PORTLAND swimming star Jay Lelliott insisted he was happy with a bronze in the 200m backstroke at the British Swimming Championships in Glasgow.

Lelliott, 24, was defending 400m and 800m freestyle champion and after finishing fourth – 0.14 seconds off silver – in the 400, swerved the 800 choosing instead to focus on short-distance events.

The Sheffield-based swimmer went on to claim fifth in the 200m butterfly final but failed to qualify from his 200m freestyle heat, ending up fifth.

However, in the final session of the regatta, Lelliott produced a superb display in the 200m backstroke, making up 0.43 seconds on Millfield’s Brodie Williams in a thrilling final 50 metres to secure joint-third in 1:59.64.

Speaking to Echosport, Lelliott cited recent events out of the pool as reason to be satisfied with what would usually be considered an under-par display.

He said: “I’ve had a lot going on this year so I can’t really be too disappointed. There’s been a lot going on in my personal life away from the pool, it’s been quite difficult.

“In terms of the start of the meet it looked pretty bad for my usual performances, not what I would expect. The 400 free and 200 fly I’ll take them, they’re not too bad.

“But the 200 backstroke, because of what was going on – I was knocked back quite a bit – I was like ‘I’m going to take a completely different approach’ and focus on an event I never normally do and one I’m enjoying doing.

“I’m fed up of going to meets and saying ‘I’m happy with that all things considered’. I ended up getting a two-second PB in the backstroke, so I was very happy.”

Despite a bumpy run up to the championships, the competitor in Lelliott still had designs on a medal in his favoured events.

“I was really hoping I was going to be able to snag a medal in the 400 free or 200 fly,” he said.

“I’ve been putting some work into them but my freestyle has been feeling rubbish in training. I haven’t done the work on it and I didn’t feel confident. I finished 0.07 (seconds) off a bronze. I was very frustrated there.

“My 200 fly didn’t feel what it was supposed to. It just tapered off, it was really weird.

“My backstroke I had nothing to lose, everything to gain.”

With Lelliott struggling in the freestyle, he opted not to contest the 800 noting he would have posted an “average” time.

Lelliott also missed out on Great Britain selection for the upcoming World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, but is instead targeting a spot on the British roster for the World University Games in Naples, Italy, this July.

He said: “I was always hoping to gain selection but I knew I wasn’t going to be close for the worlds.

“I’ve got a slither of hope that I’m really praying on because I would love to go to the world Uni Games for the third time and have something to really look forward to this summer.

“The team hasn’t been announced yet so all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

“That’s my main hope for the moment but I can’t bank too much on that because the selection policy is quite tough.”