World record holder Liam Tancock insists he can compete for Commonwealth honours despite missing out on a British International Meet medal.
Tancock – the defending Commonwealth champion in the 50m and 100m backstroke – came eighth over the longer distance.
He then finished fourth over 50m on the final day, in a race won by team-mate Chris Walker-Hebborn.
“I just want to be in that racing situation in front of the best in the world,” he told BBC Sport.
Tancock set the current 50m backstroke world record of 24.04 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, but was some distance off that achievement in Manchester – touching in 26.08 seconds.
“A lot of people don’t know that I was injured late last year and I’ve now done all of the hard work and after a rest I know I’ll be ready to give it my all,” said Tancock, who missed out on selection for last year’s World Championships.
The British International Championships in Manchester, external represented the final opportunity for swimmers to race competitively before joining up with their respective home-nation teams for next month’s Games in Glasgow.
Eight-time British champion Roberto Pavoni, 23, rounded off his preparations with a confident victory in the 200m individual medley (IM) ahead of Denmark’s Daniel Skaaning.
The Englishman has set the second quickest time in the world this year for a Commonwealth swimmer in the 400m IM and fourth fastest in the 200m IM.
“My aim is to pick up some international honours this summer because I’ve not done it before,” Pavoni told BBC Sport.
“I was seventh four years ago in Delhi and I feel a lot more mature now and hopefully I can use that to my advantage.”
