The Great Britain women’s 4 x 200 metres freestyle quartet are a team in a hurry. They flew in to the European Championships on Thursday, took an axe last night to the Commonwealth record and a sledgehammer to the British record to take the silver medal 0.29sec off the pace for what would have been an historic gold, then flew home again in readiness for Olympic trials in April.

The race with France, the titlewinners in 7min 52.09sec to Britain’s 7:52.36, was a thriller. Before the final, the French national record had been 7:55.96, while Britain languished in the ninth-best time of 7:57.02. Now France stand third and Britain fourth on an all-time list topped by the world record of 7:50.09 held by the United States, with Germany behind them. Absent from Eindhoven, the Germans secured silver at the World Championships in 7:53.82.

The winning France four had been inspired by the sight of Alain Bernard, their compatriot, breaking the world record in the semi-finals of the 100 metres freestyle. His time of 47.60sec shaved 0.24 off the mark held by Pieter van den Hoogenband, of the Netherlands, the Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004, since the Sydney Games almost eight years ago.

Adding insult to injury, the Frenchman sprang his surprise in Van den Hoogenband’s home pool while the Dutchman was ruled out because of a stomach problem. There were also European records for Ioannis Drymonakos, of Greece, in the 200 metres butterfly in 1min 54.16sec, and Anastasia Zueva, of Russia, with a time of 59.41sec in the 100 metres backstroke.

Britain are not here in full force but they were not to be left out of the party. Joanne Jackson, Melanie Marshall, Ellen Gandy, 16, and Caitlin McClatchey tore apart the Commonwealth record that had stood to Australia at 7:54.06 since last year and confirmed to themselves and Ben Titley, the relay coach, what they have long known, that if all four perform well on the same day, they will be in the hunt for an Olympic medal 24 years after the last one claimed by a British woman in any event. There is heartening news from home, too: at least three women absent from Eindhoven could book a place in the British quartet in Beijing with faster times than those produced last night.

Marshall said: “Ellen’s come in this time, but it doesn’t matter who’s brought in, we’re a really together team. We came together as a unit and raised our game to get there tonight, and that’s what’s going to put us in good stead for the future.”

Laure Manaudou, the world champion and record-holder at 200 metres, got France off to a fast start, but Jackson stayed close before Marshall built on the strong foundations and Gandy excelled with a personal-best time. McClatchey, the Commonwealth champion for Scotland in 2006, then produced the second-fastest split of the final in 1:56.19 to claw back a two-metre deficit on the French, with the bronze medal going to Italy.

Britain’s pre-selected Olympic swimmers, Kirsty Balfour and David Davies, will race today for medals. Balfour will defend the 200 metres breaststroke title against Russians using the event as Olympic trials, while Davies will take on the two Europeans who finished ahead of him when he won bronze in the 1,500 metres freestyle at the World Championships in Australia a year ago.

Tomorrow, Tom Daley, a 13-year-old bound for Beijing this summer, will compete with Blake Aldridge, his partner, in the ten-metre platform synchronised event. A place on the podium would make him the youngest male to win a diving medal at European level.

Politics spilt into the pool at the European Championships yesterday when Milorad Cavic, champion in the 50 metres butterfly on Wednesday in a European record of 23.11sec, was suspended from the rest of the event (Craig Lord writes). His misdemeanour: wearing a T-shirt declaring “Kosovo is Serbia” while collecting his gold medal. The European Swimming League fined the Serbian Swimming Federation €7,000 (about £5,450) and barred Cavic, who was born and lives in the United States, from competing. Cavic broke federation Rule 15, governing “safety and security” at the championships, according to the disciplinary panel.

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