Mann puts Olympic miss behind her with gold in the capital

Posted: Wednesday 18th July 2012 | 12:21

KARLEY Mann put her Olympic heartbreak swiftly behind her by getting back to winning ways with gold at the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games finals weekend.

The 17-year-old was one of 15,000 young competitors from all 33 London boroughs across 17 sports participating at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and made the most of her outing.

After failing to qualify for London 2012 back in March, Mann was given another chance last month at the ASA Nationals in Sheffield but Stephanie Proud beat her to a place in the 200m backstroke.

Though the book may have closed on her Olympic dream this time around, Mann is determined to start the long road to qualification for Rio 2016, and did so in style at the London Youth Games.

She helped the Hillingdon 4x50m medley relay team win gold with the girls' team taking the swimming title as the borough finished eighth overall - and Mann admitted it was worth getting back in the pool for.

"It was a bit of a gutting week for me," said Mann - who is currently back in Sheffield for the ASA National Youth Championships.

"I was crying my heart out when I didn't qualify for the Olympics. I had really pumped myself up to do make it and it was so close in the end.

"I came third in March and missed it, so it was even more devastating to miss out again this time. But 2012 was never my aim and I'm much better prepared for 2016 now.

"I want it so much more because I know how it feels to miss out. By 2016 I'll have a lot more experience, and hopefully I can deal with my nerves a bit better.

"I love coming to the London Youth Games every year. There's so much pressure at every other meet. I swim my best when the pressure is off and here you can have a nice, fun race."

Balfour Beatty have agreed to support the London Youth Games through to at least 2015, meaning £1.1m worth of funding post-2012 and a total contribution of £2.5m since 2007.