• FINA Swimming World Championships

Adlington and Jackson fail to reach semi-finals

Rebecca Adlington admitted she lacked pace in the 200m freestyle heats © PA Photos

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Rebecca Adlington's bid for a first world title continues after she failed to reach the semi-finals of the 200m freestyle at the World Championships in Shanghai.

Double Olympic champion Adlington, who won gold at the 400m and 800m events in Beijing, has added the shorter distance to her schedule in order to decide whether to challenge for three individual medals at next year's London 2012 Olympics.

She won silver in the 400m on Sunday, but has never won gold at a World Championships, and now has one last chance in the 800m after she and team-mate Jo Jackson disappointed in the 200m heats.

Jackson finished seventh in her heat and 23rd overall with a time of one minute 59.40 seconds, with Adlington four tenths of a second down on her team-mate.

"I've got zero speed. It's so tough," Adlington said. "I'm still sore from the 400. I'm glad I did that even though it was painful. It's nice to get in a swim that washes the 400 away and washes all the pain away. I would have loved to have sneaked a 1:58 but hopefully we'll make the final of the 4x200 relay."

Jackson, who finished over a second slower than her season's best, was frustrated with her efforts. "I'm a bit disappointed," she admitted. "I definitely had more in me. I've been feeling really good. I'll keep going for next year."

Britain's Liam Tancock finished sixth in the 100m backstroke final after two Frenchmen shared the gold medal in a dead heat. A French male had never before won a world title, but Jeremy Stravius and Camille Lacourt clocked 52.76 to claim an unlikely double, with Japan's Ryosuke Irie winning bronze.

Tancock, who defends his 50m backstroke title on Sunday, was happy with his performance. "For me it was pretty much about getting to the final," he said. "On the world stage, sixth place is not bad. I have got a couple of days now to rest and recover for the 50m and I am looking forward to that one."

Lizzie Simmonds finished seventh in the 100m backstroke final, as China's Zhao Jing delighted the Shanghai crowd with victory by just one one-hundredth of a second from Russia's Anastasia Zueva.

Fourteen-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps was beaten by USA team-mate Ryan Lochte in the 200m freestyle. Lochte produced a superb sprint finish to clinch a narrow victory. Phelps took silver ahead of defending champion Paul Biedermann.

Michael Rock missed out on the final of the 200m butterfly after clocking the slowest time in the semi-finals. Having scraped through the heats, Rock admitted he had been struggling with illness in the lead-up to the race.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.