JAMES Guy will use the gold-medal winning exploits of team-mates Adam Peaty and Ben Proud to spur him on in the pool tonight as he goes for glory in the 200m freestyle final at the World Championships in Budapest, writes Pippa Field.

Less than 24 hours after finishing down in sixth in the 400m freestyle final, Guy returned to the Duna Arena last night for the heats of the shorter 200m event.

Two years ago in Kazan, the 21-year-old Bury swimmer surprised his rivals by taking gold in the final and he has his eyes firmly on further silverware this week, despite individual disappointment on the Olympic stage in Rio last summer.

He came through his morning heat as the second fastest qualifier and then won his semi-final with only team-mate Duncan Scott going quicker in the other race by two hundredths of a second.

And with Peaty and Proud kickstarting the British medal rush in the 100m breaststroke and 50m butterfly prior to Guy entering the pool, there was plenty to get the Brit’s energy levels pumping.

“I was getting ready upstairs and Adam and Ben won and I was thinking ‘right it’s my turn to go out there and put in a performance’,” said Guy, who is also scheduled to go in the 100m butterfly and relay races later in the week.

“That spurred me on a bit more, it was good to have two wins tonight for the team.

“It was a good semi-final that. I felt strong and in control of the race, which was nice.

“I knew I had a bit more juice to give and hopefully I can move it on for the final.

“You do an event and whether it goes well or not very well, you move on. Adam (Peaty) was saying to me about parking it and moving on to the next race and that’s what I’ve done.

“Based on the 400m last night, what I saw was that I’m coming into being a 200m freestyle man now. You have to play to your strengths, I like to go out fast in the 400m and that’s also the same for the 200m.”

You can help the next generation of young British swimmers by getting involved in SportsAid Week this September with five-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds OBE. Find out more about how you can support the week of fun and fundraising by visiting www.sportsaid.org.uk/sportsaidweek.