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Michael Jamieson puts swimming before perks - Laura Williamson

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Michael Jamieson was one of the few British success stories in the pool at London 2012, swimming the fourth fastest time in history to win a silver in the 200m breaststroke.

It took a world-record swim from Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta to beat the virtually unknown 24-year-old from Glasgow, cheered on by 50,000 fellow Celtic fans before his team’s European clash against HJK Helsinki.

It could have been difficult for Jamieson to balance his success against the team’s over-riding failure.

Stand out: Michael Jamieson poses with his silver medal at the 2012 Games

He and double bronze medallist Rebecca Adlington were the only British Olympic swimmers to stand on the podium in London as the hosts missed their target of five to seven medals and performance director Michael Scott resigned.

But Jamieson does not seem interested in making excuses for others and expresses genuine sympathy for Scott’s demise.

‘If I were to finish in fourth place in my heat I would not be blaming a head coach or performance director,’ he says. ‘The swimmers who were expected to perform and didn’t should hold up their hands.

‘It’s not down to luck, but 100th of a second is half a metre and you could have had a medal and Michael Scott could still have had a job.

‘I was disappointed to see him go. But the team are moving forwards. I’m excited to see who is named in his place but it’s really down to us swimmers.’

Be frank: Jamieson says if he finished fourth in a heat, he'd hold up his hands

Woolly justification does not seem Jamieson’s style. He scraped into the British team by 0.02 seconds after a poor performance at the trials but then peaked when it mattered. This, too, is an athlete who moved to a ‘studio room in an attic in Paris’ when he was 18 to further his career under French coach Fred Vergnoux.

‘I had a little shower cubicle, which doubled up as a wardrobe,’ he says, laughing, ‘and just a hob to cook with — no freezer or washing machine or anything. It was pretty brutal at times over there.’

Equally refreshing is Jamieson’s attitude to what he calls the ‘perks’ of life post-Olympics. He is speaking to mark the opening of the Westcroft Leisure Centre in Carshalton, south London, and came  second behind boxer Anthony Joshua in BBC’s Superstars, but there is no sense of entitlement in the way he talks about how his life has changed.

Tom Daley has been criticised for his involvement in Splash! but the diver’s justification is that he worked hard for his Olympic bronze medal, so why not enjoy the rewards now? For Jamieson, however, that reward still seems to come in the pool.

Results first: Jamieson knows he must perform in the pool to get the perks

‘That’s something I’ve got to manage well,’ he says. ‘Obviously training comes first. If I stop producing results, those perks stop.

‘It was something I was quite worried about, going back to training after the Games. So many athletes talk about how much of a struggle it is to get back into it. But I have got four more years at this level, so I’m treating every day like it’s my last in training.’

After winning the ‘prestigious’ gym test during Superstars, Jamieson’s next target is a gold in Glasgow at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. When talk turns from perks to pool, his voice suddenly gets more serious.

‘I was born and bred in Glasgow,’ Jamieson says. ‘That’s my pool: it’s where I decided I wanted to be an Olympian. I finished second in  London, so there’s only one acceptable result for me.’

Focused: Jamieson is gunning for gold at the Commonwealth Games

Michael was speaking to mark the opening of Westcroft Leisure Centre, Carshalton. www.everyoneactive.com

 

What they said

Kim Collins, the St Kitts and Nevis sprinter who ran for a Commonwealth select team in Glasgow this weekend, but vowed never to wear his country’s vest again.

The former world champion was expelled from London 2012 — allegedly for visiting his wife at a hotel outside the Athletes’ Village without permission.

‘I will be the first man to get in trouble for allegedly having sex with his wife,’ said the 36-year-old. ‘They wanted to show that they have power over me.’

Last outing: Kim Collins (right) has vowed not to run for his country again

 ... and this is what I've been doing this week

Joined by 2,483 Everton fans on a freezing night at Southampton on Monday night. That’s quite a commitment for an 8pm kick-off, particularly as their trip to the south coast followed weekday away games at Newcastle and Cheltenham. Yet the Everton fans still found the energy to conjure up a chant about Saints midfielder Jason Puncheon’s impromptu toilet break.Watched Paralympic silver medallist Libby Clegg, who is partially sighted, run the 60 metres at the British Athletics International Match in Glasgow without her guide, Mikail Huggins, after he injured a hamstring during the warm-up. Just think about how it must be to compete when you cannot see the finishing line, particularly on an indoor track with a slope at the end of the straight. Quite remarkable.Indulged in my kind of carbo-loading at the Virgin London Marathon media launch at Le Gavroche in Mayfair. Head chef Michel Roux Jr has run 19 marathons, though presumably not after his cheese souffle with double cream. London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist David ‘Weirwolf’ Weir was presented with a red helmet sporting a werewolf ahead of his bid to win his seventh London marathon in 12 weeks’ time.  Performance of the week

England’s netball team had beaten Australia only twice in Test matches before last Sunday. They had never won a series against the world No 1 and world champions. But England did something quite remarkable by recording three straight wins for a series whitewash within six days. Bodes well for the Ashes, don’t you think?

How about that? Serena Guthrie celebrates England's victory






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