Athletics: Gilchrist eye on landing Games gong
Gilchrist, who won bronze in the 200m at the Europeans four years ago, is focusing his attention on landing silverware at the Commonwealth Games in India this October.
While other nations have taken a break from training for these championships, Gilchrist has continued to pound the pool and it showed in his semi-final.
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Hide AdHe finished fifth in the second semi-final of the night in a time of one minute 1.51 seconds, with Norway's Alex Dale Oen winning the race and qualifying fastest for tomorrow's final in the process.
But the Edinburgh swimmer insisted he was not disappointed and revealed he is ahead of schedule in his quest to become Commonwealth champion.
"Like the majority of the British swimmers we're not really rested and focused on this meet because it is not too long until the Commonwealth Games," said Gilchrist.
"I had about a week's rest coming into this and normally I would take three, so I was looking to go 1:01.9 so to go almost half a second faster than that I guess I am almost ahead of where I expected to be which is a good thing.
"Overall, I would have taken this but after doing so well this morning I was just searching for that little more and I think a final place was up for grabs."
Meanwhile, Hannah Miley tore up the script to hand European record holder Katinka Hosszu defeat in her own back yard and clinch the first major long course gold medal of her career.
Miley, who turned 21 yesterday, produced a remarkable breaststroke leg to the 400m individual medley — her favoured event — and on the fourth and final leg, the freestyle, meaning Hosszu could find no way back to hand Miley gold.
THE nation's leading energy supplier British Gas is the Principle Partner of British Swimming, and have pledged 15m to support the sport at all levels. For more information visit www.britishgas.co.uk/swimming