NI swimmer Andrew Bree says his best is still to come

2010 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Venue: Delhi, India Dates: 3-14 October 2010 Coverage: The opening ceremony is due to begin at 1430 BST on Sunday, 3 October. Comprehensive live coverage across BBC TV, radio, online, BBC Red Button, mobile and BBC iPlayer services. Full coverage details here. Full schedule of events here.

Michael Dawson and Andrew Bree talk to BBC NI's Gavin Andrews in Delhi

Northern Ireland swimmer Andrew Bree heads into his fourth Commonwealth Games convinced the best moments of his career are still to come.

The 29-year-old missed out on a place in the Olympic 200m breaststroke final in Beijing by an agonising 0.13seconds.

However, Bree says his experience in the Chinese capital has convinced him to prolong his career to London 2012.

"I believe I can only improve in this environment and look towards London with confidence," said Bree.

Having recently relocated from his long-term training base in Tennessee to California to work alongside Japan's double Olympic gold medallist Kosuke Kitajima, Bree has arrived in Delhi with a new lease of life.

"I think my best moments are still to come. I get to race Kosuke every day and there's no better way to prepare," added Bree.

Bree's biggest medal moment came at the European Short Course Championships in Dublin in 2003 when he took breaststroke silver to become the first Irish athlete to medal in the event.

But despite missing out on the Beijing final, Bree says his performance - in which he once again shattered his personal best at the distance - still stands as his best achievement to date.

The main focus for me has be London but this is also very important because we don't get too many chances to race

Andrew Bree

"I did only just miss out but in terms of my preparation and everything I feel it was my best international performance.

"There's no point dwelling on what might have been because you've got to look forward.

"Swimming is one of those sports in which you can't control everything.

"For me everything went well but somebody else obviously prepared better. I just take it as a lesson to learn from next time."

Bree is targeting another personal best in Delhi and hopes it will be enough to push him into medal contention but he admits his major goal is London.

"The main focus for me has be London but this is also very important because we don't get too many chances to race," added Bree.

"As long as I can put everything together mentally and physically on the day, I'm confident of doing well."