Swimming: NZ team comes up dry despite swag of finals

New Zealand swimmers could not add to their medal haul despite a busy session of finals on the fourth day of the World University Games in Turkey yesterday.

They contested five A and two B finals in their most successful qualifying performance at the championships at the Urla pool near Izmir.

Coach Jan Cameron said the team worked hard against quality opposition.

The effects of extreme heat, long daily travel and tiredness played a part, but "we are not making any excuses at all. There are some very strong swim squads here and we are all quite shattered," Cameron said.

"The heat is just so oppressive, over 40C, and we are away from the village for 14 and 15 hours each day."

Cameron said the best medal hopes, Athens Olympians Helen Norfolk and Moss Burmester, came up against world-beaters in their respective 400m medley and 100m butterfly finals.

Norfolk, who qualified sixth, finished fifth in the final, just two seconds from the winner, clocking 4m 47.79s.

Burmester, who had produced a near personal best to finish third-fastest in qualifying for the 100m butterfly, went quicker in the final to finish fifth in 53.66s, only 0.29s from the winner.

Their North Shore clubmate, Liz Coster, was seventh in the final of the 100m backstroke, also improving on her qualifying time with another personal best of 1m 03.28s.

Team captain Alison Fitch was in the medal mix at the halfway point of the 200m freestyle final but finished eighth in 2m 03.12s.

The men's 4x200m freestyle relay team, on their first major outing at an international meet, came seventh in their final.

- NZPA