Gilchrist ready to battle for place

Kris Gilchrist declared there will be no love lost when he and rivals Michael Jamieson and Andrew Willis go head to head in the British Swimming Championships at the London 2012 Aquatics Centre next month.

The trio, who all train together in Bath, are competing for two spots in both the 100 metres and 200m breaststroke at the Games, and Gilchrist expects the battle to be intense.

The Scot said: "In terms of men's events, it probably is going to be the most difficult, and there are always going to be positives and negatives from that.

"All three of us are ranked highly so you know just to qualify for the Olympics you have to be one of the top breaststrokers in the world. But the fact it is so competitive reduces the chances of qualifying.

"We all get on very well and there's been some friendly banter. But there'll be no love lost when it actually comes down to racing."

The 28-year-old is particularly looking forward to competing in the Olympic pool, which made a big impression when he visited the venue last year.

He said: "This is one of the most exciting times to be a swimmer and the fact it's in the Olympic pool is just going to add to the excitement.

"It looks fantastic. You can tell from the structure of the building that it's going to be absolutely unbelievable. It's quite daunting when you look up and can barely see the top level of seats. It's definitely going to be an advantage to anyone who's able to compete there before the Games."

Gilchrist represented Britain in both distances in Beijing four years ago, finishing 13th in the 200m and 27th in the 100m, while he was world short-course champion over the longer distance in 2008.

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