JAMES Guy has not given up hope of winning an Olympic medal after squeezing into the final of the 200m freestyle.

The 20-year-old Radcliffe swimmer won gold in the distance at last year's World Championships but has struggled to repeat that form in Rio.

He finished sixth in the 400m freestyle final over the weekend and qualified for tomorrow morning's 200m final with the eighth fastest time overall.

Guy was third in his semi-final in the early hours of this morning, British time, with a time of 1min 46.23secs after easing through his heat in second place earlier in the day.

“I thought I’d need a little bit more than the morning but I think I might have given it a bit much too early," he said.

"I felt it a bit towards the back end.

“I’ve just got to swim my own final now. I don’t know about a time but I know if I’m fighting for places, I’ll never give up.

“It’s nice to have the title of world champion but it’s all about the final now. That’s what people are thinking about. I need to forget about last year and it’s all about this year now."

Guy says he will take inspiration from the gold medal won by Rio room-mate Adam Peaty, who broke his own world record to claim the 100m breaststroke title overnight.

“Adam [Peaty] is an amazing man," Guy added. "To have him here doing that is something special and he’s someone to look up to as well as being a great friend of mine.

“He’s a great boy and he’s got a good atmosphere about him.”

The 200m freestyle final is due to take place at 2.21am tomorrow, British time.