Ben Proud is ready to put lessons learned on the Gold Coast into striking gold at the Olympics.

World champion Proud bounced back from a disqualification in the 50m butterfly to take 50m freestyle gold and double relay silver at the Commonwealth Games.

The 50m freestyle is now his main focus, with the event part of the Olympic programme -unlike the butterfly.

It may appear a splash and dash but Proud insists it will take hours of practice to close the gap on American world champion Caeleb Dressel.

“We’re still at the drawing board for the Olympics - we’ve got two and a half years to create the best athlete for Tokyo,” he said,

“The 50m freestyle is the business end of my swimming career, so I have to deliver.

“I felt like I was one of the best in the world but at last year’s World Championships Caeleb made me look like a child. 

“He’s a phenomenal swimmer off the start and that gave me the motivation to go back to the drawing board and make my start better.

“I’ve had three of my best 50m free starts ever at the Commonwealth Games which is really positive.

“It is a short race but there is a lot going on and it takes hours and hours of dedication to get it just right.”

Proud was fuming after his qualification in the 50m butterfly, with even Aussie swimming legend Ian Thorpe claiming the decision looked harsh.

But time to reflect has turned the negative into a positive - and the hard work starts now with coach James Gibson.

“This has been a big learning curve,” he added. 

“Getting disqualified in that first race was a big shock to me, it’s never happened to me in a major competition before.

“A big dream was snatched away and it took me some time to get my head around that and to prove I was still a capable swimmer.”

npower is the Official Partner of Team England and is giving our athletes the power of support by recording a brand new version of their anthem, Jerusalem. To listen to the track visit npower.com/teamengland

Ealing Times: