ANDREW WILLIS is going for gold after qualifying for the final of the Men’s 200m breaststroke at the Olympic Games.
But if you want to back the 25-year-old Bracknell and Wokingham Swimming Club member then you will need to set the alarm clock for 2am tomorrow morning (Thursday), as the event is scheduled to start just three minutes later.
Willis is in with a shout for a medal after qualifying from his heat in a third-placed time of 2:08.92, which he then knocked almost a second off when storming to victory in his semi-final, which he won in 2:07.73.
Controlling his stoke well, the Frimley-born swimmer long trailed American Kevin Cordes, only to up the pace and power past his rival and touch the side first in the second semi-final on Wednesday.
He will be swimming in lane number five during Thursday’s final and is up against Morco Koch (Germany), Cordes and Josh Prenot of the USA, Yasuhiro Koseki (Japan), Anton Chupkov (Russia) and Dmitiry Balandin of Kazakstan.
Completing the line up is Ippei Watanabe of Japan, whose qualifying time of 2.07.22 was a new Olympic record.
But Willis, Britain’s only representative in the competition after Craig Benson missed the cut, lurks not too far behind having finished second quickest overall.
It was a great day for Team GB in the water, with Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (200m individual medley) and the 4x200m freestyle relay squad of Stephen Milne, Duncan Scott, Dan Wallace and James Guy all winning silvers, taking the count to six.
