Record-breaking Tancock takes gold

Liam Tancock has won the gold medal in the 50metres backstroke at the World Championships in Rome in a world-record time of 24.04 seconds.

The Loughborough swimmer led from start to finish to lower by 0.04seconds the mark he had set in Saturday's semi-final.

The 24-year-old now has four world championship medals in total, following his efforts in 2005 and 2007.

Tancock held the world record from April to December 2008 before American Randall Bal snatched it away.

The Exeter-born swimmer reclaimed it on Saturday before going one better on Sunday night and becoming world champion in the process.

He said: "I'm ecstatic. It's my third world championships. To come away with a gold this time - I've always had bronzes in the past but a gold is fantastic.

"To be world champion in Rome is pretty fantastic."