Oxfordshire's Simon Burnett will look to put put his 100m freestyle disappointment behind him today when he competes in the 50m event in Budapest.

The 27-year-old, from Tet-sworth, could not add to Britain’s impressive medal haul after a “shocking” finishmeant he missed out on a place in the 100m final by two tenths of a second.

Returning to the pool after forming part of the quartet that finished last in the 4x100m final, Burnett was ninth quickest overall after finishing fifth in his heat in a time of 49.16seconds.

He had looked set to clock a sub 49-second time at the midway point of his semi-final race.

But the British record holder fluffed his lines on the final length, touching home a fingertip behind the time set by Sweden’s Stefan Nystrand in semi-final one.

And having looked good in his heat earlier in the day Burnett – who eased through in a time of 49.45seconds – struggled to hide his disappointment at missing out on the final.

“I was really hurting at the end as everyone could see,” said Burnett, who is patron of Thame Swimming Club and won the British 50m title in April.

“I went faster than in the morning, but I wanted to go under 49 seconds and that would have been enough to make the final.

“It was a shocking finish and it seems as you get older you get stupider.

“It was my best time in shorts, but I wanted to go under 49 and haven’t.

“There is room for improvement and I still have another six weeks before the Commonwealth Games.

“We’re making progress – it’s all about Delhi.

“If I had made the final I would have been very happy with that swim and I am still happy with it.

“But knowing I was only two on hundredths off that place is a bitter pill to swallow.”

The 50m freestyle heats take place this morning, with the semi-finals being staged this evening.

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