Nocher in British title triumph

Nocher will compete in the 200m backstroke in Beijing

Melanie Nocher smashed her own Irish 200 metres backstroke record as she brilliantly claimed the British title in Liverpool on Saturday morning.

Nocher's time of 2:12.71 cut .66secs off the previous mark that she had set in Friday's heats.

Andrew Bree had to settle for second place in the 200 metres breaststroke final on Saturday.

Bree, who had been just .06secs outside his personal best when clocking 2:13.20 in the heats, was second in 2:14.19.

Edinburgh swimmer Kristopher Gilchrist won in 2:12.94.

In the space of 24 hours, Nocher has cut 1.13 seconds off her personal best as she celebrates her selection for the Olympic Games earlier this week.

Nocher and 100m backstroker Aisling Cooney were selected the games, despite having not achieved the Beijing A standards in their events.

However, Nocher's performance over the weekend already appears to have vindicated Swim Ireland's decision to nominate her for the games.

Bree performed impressively on Friday despite being hit by a stomach bug earlier this week.

He reckoned he had lost something in the region of 10 pounds because of the illness and this may have explained his somewhat slower swim in Saturday's final.

Bangor swimmer Clare Dawson was second in the 200m freestyle final in Liverpool on Friday in 2:03.36 while Barry Murphy, who just missed out on a place in Beijing, was seventh in the 50m freestyle in 23.08.