Swimming: Hannah Miley has laid down a marker for London

A DISAPPOINTED Hannah Miley left Beijing in August 2008 determined to learn from her dejection and apply that knowledge four years later in London.

The Garioch swimmer finished sixth in the 400 metres individual medley and 11th in the 200m event at the Water Cube. She was especially stung by her performance in the former, swimming more than six seconds below her then personal best set in Sheffield earlier in the year. Four years on and Miley approaches London as a potential medallist.

In the intervening years, the 22-year-old has won European and Commonwealth titles before she made her debut appearance on a global podium last year when she finished second in the 400m medley, her specialist event, at the World Championships in Shanghai. The British Olympic trials this week have further underlined why many eyes will be on Miley.

Her time of four minutes 32.67 seconds in the longer event was the second fastest ever swum in a textile suit, bettered only by world champion Elizabeth Beisel in Shanghai.

In the 200m event, her 2:10.77 would have seen her claim any Olympic title, bar 2008 in Beijing in the dawn of the turbo-suited era.

For Miley, she has made the team but also laid down a marker. She said: “You want to make a statement and see where you are at at that moment in time, you don’t want to leave anything behind, you just want to give it your all. You want to make sure you get past the trials and make sure you are on the team and that you don’t get pipped to the post because you can’t control what anyone else does. The target is always to keep progressing and go faster and faster.”

Miley is coached by her helicopter pilot father Patrick in a four-lane, 25m pool she shares with the public in Inverurie. He revealed that after Miley jnr had made the team on the first night of competition, she said: “I don’t feel as if I’ve just qualified” – for him a reflection of her maturity and development since Beijing.

Meanwhile, Olympic Champion Rebecca Adlington cruised to victory in the 800m freestyle at last night’s British Gas British Championships at London’s Aquatics Centre. Having already won the 400m event, she will have a chance to repeat her Olympic Beijing double back in the same pool in under five months’ time.

The Nottingham 23-year-old was in a class of her own in winning in 8:18.54. City of Sheffield’s Ellie Faulkner, who has trained with Miley at the Garioch Pool, slashed two second from her personal best and also made Team GB for London with a silver medal in 8:27.11.

“I’m so pleased with the time,” said Adlington. “It is so hard when you are on your own for the second 400m. It hurts so much.

“But today the crowd was fantastic and there were just 2,500 in the pool. When there are 20,000 this summer and most of them are cheering for us it will be absolutely amazing.”

Lizzie Simmonds and Michael Rock ended a nerve-wracking meet when they recovered from earlier disappointments to make Team GB in the 200m backstroke and 100m butterfly respectively.