Britain's women were in record-breaking form in the final of the 4x200m freestyle relay at the European Championships in Eindhoven.

They took the silver medal and nearly stole the show as they smashed the British record.

A new quartet of Jo Jackson, Mel Marshall, Ellen Gandy and Caitlin McClatchey took nearly five seconds off Britain's previous best time, set in Melbourne last year, and came so close to overhauling eventual winners France in the process.

"We're all so proud of what we've achieved," said Jackson.

"We're still in training but we all went out there to do our best and we did a fantastic job to take the silver in such a fast time."

McClatchey admitted her time came as surprise, she said: "We worked very hard and put ourselves right up there on the podium. Sometimes we haven't fulfilled our potential but we certainly did that today."

European champion Kirsty Balfour eased into the final of the women's 200m breaststroke with a confident semi-final performance as she qualified fourth fastest.

With the British Championships beginning on March 31 in Sheffield, Balfour's priority at this stage in the season is to try to add the 100m event to her Olympic programme and will be looking to be at her best in a week's time.

David Davies was second fastest qualifier for tomorrow night's final of the men's 1500m freestyle.

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