Swimming: Record for Hickman

James Hickman broke his own British short course record on the opening day of the Winter Championships in Sheffield yesterday. The 20-year-old, who reached the final of the 200m in Atlanta, took 0.26sec off his 100m mark in the 25-metre pool, clocking 53.30 in his heat to better the time he set in Gelsenkirchen in February.

Karen Pickering celebrated her 25th birthday by reaching the 200m freestyle final with the fastest time. The Ipswich swimmer, troubled by a back injury sustained in a recent car accident, clocked 2min 00.99sec.

Susan Rolph, a double gold medallist at last week's European Short-course Championships in Germany, will not be fined for her withdrawal even though she will compete for her French club, Clichy, on Sunday. The Amateur Swimming Association has effectively granted Rolph dispensation because of the death of her grandmother.