Silverware at Worlds not a necessity for Miley

Miley came agonisingly short of the Olympic medal that had evaded her for two previous Games in Rio, missing out on bronze by less than a fifth of a second.

But while many of her fellow competitors called a day on their international careers in the aftermath of the Games, retirement was never an option for the 27-year-old.

Instead, she got straight back into the water, and fought to prove to herself exactly why she fell in love with the sport in the first place.

It was a decision that paid dividends, and with a new mindset in place, Miley heads to Budapest in July with new-found confidence.

"Whenever I go to a competition, the target to be in the top three is always there," she said. "I took the hit from Rio pretty hard but I had to learn that I gave it everything and 15 hundredths of a second is just so small.

"I've had to sit and reflect on it quite a lot. But for me, sport isn't all about the medals, there is more to it than that.

"I used to focus so much on being on the podium and having those medals, but I put so much pressure on myself that I lost my spark for swimming.

"Post-Rio, I really had to change that so I did a lot of swimming on my own. There was no coach there, no teammates there, and I just got to 'play' in the water – I really regained my love for the sport.

"I'm going into Budapest with the confidence of knowing that I still love what I do, it's my job, and regardless of the outcome, I'll still come away happy."

Whatever happens in Hungary, the conclusion of the Championships will see Miley soon switch her focus to next year, with the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships on the horizon – the latter in Glasgow.

For the first time ever, a new multi-sport event will combine the existing European Championships for aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon, along with a new golf team championships, between August 2-12 in Glasgow. The 2018 European Athletics Championships meanwhile will be held in Berlin from August 7-12.

More than 3,000 of the continent's finest athletes will descend on the Scottish city over 11 days of action for the biggest sporting event in the country since the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, with tickets now on sale – and Miley can't wait for the action to unfold.

"I think having the European Championships on home soil will be brilliant," she said. "The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is still a very strong memory for me and that will never, ever leave me.

"It's not often, as athletes, that you get a major championships with a home crowd, and it really does make all the difference.

"It can be the difference between fourth place and third, you raise your game when you've got a home crowd cheering you.

"It's going to be like a mini-Olympics or Commonwealth Games. It really helps to keep the camaraderie between sportspeople alive – it's not just about swimming, and I think getting behind the other GB athletes across the board is really important."

Sportsbeat 2017