By Katie Falkingham, Sportsbeat – 0870 445 0156

SETTING targets is not the way Weymouth swimming star Jay Lelliott likes to operate, but he admits confidence is high as he heads into next week’s BUCS Nationals in tip-top shape.

The University of Bath student, a European bronze medallist, will compete across a variety of events at the annual competition, including the 200m and 400m freestyle as well as the 200m butterfly.

Taking place from February 17-19, BUCS Nationals will see more than 6,000 students from across the country descend on the Steel City for three action-packed days of sport.

And for 22-year-old Lelliott, he’s heading to the pool with renewed optimism and a different attitude as he continues his rise up the international ladder.

“I’m really looking forward to BUCS Nationals, it’s going to be quite interesting because I feel like I’m in pretty good shape,” said the former Thomas Hardye School pupil.

“I’ve had a good block of training recently so I feel that it could go very well for me.

“If I’m honest, during the season I never look at what I’m going to win or placings, I just try to improve on my times.

“Obviously, I want to win because it gets points for the team, but if I aim for a time I think I can hit, that time should put me in good stead to do pretty well so we’ll have to see.

“I’m doing two relays, as well as the 200 and 400m free, and the 200m butterfly. Confidence is good at the moment, I feel so much more relaxed than I have been recently and I’m not putting any pressure on myself to swim fast.

“It’s nice to be like this, I’ve always been one to put pressure on myself but that takes away the fun from the sport, but now I feel like I’m back to loving it again.”

BUCS Nationals is the UK’s largest annual multi-sport event, and has provided a building block in the careers of many professional athletes.

And for Lelliott, whose main focus this season is qualifying for the World Championships in July, BUCS provides the perfect alternatives to the stresses and strains of international competition.

“BUCS is so great because I love being able to see everyone competing for their universities,” he said. “I used to be at Swim Bournemouth before I came to Bath, and now a lot of my friends are at different universities, but I get to see them at BUCS when I wouldn’t normally see them.

“It’s a massive social for me as well. Obviously I take the swimming seriously, but it’s so relaxed and I can catch up with so many people.

“We go to BUCS to compete as a team, so everyone is behind each other and supporting one another, so it makes it completely different to everything else I do.”

PLEASE LEAVE IN FINAL PAR - British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education (HE) sport in the UK, organising leagues and competitions for more than 150 institutions across 52 different sports. BUCS Nationals is the UK’s largest annual multi-sport event, bringing over 6,000 athletes to Sheffield to compete in 9 sports