Michael Jamieson: Swimmer ‘leaning towards’ retirement

Jamieson’s 2012 silver medal-winning time was faster than that which won gold in Rio

Olympic 2012 silver medallist Michael Jamieson admits he is “leaning towards” retirement from swimming, but will decide his future in the coming weeks.

The 27-year-old was contemplating life outside the sport while working for the media at the Olympic Games in Rio.

But Dmitriy Balandin’s gold in the 200m breaststroke prompted a rethink, as Jamieson swam faster for 2012 silver.

The Scot will only continue racing if he feels he can compete for a Commonwealth gold medal in 2018.

“Going into Rio, I thought being there in a different capacity, just trying to relax, I was leaning towards finishing,” Jamieson told BBC Scotland’s Sportsound programme.

“I don’t want to be an athlete that hangs on and falls down the pecking order, I want to be competing for medals.

“But the time that I swam in London four years ago [2:07.43] was quicker than won gold [2:07.46] in Rio. The time that won the bronze medal [2:07.70], I’ve done that eight or nine times in my career.”

Jamieson was the only British male to win a swimming medal at the London Games four years ago, but he finished second to Ross Murdoch at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and has struggled for form since then.

He was not selected for the GB team for the World Championships last year, which prompted him to move away from his Bath training base to Edinburgh University, but Jamieson could only finish fifth in the Olympic trials.

Jamieson saw younger rivals Andrew Willis, Craig Benson and Ross Murdoch finish ahead of him at the British trials

In the immediate aftermath, he admitted …

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