Hannah Miley made light work of qualifying for tonight’s 400m individual medley final and she insists a positive attitude could well bring her another World Swimming Championship medal.
The 23-year-old clocked 4:34.94 minutes in securing the fifth-fastest time in the morning heats, with Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu posting the best time in the world this year of 4:32.72mins.
Miley won silver in the same event in Shanghai two years ago but missed out at London 2012, finishing fifth.
And having learnt from last summer, Miley claims it was a good way to start her quest for a podium place in Barcelona.
“It was roundabout what I did in London for my heat swim so I can’t argue with that,” said Miley, who saw British teammate Aimee Willmott finish ninth overall to miss the final by one place.
“I’m just going to try and get my recovery strategy right. A lot of swimmers have been swimming fast and maybe not progressing but fingers crossed I can get it right here. I’m trying to stay as positive as I can.”
The women’s 4x100m medley relay team also progressed to this evening’s final after Lauren Quigley, Sophie Allen, Jemma Lowe and Amy Smith posted a time of 4:00.04mins to advance as fourth fastest.
For Smith, who swam the final freestyle leg in 53.92 seconds, it was a chance to dust herself down from the disappointment of coming 21st in the individual 100m event.
“I gave myself a bit of a talking to and gave it my best,” said Smith.
“It was a case of having to anyway, when I found out I was going to be in the heats of the relay you have to get in the right frame of mind. The relay is always fun to do, it’s great to be in with the other girls.”
Dan Wallace will also return to the Palau Sant Jordi pool tonight in the men’s 400m individual medley final after finishing sixth in the heats.
Wallace’s time of 4:14.15mins was a new personal best, but Roberto Pavoni fell short of joining him, with his effort of 4:15.90mins only good enough for ninth.
The men’s 4x100m medley relay team also narrowly missed out on a place in the final with Chris Walker-Hebborn, Ross Murdoch, Michael Rock and Adam Brown finishing just 0.32secs away from a top-eight berth.
Britain have yet to win a medal heading into the final session of the championships - and Fran Halsall, in the 50m freestyle final, will provide another chance.
© Sportsbeat 2013