• London 2012 Olympics

Tancock complains at lack of 50m backstroke

Liam Tancock is the reigning world champion at the 50m backstroke © Getty Images

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• Profile: Fran Halsall | Liam Tancock

Liam Tancock, Great Britain's reigning world champion at the 50m backstroke, has expressed his frustration that he will not be able to compete in the event at next year's Olympic Games.

Tancock has won the world title at the 2009 and 2011 Championships, yet London 2012 will not feature the 50m discipline. As result, Tancock will have to target the 100m, an event in which he is far less prolific.

The 26-year-old's total career medal tally for the 50m reads two gold medals and two bronze at the World Championships, one gold and one silver at the Commonwealths, and one silver at the Europeans. By contrast, his record over 100m at the Worlds reads just the solitary bronze medal in 2007.

"I don't actually understand why it's not in the Olympics. It's in the Worlds, it's in the Europeans, the Commonwealths, it's in every major meet we go to," Tancock said on Sky Sports News.

"It wouldn't be a lot of extra effort for them to put in an extra 50 metres. I'll have to focus on the 100m and hope that by next year I'm a bit quicker."

Fran Halsall, another British medal hope in the freestyle and butterfly, has other concerns on her mind, insisting she finds it difficult to even picture competing at the Olympic Games, until she assures her qualification in March.

"My biggest fear is not qualifying for the actual Games, which we still have to do in March. That's the hard part," Halsall said. "Going to the Olympics you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. But qualifying, you could lose your dream by 0.1s."

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