PLYMOUTH Leander swimmers Joe Hulme and Laura Stephens will be bidding for medals at the European Games on Friday.
After his disappointment of missing out on bronze by just two hundredths of a second in the 100m backstroke on Wednesday, Hulme was in determined mood in the 200m event.
He eased through the heats in the morning and then won his semi in a fast 2:00.23. That was more than four tenths of a second quicker than he had swam at the British Championships in April.
That time ranks his third going into the final behind his Great Britain team-mate Luke Greenbank, who won the 100m event, and Poland’s Jakub Shierka.
Hulme is also due to swim the heats of the 50m backstroke on Friday morning.
Stephens, meanwhile, will swim in her first final in Baku after successfully negotiating heats and semis in the 100m butterfly. She swam 1:00.77 in her semi, which ranks her sixth going into the final.