Ross Murdoch has been receiving an education in Barcelona at the World Swimming Championships and although it hasn't all gone to plan, he believes it will stand him in good stead as he prepares for Glasgow next year.
"It has been a really good experience and I definitely believe next time around I'm going to be ready. I'll be bigger, fitter and ready to take on the world," said the University of Stirling swimmer, who will be back in the pool for the final time today as part of the British 4x100m medley squad.
"Standing up against the best in the world is going to help me in all aspects of my swimming, especially knowing in the training pool what I'm going to need to do when I stand up beside them on the blocks.
"The experiences that I'm going to take away from this are massive and I know exactly what I need to do to get better. It puts me in a good place for the Commonwealth Games next year and I'm so excited about those trials and trying to get on that team."
The 19-year-old has looked at ease in Barcelona despite operating in the pressure cooker environment of the toughest competition outside of the Olympic Games.
On the opening day, he clocked 1min 00.07secs in his 100m breaststroke semi-final to finish 11th and miss out on the final by just 0.15secs, with compatriot Michael Jamieson, whose preparations were hindered by injury, in 15th.
In the 50m splash-and-dash event, which witnessed 83 competitors bidding for 16 semi-final spots, Murdoch found it tougher going and exited in the heats after clocking 28.00, placing 30th overall.
While he was happy just to be there, Murdoch was disappointed not to lower his trials time of 59.80 and make the 100m final.
Yet the experiences of preparing for a major championship and delivering consistently through the rounds are aspects he is sure he can improve on.
"It has been a little weird as I haven't tapered that many times. I quite enjoyed it but I just didn't do it on the night," he said.
"It has been an incredible experience to come here as part of the Great Britain team, it has just been amazing. The atmosphere is incredible and everyone is just so excited to be here. I'm just glad to be a part of it."
Jamie Holt
o Britain's athletes are funded by UK Sport as the nation's high performance sports agency responsible for the strategic investment of £355 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding in Olympic and Paralympic sports preparing for Rio 2016. The ambition is to win more medals than in London 2012 while building a stronger more sustainable high performance system. www.uksport.gov.uk
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