Swimming: Hanna Miley targets a world gold

COACHED by her helicopter pilot dad and put through her paces in a dilapidated community pool, Hannah Miley will bid to take a quantum leap to the top of the world in Shanghai today.

Miley will look to repeat last year's European and Commonwealth 400m medley triumphs and seek to emulate Rebecca Adlington, who added the world 800m freestyle title to her Olympic crown yesterday to win Britain's first gold medal in the pool in China.

Unlike the majority of her team-mates, the Scottish swimmer has shied away from Britain's intensive training centres, instead working her schedule around schoolchildren and aqua-aerobics classes at Garioch Swimming Club in Inverurie. The results of the sessions, masterminded by dad Patrick, have been nothing short of phenomenal, with a fourth place finish at the 2009 worlds in Rome followed by a Commonwealth title and European gold and double bronze last summer.

A far tougher test, the greatest before London 2012, awaits at the Oriental Sports Centre, where Spain's Mireia Belmonte Garcia and China's Xuanxu Li, the only two women to go quicker than the 21-year-old this year, lie in wait.

Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry and world record holder Stephanie Rice are also in the mix but Miley insists she's ready to put her credentials - and her philosophy - on the line.

"The great thing about the medley is that we all have different strengths and weaknesses so you can only do things your own way," said Miley, who prepared for her favoured event by finishing seventh in Monday's 200m final.

"It is all about doing the best performance you can in the way that suits you. You have to do what works for you best with your training and what we do works for me.

"The 200m medley earlier in the week was good preparation for me, it settled the nerves a bit and now I'm ready for the really serious stuff."

The last World Championships in Rome yielded seven British medals but only three swimmers have mounted the podium so far in China.

Keri-Anne Payne secured 10km open water gold before the pool action started, Ellen Gandy won 200m butterfly silver and, yesterday ,Adlington added 800m gold to her 400m freestyle silver.

The double Olympic champion produced a blistering final length to overhaul defending champion Lotte Friis.

As expected, the race became a private battle between Adlington and Friis, the Dane who won the title in Rome two years ago.

However, the Briton claimed the title in eight minutes 17.51 seconds, 0.69secs ahead of her rival with the United States' former world champion Kate Ziegler coming in third.

• British Gas is supporting the British Gas GBR Swimming Team, as part of its partnership with the sport at all levels.

For more information visit www.britishgas.co.uk/swimming