Ben Proud might be a reigning double Commonwealth champion but the Plymouth swimmer insists he is not thinking about medals heading into the World Championships.
Proud’s first two years on the senior squad have been a dream, with a British record in 2013 followed by 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly gold medals in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games and then European gold as an integral part of the 4x100m medley relay in Berlin last year.
But the 20-year-old is not getting carried away by his success ahead of his second World Championships in Kazan.
“With my events it is still very much touch and go [when it comes to whether I can medal] because there are microseconds between making the final and getting a medal,” said Proud, who also won 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly gold at April’s British Championships.
“I am still young and still trying to break through on to the scene so I am not thinking about medals.
“I don’t think I ever will before a major competition because I just try to be fast and if that is good enough for a medal then great but if not, then I am still young and trying to breakthrough.”
The Plymouth Leander star, who will no doubt also feature amongst the relays at the World Championships from Sunday, broke Mark Foster’s 10-year British record in the 50m butterfly in his first season on the senior squad and has since added the 50m freestyle honour as well.
The 2013 World Championships in Barcelona was his international debut and in Kazan he will be taking part in the 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle.
“I am definitely excited,” Proud added. “This is my third year on the senior British team and each year I have progressed to a higher standard and in the last 12 months you have seen the British team come together and I’m interested to see how we do as a whole.
“I feel like I have developed as an athlete and I feel I can contend against the rest. I am looking forward to seeing how it goes.
“This is like a stepping stone to the Olympics because no matter what happens at the Worlds, we have another year to go until the Olympics so I want to get more experience and see how it goes from there.”