JAZZ Carlin knows the hard work begins now after having her place in the Great Britain swimming squad to compete at the Rio Olympics later this year confirmed yesterday.

Swindon’s Carlin almost walked away from the sport after missing out on London 2012 after a bout of glandular fever, but ended her long wait to reach a first Olympic Games with her place in the team announced at the University of Bath by National Performance Director Chris Spice.

Having already claimed two gold medals in the 200m and 800m at the British Championships in Glasgow last week, the Tigersharks swimmer made her selection unquestionable when she swam a time of 4:04.33, just over three tenths under the qualifying standard, in the 400m.

“To know I am on the plane to Rio is an absolutely incredible feeling,” said Carlin, who is targeting spots in the 400m and 800m freestyle as well as the 4x200m freestyle relay.

“I can’t keep the smile off my face.

“It has been an amazing couple of years and to come away with medals at national championships is always an amazing feeling, but the Olympics is every four years and it does have that special feeling about it.

“You want to be at your best and you want to be going to the Olympic Games, it is sort of the pinnacle of most sporting careers.

“It is just an incredible feeling to be on that team and I am just going to be doing everything I can in training and working as hard as I can to make sure I have no regrets and I can go in knowing I have done everything.

“I have been through a tough old journey and you put so many hours in to training and you work so hard so when you get those bonuses and get to go to big competitions it is an absolutely amazing feeling.”

Carlin will join a 26-strong team heading to Brazil in August, where she thinks she will be taking to the pool in the 400m and 800m freestyle, as well as possibly the 200m relay.

Prior to that, Carlin will be performing on home soil when she takes to the pool to compete at the European Championships in London next month and will be using her training to make sure she leaves no stone left unturned.

“The European Championships are in London in May and that is going to be an amazing games,” added Carlin.

“Because it is at home we are going to have that home crowd is really going to push us on to do big things.

“The Europeans and then a few competitions along the way but a lot of it will be hard work and training and working on those smaller things to make the big things happen.”