Hannah Miley, now a veteran of the British team, has been a regular finalist at the World and Olympic level in the 400m Individual Medley with her 2011silver medal her highest position so far.
She heads into Kazan with the second fastest time, 4.32.16, this year only behind the Iron lady, Katinka Hosszu. Miley, however, recognises that while finishing on the podium in Kazan will be a great achievement it bears no importance for next year.
Miley, after all, has first-hand experience of medalling at World Championship level in 2011 and missing out on Olympic when she finished in fifth place in London 2012 in the 400Im.
“Whatever happens at the Worlds, it is not going to dictate what happens at the Olympics so the Worlds is a chance to practice our skills, make sure we nail our turns and the other marginal gains so that when the Olympics come around – which is the big one – then we are prepared to hopefully stand on the podium more than once,” said Miley.
This will be Miley’s fourth World Championships and a particularly busy one for the 25 year old as she will not only be competing in the 400Im but also the shorter 200Im and 200m butterfly.
The 400Im, nevertheless, remains Miley’s strongest suit and although the likes of Hosszu and Elizabeth Beisel will be amongst the field Miley remains focused on her own individual performance.
Miley added “I can’t control what my competitors do. As long as I give the best performance I can give, as cliché as it sounds, that is all I can do. Then you have to see if that is good enough to get on the podium. If not then as long as I hit the target that I have set myself [I will be happy] as that is what I am looking for.”
