Witham swimming ace James Gibson admitted being 'absolutely gutted' after missing out on a podium place in the 100 metres breaststroke final in Athens.

The 24-year-old set the fourth-fastest time in the semi-finals - when he clocked one minute and 1.07 seconds to book his spot in last night's final.

However, in windy conditions, the 50m world champion failed to repeat his heroics as he came home in sixth spot in 1.36s - just ahead of team-mate Darren Mew.

Gibson said: "I tried so hard and don't know what went wrong. I had the best preparation ever.

"I'm absolutely gutted. This is the one medal missing from my collection. I will go back in four years to give it a go." Gibson and Mew had reached the turn in fourth and fifth position respectively but were unable to get among the medals as Japan's Kosuke Kitajima took gold ahead of American Brendan Hansen.

Published Monday August 16, 2004

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