Swimming: Toni Jeffs bids for fourth Games

Veteran swimmer Toni Jeffs could be back for her fourth Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next year and a chance to add to her previous two bronze medals.

Jeffs, 37 and a medallist at both Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002, topped qualifiers in this morning's heats of the 50m freestyle at the New Zealand Swim Championships in Auckland.

She clocked 26.41 seconds in the heats, just 0.3sec outside the qualifying time for Melbourne.

Jeffs, a 1992 Barcelona Olympian, will get a chance to improve on her time in tonight's semifinals and tomorrow's final.

Alison Fitch, who has already booked her place in the Commonwealth Games team, finished second ahead of Athens Olympics finalist Michelle Englesman from Australia.

Others to qualify top in the morning heats were 50m backstrokers Liz Coster and her North Shore clubmate Scott Talbot-Cameron.

Helen Norfolk was top qualifier in the 200m individual medley.

There are six finals on tonight's programme and the championships finish tomorrow.

- NZPA