Measured Miley takes no chances
FOUR years of graft — in and out of the pool — will reap their initial rewards if Hannah Miley leaps out of the water at Glasgow’s Tollcross Pool on Tuesday night with her ticket to Rio punched.
This week’s Olympic trials will see some fulfil their dreams of reaching Brazil in August. For others, it may be the end of the line. For Miley, it represents one more challenge on a journey that has seen brilliant highs and demoralising lows since she came fifth at London 2012 when she had hoped for so much more.
‘I can’t really think about Rio until the trials is out of the way because I’m not the kind of person who believes they’ll definitely qualify,’ the 26-year-old from Inverurie confirms. ‘I’m not a cocky person. I like to stay confident but I don’t like to vocalise it. I’ve got to get trials out of the way before I can talk about what Rio would mean. Because I’d look a right idiot if I don’t get there. I want to preserve my dignity by getting things right and not pre-empt it.’
Coming fourth at last summer’s World Championships in Kazan, a year on from her triumph at the Commonwealth Games, left the Scot wondering if there was anything more to give. In tandem with her father Patrick, her coach since she first burst on to the scene a decade ago, Miley drafted a fresh approach that has included a stint of training at altitude in a bid to push her faster than ever before.
‘I don’t get an immediate effect,’ she admits. ‘I find it helps me later on. It allows me to train at a higher intensity. It’s something we’re still learning about. But I’m up for not doing the same thing every year.
‘I like changing things up. They say if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. And it’s good to do something different.’
The 400-metre individual medley on Day One should open the door to one further shot at an Olympic medal. Selection in any of her three other events would merely be a bonus. ‘But I’m aware how stacked every event is and how challenging it will be,’ Miley acknowledges. ‘I just have to prepare as much as I can and then race.’