Why Colbert found motivation in larger-than-life portrait

There is one image that fills Freya Colbert with a world-beating confidence every time she sees it. And she can't not see it.

A 15ft-tall print of the 22-year-old hangs on the wall at the end of one of the lanes where she has swum lengths by the thousands - up and back, on repeat, day after day.

The poster of Britain's 400m medley world champion is hung up alongside a 'who's who' of those based at the British Swimming National Centre at Loughborough University.

"It was pretty surreal [when the poster went up]," she told BBC East Midlands Today when asked about the giant image of herself in the background.

"I don't love the photo, but that's my own fault really. I thought it'd be really weird to have myself looking over me every day in training, but I got used to it pretty quickly."

These are the sorts of images she used to stare up at with a sense of wonder, allowing herself to fantasise about one day being a poster girl like them.

It was never a self-indulgent daydream though, and the pictures come with a sense of belonging.

As Colbert prepares for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she allows herself to reflect on how a larger-than-life version of herself got onto that coveted wall.

It was only four years ago that the Lincolnshire swimmer picked up her first major international medal, claiming bronze at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games as part of England's 4x200m freestyle team.

European silver and bronze medals followed soon after, and within 18 months she broke through for her maiden world title.

Then on her Olympics debut in Paris, Colbert fell just short of a medal as she finished fourth in the 400m medley.

"It helps me realise I have made it to a point that was always a goal for me growing up," she said.

"I remember coming here as a kid and seeing all the other people on the banners, and now I'm on one of those banners and was one of the best that Loughborough had in the last Olympic cycle.

"If it's been a hard session, it can be refreshing to know I have achieved quite a lot already and it can be a bit of extra motivation to see how much further I can go."

How far Colbert has come in recent years, from the rising star that dominated the pool at Nova Centurion in Nottingham to the world-conquering pin-up she is now, is not something that can be captured in a portrait - no matter how big it is.

"I feel like a very different person to the girl who went into the Olympics aged 20," she said.

"I've matured a lot going through that experience, that heartbreak of having been so close to a medal, and I think - and it sounds so cringe - I found myself a little bit as a senior athlete.

"I feel confident in myself as an individual when I'm going into these massive finals and massive stages.

"I used to a bit of like, 'Oh, I know I qualified but there's no way I'm going to beat these girls next to me'. Whereas now I think that self-confidence that comes from within, I found a lot more - trusting myself and my own ability is definitely something I've grown into in the past couple of years."

And Colbert knows she is not the only one who sees herself differently these days.

"It's taken some adjusting from always being the underdog and the younger one to now being in the position where, at times, I am the favourite or definitely kind of predicted [to do well]," she said.

"Should it all go to plan, I'm really hoping to be atop that podium in Glasgow."