British men fail to reach World Cup final in Budapest

DAVID Atkinson and Simon Taylor have failed to reach the final of the Budapest World Cup as Great Britain's mens' struggle continued in Hungary.

Both Atkinson and Taylor finished 23rd in their respective semi-finals - well down on the top-12 finish required to reach the final.

Atkinson was 25th after the swim and climbed a place in the fence. His run/shoot time of 11.26.44 minutes was the ninth best in the semi - but he had left himself with too much to do to make the final.

In semi-final C, Taylor was 17th after the 200m freestyle swim, but dropped down to 20th after the fencing and ended the day in 23rd.

Saturday sees the women return to action as the competition reaches the finals. All four of Britain's women in action in Budapest - Katy Burke, Louise Helyer, Samantha Murray and Freyja Prentice - secured places in the final.