EMERGING Glengarnock swimmer Rory Dickson was rubbed shoulders, and shared the water, with World record holder and Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty

The 16-year-old from the North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club was among the youngest to qualify for British Championships which this year were being held alongside the Edinburgh International Swimming Meet at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in the capital.

He’s written this exclusive diary sharing his experience of his first event at international level.

Friday, March 2

200m Breaststroke

"I'M WRITING this back at the hotel after doing a bit of a swim-down following my race,

The pool looks amazing and it feels electric inside there - and the atmosphere’s pretty good at the side of the pool and up in the stands as well.

My race felt good. I had a very smooth technique and I’ve just watched it back on the live stream and it looked good too.

I feel that I’m where I need to be at this point in the season. The time [2:32.50] was ideal considering that I’ve not had any rest or tapered coming into the weekend.

I’m glad I swam well this morning, it’s given me a lot of confidence for the rest of the weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing where we can go with my other main events."

Saturday, March 3

100m Breaststroke

"I WATCHED Adam Peaty swim this morning, in the same event as me! What can I say? The man is an animal!

I learned an awful lot from just watching him do his routine and swim his race and I’ll try and incorporate that into how I prepare for races in future.

It’s very inspiring coming to these meets and watching the people that I idolise doing what they do and swim their races. They’re probably swimming the fastest times I’ve ever seen so that was a huge thrill.

I had another solid swim this morning in the 100m breast , feeling good, swimming pretty fast for this point in the season.

I’ve got the 400m IM tomorrow which is the big one, so I need to get rested, eat properly and get my routine sorted so I’m in peak physical condition and have as smooth a race as possible.

I just need to go through my normal routine and I’ll be in the best shape to swim fast and produce a good time."

Sunday, March 4

400m Individual Medley

"IT was very, very exciting today. I was on the times, I was feeling good and swimming fast even though I wasn’t rested which has boosted my confidence, not to mention seeing all those World and Olympic champions at the same meet as me and watching what they do.

Today was the 400 IM which is quite a big event so it’s quite easy to get negative thoughts in your head but I managed to keep them out and swim pretty close to my time. [Rory finished in a time of 4:48.18 in his heat]

When I was in the call room the atmosphere was pretty intense and when I was talking to the other guys you could see they were all feeling quite hesitant because it’s such a challenging event. But for me it was my last swim and I had to do what I had to do, and the aim was to go out faster that I’ve ever done before.

My fastest before today was 2:23 [for the first 200m] and I went out 2:19. I paid for that a little bit in the second 200m but I’m just happy that I achieved the goal I set out for myself. Me and my coach Ross were quite happy with that.

This meet wasn’t really about going for Personal Best's, it was about getting a marker for where we are and what we need to work on. I found a lot out about my breaststroke in particular so there are things we will work on in the training sessions.

Now we’ve got a few weeks until the Scottish Age Group Championships and it’s about polishing a few things up, keeping in shape and getting mentally ready for the challenge ahead. I’m feeling really excited about it and I know I’ll come away with some big times."