PORTLAND swimming star Jay Lelliott claimed two bronze medals at the British Summer Championships held at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.

Freestyle ace Lelliott, 22, took the final step on the podium in both the 400m and 1,500m events but struggled with an illness in the build-up to the meeting.

And Lelliott admitted he is “fed up” of seeing his preparation hindered by ill health in the run up to big events.

He told Echosport: “I’m getting fed up of being ill or injured. My preparation had been going so well before that, but I’m really happy all things considered. I had no rest for the competition whatsoever so looking at the results I’m really chuffed.

“It was a head cold to begin with and it became a chesty cough. The air at the pool was not great and I couldn’t maximise my breathing. I know a few people had that problem.

Commenting on his performances, Lelliott was disappointed with how he executed his tactics in the 1,500m.

“I made a couple of tactical errors. I didn’t go out quickly enough in the 1,500 but there’s lots of positives and things I can work on for the next meet,” he said.

Lelliott will now turn his attentions to representing Great Britain at the World University Games (WUGs) in Gwangju, South Korea, later this month.

The Bath University man has opted not to race in the two week gap before the WUGs, choosing instead to focus on recapturing the form he showed in training before Sheffield.

He said: “I need to start freshening up to get more pool fitness back. I would say I had some of the best training in my life. I was very happy with how it was going. Some of the times I was doing in training were up with my PBs.”