Ben Proud hopes to break his Olympic duck as he bids for individual glory in the 50m freestyle

Ben Proud hopes not being ‘fixated’ on a medal will help him break his Olympic duck as he bids for 50m freestyle glory.

The 29-year-old cruised through his semi-final in 21.38s – the joint-fastest time on the night – to bank a plum spot in lane four for Friday night’s showpiece.

Plymouth’s Proud finished fourth in Rio and fifth in Tokyo and believes a change in mindset could pay off this time around.

“I don’t need it,” he said. “That’s the biggest change from eight years ago and four years ago to today.

“I’m not fixated on medals. I’m very happy with my career, I think I’ve had a great one.

“If I had to walk away from this empty-handed, tough, but I’m still happy with where I am.

“I have no plans to retire any time soon and I just want to perform well.”

Proud has watched on through the week as his teammates have taken centre stage but showed no signs of rustiness in booking his place in the final.

Only Australia’s Cameron McEvoy matched the Brit’s pace and having won this event at world and European level, Proud will be relying on that knowhow coming to the fore as he takes on a stacked field.

“No money can buy you a ticket to lane four in the final,” he added.

“The more you do it, the more you get comfortable, you realise how it happens, how it works and how to control yourself.

“I’m relying on my 12 years of experience. I feel good now and nothing is going to change. It’s about doing what I can again.

“I’m not chasing gold, I’m just chasing a very good swim.

“It (qualifying quickest) doesn’t matter at all. You look at the lanes and there are Olympic champions in lane eight, lane two… it’s full of fantastic swimmers.

“Nothing changes for me because I’m in the centre lanes. It’s just about doing it again and not thinking lane four is a guaranteed win.”

Honey Osrin, who also came through at Plymouth Leander, will go for glory in the women’s 200m backstroke final after clocking a personal best time of 2:07.84 in her semi-final.

“I’m super chuffed,” she said. “I just feel like the training I’ve been doing is finally reflected in the final in the pool.

“Obviously things can move around and change but I’ll take that confidence with me into the final and see what I can do.”

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