Bury St Edmunds swimmer Chris Walker-Hebborn insisted he would continue to defy the critics after smashing his lifetime best at the British Gas Swimming Championships in Sheffield last night.

The 22-year-old admitted he’d considered quitting the sport after flopping at London 2012, but is now fired by his failure as he bids for a place at next month’s World Championships in Barcelona.

Walker-Hebborn certainly looked up for it as he qualified fastest for tonight’s 100m backstroke final in 53.41 seconds – destroying his previous best of 54.26.

And after proving he could still cut it on the big stage, Walker-Hebborn admitted his sceptics had given him the motivation needed to succeed.

“It’s about proving people wrong,” he said. “Some people don’t take the time to believe or ask you how it’s going, there’s always plenty of people who are going to write you off at the start. I had a point to prove.

“Some people were asking if I was past it at 22, but those people don’t really understand the sport, so I’ve come here and proved a point – I’m ecstatic.

“There’s been an indication in training I could do well but not like that. I’ve been hitting 54 consistently and 53.9 was looking in reach, so to drop into the low 53s now in a semi-final, I’m buzzing.”

– This year British Gas is launching SwimBritain, a programme to create a healthier nation.