Athletics: Shanghai still possible for Kris Gilchrist

AT the British Championships in March, Kris Gilchrist was devastated after missing out on a place at the World Championships - but the Edinburgh swimmer insists the wounds have now healed, writes RYAN BANGS.

The 27-year-old ducked under the qualifying time for the 200m breaststroke but finished third, missing out on the top two by a whisker, with first or second sealing the automatic spots on the plane to Shanghai. Rubbing salt into the wounds for Gilchrist, now based in Bath after a spell in France, was the fact it was training partners Michael Jamieson and Andrew Willis who pipped him to the two 200m spots in the Far East.

All is not lost for the 2006 European bronze medallist and he can still reach the World Championships in the 100m breaststroke provided all goes well at next month's British Gas ASA National Championships.

But Gilchrist, whose preparations took him to Cyprus this month for a British Swimming warm-weather training camp, is adamant that all is not lost if he stays at home this summer - provided he can find his best form when it really matters at next year's Olympic trials.

"Qualifying for Shanghai at the second trials is the focus at the moment but it isn't the be-all and end-all," said Gilchrist. "I moved programmes in November last year and training went really well up to the trials in March.

"My target was still to qualify there but it wasn't the end of the world that I didn't. I didn't swim my best times because I had a four-month turnaround and quite a big change. Again it hasn't been a huge turnaround time since the first trials to the second and I am just looking at improving for next year.

"Yes, qualifying for Shanghai would be ideal it is the last of the major meets where you race against the best in the world with everyone at their peak and it is the last opportunity to go through specific preparations for races which you can only get at a major meet.

"At the moment the short-term focus is on the second trials in a few weeks time but I haven't adapted my training too much to reflect that. The long-term goal is the trials next March."

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