HANNAH Miley has always been an anomaly in the swimming world – several inches shorter than most of her rivals and training in a 25m indoor pool in Inverurie.
Her height disadvantage will never go away but after the disappointment of missing out on a medal in Rio, Miley is now training in an Olympic-sized pool at the Performance Centre in Aberdeen.
Still coached by dad Patrick, Miley remains an outlier in the swimming world – at 27 she is the oldest member of the British squad in Budapest at this week’s World Championships.
Despite being a veteran in swimming terms, Miley is relishing the change of environment as she looks to extend her career.
“My training has changed a fair bit. I now train in an amazing long-course facility,” she said. “My dad got appointed as the head coach for the Performance Centre in Aberdeen and I thought it was time for me to change and move to training in a bigger facility.
“I will always have the background of training in Inverurie and that will always keep me grounded. It is nice having more access to long-course swimming training. I race long course so I need a bit more training in that pool.
“It’s been good and different, especially working with a bigger team, and one a lot closer to my age instead of swimming with little 12-year-olds. I was the oldest by a long way in Garioch but now those people [in Aberdeen] are at uni and they are a bit more mature and it’s nice being able to train with them. It’s been a good change.”
Today, Miley will go in the 400m individual medley – the event in which she is the two-time Commonwealth champion. She will be looking to bounce back from the frustrations of Rio, when she finished fourth, just 15 hundredths behind Spain Mireia Belmonte, with whom she has trained in the Sierra Nevada.
While Miley will never be anything less than bubbly, she said she had grown to love her sport once more since the experience of Brazil.
“Off the back of Rio I chose not to take a break,” she said. "I went straight back into training, even while the Games were still going on. I would get back in the pool for a bit of routine and normality while I was still trying to set my head in the right place and race at the World Cups.
“That was a great experience and I’m really glad I did that. It’s been a while since I swam straight through but I think it was one of the best things I could have done after Rio. It reminded me of how much I love being in the water, the feel of it.
“I’ve always said I’m not a big athlete, I’m quite short. So it’s not about height and strength, it is my ability to be aware of my body in the water and to feel. Just being able to play around in the water is my forte.”
In the pool yesterday Britain picked up two more medals with Ben Proud and James Guy collecting bronze in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly respectively.
Both were beaten by America’s Caeleb Dressel, who now has six titles from the week. Yesterday, he became the first man in history to win three gold medals in one night at the Worlds after also leading off the US 4x100m mixed freestyle relay.
You can help the next generation of young British swimmers by getting involved in SportsAid Week in September with five-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds OBE. Find out more about how you can support the week of fun and fundraising by visiting www.sportsaid.org.uk/sportsaidweek.
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