In an action-packed first day it was Adam Peaty, James Guy and Hannah Miley that impressed with their performances as the British Swimming Championships began in Glasgow.
Guy was the first swimmer to excel in his final of the 400m Freestyle as he dominated the race in front of the home crowd.
The Millfield swimmer led from the first turn and showed his true potential by touching the wall in 3:43.84 which placed him under the consideration time for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“It felt like a great swim,” Guy said. “It felt really strong. The first half felt really comfortable but it hurt towards the back end but that’s fine. We’re in April now and we’ve got four months until the Games so still some work to be done.
“The pressure is off now and I can enjoy the rest of the meet. The first one is always the one and then you can get into the meet. Day two tomorrow and I’m happy. I know I can make little improvements now ahead of the summer.”
Perth’s Stephen Milne finished in second place after a strong swim as he pushed to stay as close to Guy as possible.
Triple World Champion Peaty, who had already impressed the Glasgow crowds in his heat, swam a strong final of the 100m Breaststroke and he touched in first place in 58.41 which was under the consideration time for the Olympic Games this summer.
Peaty (City of Derby) looked powerful throughout the final and turned in first place ahead of University of Stirling swimmer Ross Murdoch.
“I know what these guys are like - they are fast,” Peaty said. “I never take it for granted but thankfully the training has helped out and process done. It was still in the back of my mind that I have to qualify.
“I’ve got the 200m now so we’ll see how that goes. I’ve not done a 200m since January so it’s going to be great to just get out there and race again. The pressure is off now which is great.
“I know that wasn’t near my best, I’m glad that I came first but I know what went wrong and what went well in that race. Hopefully next time I can get out a bit faster and come back stronger.”
The final 50m saw Peaty show extend his lead and, while Murdoch fought to keep close to him, the University of Stirling swimmer secured second place.
Garioch’s Miley had the home crowd on their feet as she stormed to victory in the 400m Individual Medley.
Miley secured a time to put herself in contention for nomination for Rio 2016 as she swam to 4:33.40 after being pushed through the final by Aimee Willmott (London Aquatics Centre Performance Programme).
The lead passed between the two swimmers but it was through the Freestyle leg that Miley secured her victory.
“I am happy I can now relax and see how the rest of my races go,” Miley said. “That was the race I wanted. It’s [the 400m IM] day one in Rio and it’s day one here so I am trying to practice and plan my preparations to get up and swimming fast one day one.
“I want to improve then I’m going to get back to the drawing board now and focus.”
Jazz Carlin won one of the tightest races of the night as she reached for the wall in first place in the women’s 200m Freestyle.
Ellie Faulkner (City of Sheffield) and Georgia Coates (City of Leeds) pushed the National Centre, Bath swimmer all the way through the final but Carlin took the race on the final 50m.
Daniel Jervis (Swansea Aquatics) led throughout the race to take the win in the 400m Freestyle Target Tokyo final. He finished ahead of Cameron Kurle (Millfield) and Tom Derbyshire (Royal Wolverhampton School).
Hatfield’s Nathan Hughes won the Junior Final of the 400m Freestyle and he touched ahead of Samuel Budd (City of Sheffield) and George Taplin (Miadenhead).
Preston’s Kathryn Greenslade secured the victory in the 200m Freestyle Target Tokyo final but was pushed all the way by Lucy Hope (Edinburgh University) and Maya Westlake (City of Sheffield).
Hannah Featherstone (Sedgefield) reached for the wall first in the Junior final of the 200m Freestyle closely followed by Tazmin Pugh (Ellesmere) and Bethany Newton (Street).
In the Target Tokyo final of the 100m Breaststroke Luke Davies (City of Birmingham) swam to a new personal best as he claimed the victory ahead of Kieron Preston (Edinburgh University) and David Murphy (City of Oxford).
Yaron Gerber (Barnet Copthall) swam to first place in the 100m Breaststroke Junior final with Jarvis Parkinson (Doncaster Dartes) and Callum Smart (City of Oxford) finishing in second and third respectively.
Niamh McDonagh (Borough of Stockton) won the 400m Individual Medley Target Tokyo final with a promising performance beating Abigail Humphreys (City of Coventry) and Jennifer King (East Kilbride).
Newcastle’s Emily Large swam to the victory in the Junior final of the 400m Individual Medley after touching ahead of Ciara Schlosshan (City of Leeds) and Sophia Wilson (Guildford).