Silver for Dubai's Stjepanovic

Dubai: UAE-based Velimir Stjepanovic from Serbia clinched a silver medal in the 400 metres freestyle on the opening day of the British Gas Swimming Championships at London Aquatics Centre on Saturday.

Stjepanovic, who trains with Hamilton Aquatics under the supervision of managing director and chief coach Chris Tidey, was timed at 3 minutes 53.24 seconds, with Germany's Paul Biedermann taking gold in 3:50.95 and South Korea's Jang Sang-jin taking the bronze in 3:55.40.

Stjepanovic, countryman Stefan Sorak and Portugal's Tiago Venancio are the three UAE-based swimmers from Hamilton Aquatics competing at the British Swimming Championships this week — a competition that is among the few selection trial events remaining ahead of the London Olympics.

However, Stjepanovic's time in the 400 metres freestyle was way below the "A" qualifying time stipulated for the London Games, which means he still has to participate in some other trials later.

Main event

"We are happy and pleasantly pleased that he could win the silver medal behind such a competitive swimmer like Paul Biedermann," Stjepanovic's mother Ana told Gulf News. His father Milan is accompanying the three swimmers along with Tidey. "But this [400m freestyle] is not his pet event. His main event is the 200 metres butterfly and we are all expecting him to do well."

Stjepanovic was born and raised in the UAE and he has been one of the outstanding swimmers in the country since being ranked No. 1 in the world for his age group at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010. He has won medals at major events, including four golds at the 2008 British Nationals, Youth Olympics and European Championships.