HARTLEPOOL’S Jemma Lowe was left disappointed at the Scottish National Championships despite claiming gold in the 100m butterfly.

Lowe claimed top spot on the podium in a time of 58.41 seconds, which was over a second quicker than Nova Centurion Jess Sylvester, who finished in second.

Needing to swim inside 58.11 seconds to put herself in pole position for the second Rome World Championship berth alongside Ellen Gandy, the 19-year-old student was unable to produce the goods.

Lowe is now at the mercy of the selectors for the second spot in the 100m butterfly and will face competition from Fran Halsall, who finished second at the British Championships in March and who has also gone quicker than the Swansea ace in 2009.

“I’m really disappointed with how I swam,” said Lowe.

“I trained well all week for the event but I just didn’t perform on the day. I was slow in qualifying but I thought I would improve a lot in the semi but I didn’t.

“Even though I won the race it was outside the time I was looking for to qualify for the British relay team.”

Meanwhile, Stockton’s Jess Dickons insists she has no time to dwell on the disappointment of finishing fourth behind Lowe in Glasgow.

The 18-year-old University of Edinburgh swimmer touched home in 1:00.60 minutes, missing out on the podium by one-tenth of a second.

That means her last chance to book her place in Rome will come in the 200m butterfly this evening in a head-tohead battle with Gandy, but Dickons believes she now has the upper hand.

“It was unfortunate to come just off the podium places but overall I’m pleased with how’s it's gone so far,’’ said Dickons.

■ British Gas and British Swimming – the nation’s leading energy supplier, British Gas is the Principal Partner of British Swimming, supporting the sport at all levels: ‘From paddling pool to podium’. For more information visit www.britishswimming.org