Hannah’s dad makes her go the extra Miley

Hannah Miley has banished the heartbreak of missing out on a medal at the London Olympics.

She now has her sights set on gold at the World Swimming Championships, which start in Barcelona next weekend.

The Scottish 400m medley star was disappointed for herself and for her country a year ago but most of all she was devastated for her dad.

Miley, one of Team GB’s hottest hopes, finished fifth as 16-year-old Chinese girl Ye Shiwen set a new world record in the Aquatics Centre.

Afterwards, the 23-year-old from Inverurie broke down in tears when asked about her dad Patrick, who has coached his daughter to Commonwealth Gold and World Championships silver.

“My first feeling was that I’d let him down massively,” says Hannah.

“I’d been determined not to cry, but when a TV interviewer asked me how my dad would react to the result, I couldn’t stop myself.

“As much as I swim for myself, I do it for him. I want to make him proud and repay him for everything he’s done for me.

“I will swim for Great Britain next week and Scotland in the Commonwealth Games next year, but mainly I swim for my dad.

“He took a lot of the blame himself. He wondered what he did wrong. Sometimes, though, other people are just better on the day.

“He’s an amazing person. He’s not even a full-time coach because he’s a helicopter pilot by profession.

“He’s also an inventor. He invented a device called the Aquapacer, which I and other swimmers use all the time.

“It’s like a waterproof metronome that can be set to different stroke patterns. I wear a sensor under my cap and it’s like having a training partner.

“I train in a small four-lane 25-metre pool with the public. It’s a bit Rocky-esque but we make it work.

“I’ve thought about joining a club with state-of-the-art facilities but why fix what isn’t broken?

“The Olympics is a very emotional competition. The pendulum swings are massive.

“If things go well, it’s amazing, but if they go even slightly wrong, you feel you’ve hit the sea floor.

“A lot of athletes suffer post-Olympic blues. You can feel lost and bewildered.

“I knew a lot was expected of me. The day of my Final, Mark Cavendish was expected to win Team GB’s first gold in the road race.

“If that didn’t happen, the focus on me would increase.

“Even though everyone else in the country knew Mark missed out, I went into the pool not having a clue how he’d done. It’s amazing what a pair of headphones can do!

“In the end, though, it didn’t make much difference.

“I sat down with my dad and talked it all through. I was very determined to stay in the middle ground and take the positives as well as the negatives.

“It took me a couple of weeks to sort my head out.

“But I didn’t want to let the demons out of the box because I knew they could haunt me for a long time and end up ruining my preparations for future championships.”

n Hannah Miley is taking part in the Scottish Gas SwimBritain event at Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool on September 29. Find out more at swimbritain.co.uk/signup