SWIMMING:IRISH SWIMMERS feature in just one event today, day five of the competition in Shanghai. In the early hours of this morning, Sycerika McMahon, Melanie Nocher, Clare Dawson and Gráinne Murphy (in that order) will have made history by becoming the first Irish women's 200 metres freestyle relay team to compete at a World Championships.

The ultimate goal of the quartet, and for Swim Ireland’s national performance director, Peter Banks, was a finish in the top 12 nations. If the squad achieved this, an Irish women’s 200m freestyle relay team will have automatically qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Fina relay selection policy sets out additional criteria around the make-up of the Olympic relay team – one point being that at least two of the swimmers must have achieved the Olympic qualifying time in an individual event in order for the relay to be nominated.

Heats started at 9am local time (2am Irish time).