Loughborough College swimmer Molly Renshaw is going for gold after day five saw a record-breaking finish for her in the 200m breaststroke semi final – with a mixed day elsewhere for Team GB hockey.
The 20 year old clocked a British record of 2:22.33 seconds to qualify for tonight’s’s final – and the chance of a medal.
After the heats in the afternoon, Loughborough College Sport student Molly said her performance in the 100m breaststroke earlier in the week – when she missed out on progressing to the semi finals by six tenths of a second - had given her confidence.
“Everything I’ve done in the pool has been more 200m pace. I was happy with my time in the 100m. It was very close to my personal best and I wasn’t really expecting to be making the semis. So to be quite close gave me confidence.
“I knew it would take a strong [200m] heat swim to make it through so I was trying to focus on the process rather than the outcome and it worked for me.
“I’ve raced Rikke [Moller Pedersen] a few times this year at the Europeans and Mare Nostrum so it’s nice to be next to someone knowing how they race. She comes back pretty strong so it was good to understand where she would be.”
After her record- smashing swim in the semi-finals later in the day, Molly added: “It’s nice to have the British record back. That swim was amazing. I’ve wanted to go 2:22 for quite a while. After being off that at trials, it’s nice to be finally making the big drop here.
“I knew I had to go out a lot faster than the morning. My back end is strong but I know if I want to make the big drops, I’ve got to make them in the front 100m. So I tried to take out the race but still stick to my long counts and keep the hold down the last 100m.
“It’s amazing to be third fastest for the final. I think I came into this ranked 12th so to be up there feels amazing. I’m sure people will step it up but hopefully I can as well.”
The women’s 200m breaststroke final takes place tonight at 00.30 BST.
Team GB women meanwhile claimed an important win to stay unbeaten in the hockey while the men suffered a narrow defeat.
The women’s side, featuring former Loughborough College student Nicola White, were first in action and maintained their unbeaten record at Rio 2016 as they qualified for the Olympic quarter-finals with a 3-2 victory over Argentina.
The squad are now Group B leaders and will face Japan on Friday.
Great Britain men were left facing a must-win game in their final pool match after an agonizing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Australia in the evening match.
The men, with the squad featuring former Loughborough College student Henry Weir, now face a crucial match up with Spain in their final Pool A match with a quarter-final spot still remaining a possibility.