SWINDON swimmer Jazz Carlin won gold this evening in the 400 metres freestyle at the British Championships in a time fast enough to take her to the world championships in Kazan this summer.

The 24-year-old touched in a time of four minutes 03:51 seconds to banish her bad memories of the London Aquatics Centre and finish almost a second inside the qualification time for the prestigious world championships in July.

It was also Carlin's second-fastest time in this discipline and saw her achieve redemption after her failed qualification attempt for the London 2012 Olympics.

Swimming with glandular fever, she finished fourth in her heat and did not make it to her home Olympics - but this result went some way to softening that blow.

"The last time I raced in this pool it didn't go the way I wanted," the 2014 Commonwealth 800m freestyle gold medallist said.

"But I'm a completely different swimmer now and I want to be building on that in the summer. I feel a lot stronger mentally, it is all about accepting the journey and the highs and lows - you have got to get used to that and become the best you can be. Hopefully the next couple of years can go my way.

"It will be great to race people at the Worlds, they will be going even faster and I have to be on my game then. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm so glad I got my time.

"I don't see it as pressure, the British team will be really strong. It will be my fourth world championships, I will be a veteran - one of the older ones which I don't think I like that much.

"I pushed myself out in the first half and I'm not really used to that, I'm used to chasing the field so it was something different but it is good to practice it now before the bigger competitions.

"There are lots of things I have worked on in training and I'm just very happy. It has been a bit of a big change, I'm really enjoying it.

"This is where I want to stay I want to keep improving and be on the team next year. I'm just trying to be the best I can be."

Hannah Miley, also born in Swindon, swam alongside Carlin and also participated in the 200m backstroke as she builds up to her main event - the 400m individual medley on Sunday - to stage her own qualification for Kazan.

"I try and not put pressure on it," she said.

"At the moment I have never seen a group of swimmers looked so stressed because the policy is so tough - and for good reason.

"Everyone handles it in their own way but for me it is about staying as calm and relaxed as I can and not getting stressed about it.

"You have that target and if you're told 'if you don't do this, you don't go' it puts an anxiety in people but some manage it better and it is intriguing."