The highlights for the British team in the Foro Italico pool in Rome included two golds as the team finished sixth overall in the medal table, an encouraging performance by a country that will undoubtedly be looking to improve even more heading towards London 2012.
 

 

Gemma Spofforth (pictured) claimed victory in the 100 metres backstroke in a world record time while Liam Tancock also set new world figures on his way to securing the 50m Backstroke title.

 

Jo Jackson also performed well securing two silver medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle.

Michael Scott, British Swimming National Performance Director said: “It shows the depth of the British squad after a fantastic week of swimming, results and medal winning performances.

 

"We’ve had more medallists than ever before, coupled with more finalists than ever before.

 

"But our challenge now is to convert those finalists into medallists.

“It shows British Swimming is closer than ever before to the mark laid down by the biggest and most successful swimming nations.

 

"However there is still a lot of work to be done as we pursue our goals for London 2012.”

Keri-Anne Payne also added to British success outside of the pool in taking gold in the Women’s 10km open water event.

 

The US remained top overall with 21 medals, 10 golds, six silvers and six bronzes, but that was their worst performance since 1994.

 

Aaron Peirsol, a five-time Olympic gold medallist who failed to even reach the final of the 100m backstroke, said: "The world is becoming so much more competitive.

 

"That can only be a beneficial thing for swimming.

 

"Competition raises the level of everybody."

 

At the last World Championships two years ago in Melbourne, the Americans had won 36 medals, including 20 gold.

 

That provided the impetus heading into last year's Beijing Olympics, where the US actually won 21 gold medals in fewer events, part of a 31-medal haul that left no doubt which country was on top.

 

The Americans were still leading in Rome, but with a much smaller margin.

 

Perisol said: "I know the men's team, we got off to a pretty flat start.

 

"Once we settled into the meet, we started kind of raising our level.

 

"We had no choice.

 

"The meet was incredibly fast [with 43 world records].

 

"The rest of the world was ready to step up."

 

Mark Schubert, the general manager of the US programme, claimed that the team is in transition and by the time of London 2012 it will again be sweeping all before it.

 

He said: "When we look at it two years from now, we're going to say this was a good starting point for us.

 

"But obviously we have a lot of work to do."

 

Michael Phelps (pictured) was the star of the US team, winning five gold medals, in a meeting that was dominated by the controversy over polyurethane swimsuits.

 

But he knows he will have to work hard heading into London 2012 if he is to repeat his incredible achievement at last year's Olympics in Beijing, where he won a record eight gold medals to take his career total to 14.

 

Phelps said: "I've got to be in better shape.

 

"That's the biggest thing.

 

"I've got to get my body back in better shape.

 

"I think without taking six months off, that will do it."
 

Australia, meanwhile, endured their worst performance since the Championships in Perth in 1991, a display that could threaten the team's funding for the 2012 Olympics, head coach Alan Thompson warned.

 

They slipped to fourth on the medals table with 16 medals - three gold, four silver and nine bronze - behind Germany and China, who both four gold medals each.

 

Even though the swimsuit saga may have distorted some results in Rome, Thompson said the Australian team would not hide behind the fact their gold medal haul had been slashed to a third of Melbourne in 2007 and they were simply off the pace in Italy.

 

He said: "To make any real comments on the suits would appear to be an excuse and I'm not making excuses for anything, we've got work to do.

 

"I'm not walking away from the fact we are the number one nation in the world on the gold medal tally .

 

"The gold medal tally is the way to judge a swim meet.

 

"We got 16 medals.

 

They might not have all been the colour we like to see, but it's still a lot of medals.''

 

"We are second in total medals and second in the point score, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

 

"It means we need to go home, work harder and claw our way back up the rankings before Shanghai [the 2011 World Championships].

 

"I'm confident of our success in the future.''