By Gareth James
Dan Jervis set a new personal best and was only 0.10 seconds outside the consideration time for this summer’s World Championships as he cruised to the men’s 400m freestyle title at the British Swimming Championships in Sheffield.
The Swansea University swimmer – who reached the 1500m final at his first Olympics in Tokyo last year – stormed clear of the field after 100m and never looked like relinquishing his lead as he finished 2.08 seconds ahead of runner-up Luke Turley (Bath National Centre).
Another Welsh swimmer, Kieran Bird, – who also swam for Great Britain in Tokyo – from the Bath National Centre, was the bronze medallist.
A BIG smile & a BIG swim from Dan Jervis, who takes the 400m free🥇
“We’re training harder, but also smarter & we’re not here to mess around this week,” he says of his Swansea team. Jervis adds he’s “absolutely buzzing” about representing Wales at the Commonwealths this summer. pic.twitter.com/SrXFZbOrQz
— Nick Hope – the athlete’s journalist 👨💻🏊🏻♂️ (@NickHopeTV) April 5, 2022
Jervis clocked 3:46.44 to finish 2.08 seconds ahead Turley, who took the silver in 3:48.52.
Jervis said: “Sheffield is my favourite pool in the world.
“I’ve been fortunate to swim all over the world. I’ve seen some fantastic venues – but there’s just something about Sheffield.
“I don’t know if it’s because I remember it from when I was younger and it’s homely to me, but I love it here.
💬 “It’s so lovely to have my parents in the crowd here” ❤️
Daniel Jervis celebrates a special win in the 400m Freestyle at Ponds Forge #BSC22
— British Swimming (@britishswimming) April 5, 2022
“Training has been going so well, but it’s been very difficult, as every athlete in the world will say. Huge credit to my coach Adam Baker, because we’ve really trained hard into this competition and it’s going to be a good week.
“I’m very fortunate that I have been pre-selected for the competitions this summer, so this competition here, I am just here to relax and enjoy myself – and I am!”