Fairweather qualifies for final

A strong finish helped Erika Fairweather through to the final in her opening race at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Fiji.

The 14-year-old swam a time of 2min 02.11sec to qualify sixth for the final of the 200m freestyle.

She fell behind early, although remained within touching distance of the field and a strong kick on her final lap enabled her to gobble up all but the top three in her heat.The fastest time was swum by American Claire Tuggle, who finished in 1min 59.36sec.

Along with Tuggle, Fairweather was the youngest to finish in the top eight qualifiers, some swimmers being three years older than her.

In total, there were five heats and 32 entrants in the event.

Fairweather had her final last night, as well as the 800m freestyle final.

Over the coming days, she will also compete in the 100m and 400m freestyle, as well as the 200m individual medley.