Harrison misses out on final spot

IRELAND’S Ryan Harrison narrowly missed out on reaching the final of the European Swimming Championships in Budapest yesterday.

The 21-year-old began the day with a respectable 1.49.80 heat swim in the morning and qualified 11th fastest for the semi-final.

He was looking ahead to the evening to put together another good race. A sub-1.49 swim was what was needed if he was to qualify for the final, and, after a gutsy swim — his second all-time best in fact — he finished 0.12secs shy of that, touching the wall in 1.49.04 — 10th place overall and second alternate reserve for the final.