A Former Portsmouth High School pupil has reached the final of the 100m backstroke in the Beijing Olympic Games.

Gemma Spofforth just missed out on the medal positions by four-hundredths of a second and came in fourth. But her extraordinary performance was enough to set a new British and European record.

In one of her many interviews after her race Gemma said: "I'm sure I will calm down and realise I finished fourth in an Olympic final, but at the moment it's just so painful to look up at that scoreboard and be so close to gold. It went much better than Monday. I knew I had to go out much faster and one place I needed to improve was my turn and I think I did that. The last 15m I dug in and gave it all I had and it just wasn't meant to be. I didn't have what it takes this year but maybe in 2012 I will be able to prove I have what it takes.”

Gemma will be competing again on Thursday 14th August when she takes part in the 200m backstroke.

At school Gemma excelled at sport and played in the netball and rounders teams. However as her swimming training became more and more demanding she reluctantly gave up playing for the school teams, but made memorable appearances for Eliot House in the senior interhouse competitions.

At A level Gemma studied Maths, Physics and Music and was offered a scholarship by the University of Florida, where she is currently in her second year studying Physics and Psychology (family youth and community sciences).