Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson admits the time for enjoying his London 2012 success is over as he gets ready for the British Gas International Swimming Meet in Leeds.
The 24-year-old won one of Britain’s three swimming medals at London 2012 last summer, powering his way to a national record in every round of the 200m breaststroke to claim silver.
He returned to the pool in December to pick up another silver medal in the 200m breaststroke, this time at the World Short Course Championships in Istanbul.
Jamieson will tackle the 100m and 200m breaststrokes at the British Gas International Swimming Meet in Leeds, which is taking place at this time of year as opposed to the British Championships.
They will instead take place in June, and as ever act as the trials for the biggest meet of the year the Barcelona World Championships, following a review into the performance of the British Swimming team at London 2012.
And Jamieson, who is targeting further silverware in Spain this summer and has been altitude training in Sierra Nevada, is adamant he won’t be dwelling on the past now it’s 2013.
“There’s no doubt that the Games changed my life,” said Jamieson. “Only three years ago I was considering quitting the sport because I couldn’t continue to put my parents under the financial pressures of keeping me in the sport.
“Finishing second in London was a huge step for me, the realisation of what was once a pipe dream, but it was still second and the desire to win a title is still there.
“The world of swimming moves on so quickly, so there’s no time to rest on last season. I probably have four years left in the sport and after the journey it took to reach London 2012, I want to continue to challenge for major medals over the next cycle.
“There is definitely added pressure and expectation now. It is something I’m going to have to deal with, but I welcome it. It’s down to me to find a strategy to manage it and to view it as something positive.
“I don’t think it will ever effect me negatively as no-one can put more pressure on than I do myself. I expect to be winning medals and I will be my harshest critic if that doesn’t materialise.”
© Sportsbeat 2013