James Magnussen insists he feels no pressure despite threat of no individual race at Comm Games

JAMES Magnussen has just one more chance to grab an individual berth at the Commonwealth Games but insists that if a relay spot is all that comes his way, there’s not much more he could have done.

JAMES Magnussen has just one more chance to grab an individual berth at the Commonwealth Games but he is not acting like a man under pressure.

Magnussen booked his place on the Games team after finishing fourth in the 100m freestyle on Thursday night but he will line up in the relay, as he did at the Rio Olympics.

While he said leading into the meet he had not allowed himself to even entertain the thought of finishing outside the top three in his pet event, Magnussen declared on Saturday he was not disappointed with his 100m swim.

“I wasn’t really upset about the 100m at all,” he said.

James Magnussen looks on after swimming in the Mens 100m Freestyle Final

“I swam the race exactly how I wanted to, hit the lead where I wanted to, I just didn’t have it (in the end).

“I did the perfect preparation, I swam the race the way I wanted to, so there’s nowhere I can look back and say: ‘I wish I did this’ or ‘I wish I did that’.

“I’m not beating myself up about it because I actually didn’t do anything wrong.”

Cameron McEvoy flew through the heats to qualify fastest for tonight’s final in 21.87 sec, ahead of James Roberts (22.23), Grayson Bell (22.33), Jack Cartwright (22.37) and Magnussen (22.37).

And while he needs a top-three finish to seal an individual swim, Magnussen says he is not under pressure.

“The only expectation is from myself, I don’t feel that much pressure,” he said.

“But I’m pretty keen to get on the podium for this one.”

Cate Campbell was fastest into the women’s 50m final in 24.19, ahead of squadmate Shayna Jack (24.76) and younger sister Bronte (24.86).

Hunter’s Meg Bailey leads all qualifiers in the 400m medley, while Marion’s Travis Mahoney is fastest into the men’s 400m medley.

Originally published as James Magnussen insists he feels no pressure despite threat of no individual race at Comm Games