CLITHEROE’S Peter Jones flew out to Sweden for the FINA World Masters Swimming Championship and left with his held high despite missing out on a medal by 0.87 seconds.

The 40-year-old swimmer was in fantastic form going into the competition after beating former Olympic swimmer Nick Gillingham in the British Championships in Glasgow.

He continued where he left off, with a personal best performance as his time of 1min 3.40secs was 1.02 seconds faster in the 100m backstroke than his British long course record achieved in Glasgow.

Although Jones set his sights on winning a medal, he was not too hard on himself.

“I was disappointed when I looked up at the results board to see I came fourth and just missed out on a medal,” he said.

“But I did my best and enjoyed the experience, so I suppose I shouldn’t feel too downhearted.”

The 100m backstroke was held outdoors, something Peter was not used to.

“It was the first time I had swum outdoors, so I went to have a look the night before to try and suss out the environment,” he said.

“In the morning I had to get used to the water and having the sun beaming down.

“But I knocked off one second from my best.”

Due to the wonders of modern technology, Peter’s friends and family were able to see a live broadcast of the Clitheroe man in action, swimming in the state of the art facilities – where one venue had a 10-lane indoor pool with an eight-lane warm-up pool, and the other venue had an eight-lane outdoor pool with a six-lane indoor warm-up pool.

Peter said: “Walking into the arena, I was in awe.

“There were 6,000 people participating in the championship and the atmosphere from the spectators was electric.”

Jones also qualified to race in the 50m backstroke, where there were 57 entries, and came in a very impressive sixth place with a time of 27.70secs.

Once ranked fifth in Britain, Peter quit competitive swimming as a 22-year-old.

“I had my two boys and just lost interest in the sport,” he said.

“I wanted to get my priorities right and concentrate on raising a family.”

Peter had 12 years away from the sport then had a new found hunger and discovered he still had a knack for the sport.

He is now a swimming teacher at the Clitheroe Dolphins Club where his two sons are also keen swimmers.

He has some good advice for any young hopefuls.

“The most important thing for aspiring youngsters is to push yourself to the highest level you can, but on top of that is to enjoy it,” he said.

Peter has been on holiday relaxing with friends and family but intends to return stronger than ever.

For details on joining Clitheroe Dolphins, e-mail newmembers@clitheroedolphins.com or call 07913 703491.