Guy adopts new mental approach for the Euros

British swimmer James Guy has turned to psychology as he looks to bounce back from a below-par Commonwealth Games.

Returning from the Gold Coast with five medals might not be seen as a disappointment for many, but a haul of four silvers and one bronze is not what Guy had in mind heading out.

The Bury-born swimmer narrowly missed out on a medal in the 200-metres freestyle and was forced to pull out of the 200m butterfly final due to illness and exhaustion.

It meant he fell short of his target of seven medals from the Games in Australia.

After dropping the 400m freestyle from his schedule, he admits he has had to take a step back and adopt a different approach if he is going to succeed in the European Championships – which begin in Glasgow and Edinburgh on Friday.

He said: “I wanted to medal in the 200 butterfly, I wanted to medal in the 200 freestyle but I have been learning to back end my races a lot more.”

Explaining his new approach, which saw him claim bronze in the 200 freestyle at a recent meet in Rome, he added: “I went 0.1 seconds slower in Rome, completely unrested, I was faster in the butterfly and got bronze in the 200 free.

“It was just like the way I used swim things and not just going in like a hooligan and dying on my backside, I am coming back fast.

“It is just about playing round with a few things, and talking to my psychologist has really helped as well.”

Explaining the work with the psychologist, he said: “It was about getting things explained properly, and getting a different mindset of how to race things.

“Someone might say ‘don’t go out as hard (from the start)’ but it’s a lot more than that.

“Having a different mentality makes a massive difference now. “It has just helped me relax. “When people tell me to go for gold, I was going out as hard as I can and at the back end I had nothing there, rather than start at bronze and then attack for gold from there.”