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Shortt finishes seventh in European 200m backstroke final World Junior Champion had swam a personal-best time to make his first senior European final Galway swimmer John Shortt claimed a seventh place finish in the final of the 200m backstroke at the European Swimming Championships in Paris this (Wednesday) evening. The city native had clocked a personal best time of 1mins 55.31 seconds to finish second in his semi-final and claim one of the two automatic places from that race for the final. It earned the Roscam teenager a place in lane 2, with red-hot favourite Hubert Kos of Hungary in lane 4. Kos is the reigning Olympic champion, and went into the race as a two-time European champions. Less than two minutes after the starting pistol, he could call himself a three-time champion after he blew all opposition away to claim gold. Shortt got off to his usual steady start, and touched the wall in sixth place at the end of the first 50 metres. Approaching the 100m mark, the man who began his career with Bluefin Swimming Club in Kilcornan pool in Clarinbridge was up to fifth, but touched the wall in seventh at the half-way mark. The strongest part of his race is traditionally the second 100m, but he could not improve on a seventh place when touching the wall at the 150m mark, though he had closed the gap to Kos, who was under world record time for the first 150 metres, only to fall off that burning pace in the final 50 metres. However, Shortt couldn't find that late kick in the final 50 metres to get amongst the medals, touching the wall in a time of 1min 55.86secs to finish seventh. He will be back in the pool tomorrow for the 50m backstroke, where he has been drawn in the fifth of eight heats. Kos - who has family ties to Cork - is in heat 6. He is also entered in the 100m backstroke, with those heats taking place on Saturday with Shortt in heat 5 along with Kos.