On a slice of toast and some fluids and having got to the pool half an hour before her race, Francesca Halsall's 25.05 lead time in the 50m free semis was something of a miracle, one that relied a little on nature, a lot of good medical care at the heart of an England camp battling through a Commonwealth Games at which athletes and coaches have had their programmes thrown off kilter.

The morning after her collapse under pain of Delhi belly and accompanying shakes and shivers, Halsall, European bronze medallist in the dash, told us here this morning: "I feel a lot better. I only got here 30 minutes ago so I had a big lie-in compared to the other days. The only thing I was thinking about was winning the race and I did that. It was a little bit difficult this morning because I only had a piece of bread for dinner last night and I've not had anything this morning just so I don't have to go to the toilet because they're blocked. It (food) wouldn't have been very nice in my belly."

She added: "I'm glad I got in this morning and did it because I don't feel 100 per cent still but the doc reckons it could just be a 24-hour thing. My temperature is not up any more so that's a good sign and if it's out by tomorrow night I would have felt gutted if I'd missed it and not come this morning when I could have a good chance. I did a pretty good time so I can't really complain."

The Liverpudlian recalled her 100m free ceremony last night as a bit of a daze. "I was just trying to think 'breathe, Fran, breathe'. Iwas looking to find out where we were and where the nearest toilet was but it was hard going because I felt like I could have swum faster. The first 50 I was fine, I just had nothing in the tank, nothing to give. It was such a shame but one of the Aussie lads has pulled out this morning so I think everyone is feeling it a little bit.

"We are battling on, everyone seems to be feeling positive in camp England."

The source of the problem is still to be confirmed. Games boss Mike Fennell confirmed that organisers are running tests on the water quality at the Dr S. P. Mukherjee pool complex. That follows a request for reassurances from Team England, amid concerns that pigeon droppings from a flock of birds in the rafters of the building may have led to contamination.

In a statement, Team England said: "As of today there are 541 England team members in the Village. Over the past 28 days 8 per cent of our team have had some kind of mild stomach conditions. These levels are lower than we expected coming into this environment. But we are not complacent and continue to reinforce the need to be vigilant in areas like hand hygiene. Our athletes are supported by medical professionals who continue to monitor this on a daily basis.

"Separately, we have asked for reassurances as to the water quality at the aquatics venue."