Swimming: Bell, Ingram chase world champs spots

Olympians Daniel Bell and Melissa Ingram will be chasing more than titles during the last session of finals at the New Zealand swimming championships in Christchurch tonight.

Ingram, of North Shore, and Bell, of West Auckland Aquatics, are through to the finals in the 100m backstroke after the last morning of heats today.

Seven swimmers have already qualified for the world championships in July in 12 events, with Ingram and Bell the best of the remaining chances to join that squad.

Ingram, who missed qualification for the world championships in her favoured 200m backstroke last night, cruised through the heats which were headed by the North Shore pair of Emily Thomas and Penelope Marshall.

Bell, who missed out in the 100m butterfly to Corney Swanepoel and Moss Burmester, was second fastest in heats of the 100m backstroke behind John Gatfield.

Southlander Natalie Wiegersma, 19, led the qualifiers in the women's 400m individual medley ahead of Christchurch's Alex Laidlaw and Samantha Lucie-Smith, of Wellington.

Dunedin's Matthew Glassford, 18, was the fastest in the men's heats with a time of four minutes 33.86 seconds ahead of North Shore 16-year-old Mitchell Donaldson and Brett Newall, of Auckland.

- NZPA