The Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay team will be the last British athletes involved at the end of a packed week of swimming when the final finals of the World Aquatics Championships take place on Saturday evening.
There are also finals for Anna Hopkin in the Women’s 50m Freestyle and Dan Jervis in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle, before the combined event will close Britain’s involvement in Budapest.
They booked their lane for the final with a solid morning swim from the quartet of Luke Greenbank, James Wilby, Jacob Peters and Lewis Burras.
Greenbank has become an established part of this relay team over recent years, and he laid down his usual platform after 100m of backstroke, before fellow Loughborough National Centre man Wilby – at the end of a busy week of individual and relay involvement – moved Britain up to third in a closely-contested heat at the halfway stage.
Peters delivered a good leg of butterfly to keep the GB outfit in the hunt for a top-three touch, with Burras bringing things home on the anchor leg, taking the first 50m out fast and then holding his pace to see Britain third in the heat and fifth-fastest overall into the final.
In the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay, the British foursome of Medi Harris, Molly Renshaw, Laura Stephens and Lucy Hope were unfortunately disqualified at the end of a race that saw them clock a time good enough for a finals berth.
Earlier in the session, Freya Colbert rounded out her maiden senior international meet in the heats of the Women’ 400m Individual Medley.
The Nova Centurions athlete could not quite replicate the new personal best time she managed back at the British Championships in April, although she showed strength in the backstroke and freestyle sections to ultimately place 12th in the world.
Reflecting on the swim and the entire competition, she said: “I think I was happy just to be the fastest I've been in the morning, one of the fastest times I've swam. On such a big stage, that's one of the positives I can take from it. Obviously I'm a bit disappointed I didn't make a final so I won't be able to come back for a second swim to have another go at it. But I'm pleased with how the week has gone as a whole.
“It's been a great experience and I feel like I've gained a lot of confidence throughout the week, so I'm quite happy.”
For full results from the heats, click here.
Visit our ‘What’s On?’ page here for a full rundown on how you can watch and listen to every finals swim from Budapest, as well as a look at which athletes are involved in each upcoming session.