with my time and I guess it was destined not to be.

“I am still the 16th fastest swimmer in the world which I suppose isn’t too bad.”

Payne has one week to regroup for her third and final event, the 10k open-water swim next Wednesday which is at the rowing venue.

“I will be getting back into the water quickly to try to regain some of the fitness which I have lost in the last few days,” she explained.

o JAMES Goddard, another swimmer with local connections, has little over 24 hours to decide whether to compete in two events tomorrow.

Goddard is scheduled to compete in the 200m backstroke, an event he finished fourth in the Athens final four years ago, and 200m individual medley in the same session.

But due to the exhaustive scheduling, Goddard is contemplating pulling out of one race to boost his chances of a medal.