Jack Burnell won a hard-fought silver medal in his first race of the season when he led the British contingent home at the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon World Cup race in Abu Dhabi.
The National Centre, Loughborough athlete finished on the podium behind Marc Olivier from France and was at the top of a large, chasing pack to take the silver from Simon Ruffini of Italy.
In the women’s event former world champion and Olympic silver medallist Keri-anne Payne was the first British athlete home and was agonisingly close to a medal. The Warrender swimmer finished fourth - less than half-a-second from a place on the podium.
In the men’s event Caleb Hughes and Toby Robinson (both National Centre, Loughborough) finished 21st and 55th respectively from a field of over 80 male swimmers while Danielle Huskisson (University of Stirling) and Sophie Evans (City of Swansea) were 14th and 36th from a field of over 55.
The World Cup circuit comprises of seven races across the World from Argentina to Hong Kong. The race was the second on the FINA/HOSA World Cup calendar and will be an early season test for the swimmers.
The British squad comprised:
Jack Burnell – National Centre Loughborough
Sophie Evans – City of Swansea
Caleb Hughes – National Centre Loughborough
Danielle Huskisson – University of Stirling
Toby Robinson – National Centre Loughborough
Keri-anne Payne – Warrender Baths