On medical advice, Joanne Jackson, Olympic bronze and world-championship silver and bronze medal winner, has withdrawn from the final of the 400m freestyle at British Championships after suffering a bout of asthma after the heats this morning. 

The decision, and the fact that she bypassed the 800m freestyle this week, may mean that Jackson bypasses the European Championships in Budapest this summer. Third in the 200m freestyle at the start of trials, she may race in a 4x200m freestyle in Budapest, should she recover from an ailment that has disrupted her entire winter season. The door to Budapest is not locked: the policy holds that any swimmer on the team may swim secondary events at the discretion of team leaders, while LEN allows four entries per nation in each event, with the best two per nation allowed to progress to the final.

Here is the background and bones of Jackson's sad story this winter. All that remains to be said is: come on Yorkshire Primary Care Trust - get your tardy, pen-pushing finger out for a great London 2012 prospect. All it takes is a little time set aside to sign a form for a young woman who works hard every day of her life in between all those others you've signed for obese folk who have spent a lifetime stuffing their faces with fat and find it hard to get breath into lungs surrounded by several tons of lard (yes, we all know they're out there and costing the health service a weighty fee).