Joanna Fargus, who finished ninth at last year's Olympic Games continued her improvement with a British record for the 200m backstroke on day one of the Scottish Championships which are doubling up as the final opportunity for British swimmers to achieve World Championship qualifying times.

The eighteen-year old who qualified Japan in April, was determined not to relinquish her new found number one spot. She knew she would have a battle on her hands as both Katy Sexton and Sarah Price wanted the number two spot.

Sexton, the Commonwealth champion set the early pace but Fargus was always in close attention. Just 400ths seperated the two going into the final turn. Fargus was the stronger over the last 50m inching ahead to win in 2:11.04 0.21sec inside the British record. Her time is the second fastest in the world this year. In second place was Sexton in 2min 11.65sec with Price a further 0.25sec behind.

Jamie Salter and Edward Sinclair produced the swims of their lives to win the 400m freestyle at the Scottish Championships in Glasgow last night, and deny Paul Palmer the 1996 Olympic silver medallist, a swim in the event at next month's World Championships in Japan next month.

Salter the 200m freestyle Olympic finalist, headed the field from the start and for half the race was inside Palmer's schedule for the British record. With just 100m remaining there was nothing between Sinclair at twenty the youngest of the trio, and Salter.

Just six hundredths separated the pair as they lunged for the wall but both had recorded personal bests and their times of 3:50.47 and 3:50.53 respectively were inside the world championships qualifying time.

Palmer has won medals at every major championship except the Commonwealth that he missed in both 1994 and 98 due to illness and injury. He will go to the championships having already qualified for the shorter 200m and will join Salter and Sinclair in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Both Salter and Sinclair have moved in search of swimming glory. Salter followed his coach to Tim Jones from the midlands to Scotland and was pleased to gain his success on what he calls "home soil". Sinclair joined Dave Calleja in Manchester and feels "It has helped" he know trains with the 1996 Olympic bronze medallist Graeme Smith.

But there was no joy for James Hickman and Mark Foster. Hickman won the 100m butterfly in 54.14 over one second outside his best and a place on the team for Japan. Foster failed by just 200th to book a place on the 50m freestyle.

Foster established a British record of 22.13 last month but Bill Sweetenham the Performance Director will not accept it as it was recorded in a time trial.