Keri-Anne Payne's Rio 2016 Olympics hopes hang in balance
Last Updated: 28/07/15 4:44pm
Keri-Anne Payne must wait until next year to see if she can earn selection for next year’s Olympics after finishing 15th in the 10km marathon swim at the World Aquatics Championships in Kazan.
The two-time open water world champion was in the leading pack for the first half of the race but slipped fell away to finish in just under 2 hours, with British team-mate Danielle Huskisson coming home 35th.
A top-10 finish would have seen Payne or Huskisson qualify automatically for Rio 2016 but they will have another chance to qualify via a second qualifying event in Portugal next June.
France's Aurelie Muller secured gold in Kazan ahead of European champion Sharon van Rouwendaal of Holland and Brazil's Ana Marcela Cunha.
Payne, who won silver in the 10km swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is encouraged by her performances since returning to competition one year ago. Payne decided to take a break from the sport after London 2012.
"To finish 15th in the world in such a great field after only a year back in the water is an achievement in itself," she said.
"Of all the races I've done this year, this is only the second where I've finished outside of the top 10.
"Obviously I would have loved to have qualified for the Olympics a year out because it would have meant training would have been a little easier to focus on. But there's still another chance to go and qualify. It's not the way we wanted to do it, but that's just how it goes."
