Olympic silver medallist David Davies yesterday came 30th in the 10km open water event at the European Swimming Championships in Hungary.
The Welshman made a strong start to the event and was leading for the majority of the race. However, he faded late on and ended up and was eventually last of the three British swimmers to finish.
Davies had looked on course to finish in a medal position but with 2km to go he struggled to maintain his excellent pace and slipped down the field.
Fellow Brit Daniel Fogg came 11th with a time of 1:54:40 while Richard Charlesworth was 27th at Lake Balaton.
Davies was making his long awaited return to competition having missed the British Championships in April because of fatigue.
"The race was a tough one in a quality field and for us we can take many positives from these results,” Team leader Mark Perry told BBC Sport.
"For Dave to return to action and lead for 8km is very positive. Although he hit a wall, we know where he is now and where he needs to be to gain success."
Thomas Lurz of Germany finished first and secured his fourth European 10k crown.
