JAY Lelliott tonight admitted that he had learned the lessons of a tough start to his week at the British Swimming Championships and was already reaping the rewards.

After finishing sixth in the 400m freestyle on day one, Lelliott significantly improved in this evening’s 200m butterfly final as he touched home second in 1.58.04 minutes.

University of Stirling swimmer Cameron Brodie took gold, with fellow Scot Lewis Smith claiming bronze.

Portland’s Lelliott was delighted with his race tactics and execution at the London Aquatics Centre.

“That last 50m hurt a lot – it’s difficult to describe,” he said. “I was really concentrating on my technique and trying to stay in touch but I knew when I got to 125m, the last length was going to hurt a lot and I needed to dig deep.

“It was a good race, I was happy with how I swam it, but I’m not quite where I wanted to be.

“I’d like to have gone a bit quicker but that’s the nature of a final sometimes.

“I have been going quickly in training and based on times I have been producing, I thought I had the potential to go much faster, but it just wasn’t to be on the night.

“I have no regrets about how I swam the race, I put myself in the right position but I guess it’s just a reflection of where my body is at presently.

“I can guarantee I will come back stronger and I know there’s so much more to come from me this season.”

“In the 400m freestyle on the opening night, I never felt like I put myself in the race to win it. I’m learning and developing all of the time and I thought I did that today and you could see a real improvement with this final.”

Lelliott revealed he had been inspired by the iconic setting of competing in the London 2012 Olympic venue and planned to use the energy and noise created by a raucous crowd to his advantage in his remaining events.

“The atmosphere and the crowd have been fantastic, this is the Olympic venue after all and it doesn’t get any better than swimming at this pool,” he added.

“It is an inspirational place to be anyway but with the crowd as packed and as noisy as they have been – it doesn’t get any better.

“I’m still not done this week – I have four events to come and I want to keep improving and making my mark on these Championships. It will be a tough conclusion but I can’t wait to get back at there again.”

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