Miley and Jamieson cap good week for Scots at championships

HANNAH Miley completed a medley double by winning the 400m event and Michael Jamieson claimed the 200m breaststroke on the final day to complete a successful week for the Scots at the British Gas British Championships in Sheffield.

With the championships deciding the make up of the GB team for the European Championships, there should be eight Scots heading to Budapest in August.

Miley, the 20-year-old Garioch swimmer, will be the main medal contender, while 21-year-old Jamieson, who also qualified in the 100m breaststroke, is a newcomer at senior GB level.

Robbie Renwick, who won the 400m freestyle and silver in the 200m, Kris Gilchrist, David Carry, Caitlin McClatchey and Andy Hunter retained their places in the squad, while the other new name is Lucy Ellis. Ellis is a 17-year-old based at the British Intensive Training Centre at Stirling and she finished third in the 100m freestyle final to clinch her major international debut.

"It was a good championship for the Scots and nice to see some new faces making the breakthrough," said Ally Whike, Scottish Swimming's performance director. "None of our swimmers had fully tapered for this event because the main focus will be the Commonwealth Games trials.

"We did so well at the last Commonwealths in Melbourne but, this year, it's going to be a really tough Games in Delhi. Last time, the Australians weren't too strong, but they and the Canadians will have very strong teams."

But Miley, a gold medallist in the 400m medley at the European Short-Course Championships in December, should be a contender whatever the company. She was a class apart as she swept to victory in 4:37.05, in the 400m medley finishing over four seconds clear.

Jamieson, a former training partner's of Gilchrist at City of Edinburgh, moved to the British Intensive Training Centre based at Bath last September and he clinched his first GB title with a time of 2:11.14 in the 200m breaststroke.

Another Bath swimmer, Richard Webb, was second in 2:11.52 with Gilchrist, who won the 100m earlier in the week, just missing out on one of the two European selection spots by finishing third in 2:11.60.

"I thought I would go a bit quicker than that to be honest," said Jamieson, admitting his main focus is on the Commonwealth team at the upcoming trials: "I've got a bit in reserve ready for the Scottish trials, so I hope to perform well there."