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JO Jackson sealed her second Olympic berth yesterday after a gutsy bronze in the 200m freestyle final at the British Championships.

The Northallerton-born star clocked 1.58.77 minutes in a starstudded final to add a relay spot to the 400m individual event she bagged earlier in the week.

The 21-year-old edged out Olympic veteran Mel Marshall to claim her place on the podium, but had to settle for third behind British record holder Rebecca Adlington and Commonwealth gold medallist Caitlin Mc- Clatchey.

Jackson, who recorded a personal best time of 1.58.58 minutes in the heats, had failed to qualify for the 800m individual event on Saturday after only claiming bronze.

She said: "I was absolutely gutted not to have qualified for the 800m.

"I'd made it in the 400 and swam really well, so I was really hoping to do the same in the 800 but it just wasn't there.

"I couldn't get too disappointed because I had the 200 to think about and I knew I could get a big personal best in the heats.

"But it is a really special time for British swimming and I'm delighted to be involved.

"We watched the Australian trials and some of the European ones and they are strong. But we have shown them this week that we are one of the best teams in the world.

"The relay team have definitely improved and we hope to do well out there."

Meanwhile, Borough of Stockton swimmer Jemma Lowe couldn't add freestyle success to her butterfly achievements on the final day.

Lowe, who had already qualified for the 100m and 200m butterfly events, finished fourth in the 200m freestyle B final in a time of 2.02.39 minutes.

But the 18-year-old refused to get downhearted after an impressive week in Sheffield.

"It's a bit of a low-key way to end," said Lowe, who broke the British 100m butterfly record last week.

"The 200 is just a bit of a fun event for me so I'm not too concerned about it.

"I was so nervous about the butterfly events so once I'd got those out the way I could relax.

"At the moment it is a mixture of a lot of emotions - relief, excitement about the Olympics, pretty much everything. I can't believe I am going."

Stockton-born Jess Dickons rounded off her British Championships campaign by finishing first in the 400m individual medley B final, while Newcastle's Andrew Mayor finished ahead of the pack in the men's 200m butterfly B final.

9:43am Monday 7th April 2008

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