WORCESTERSHIRE swimmer Amy Smith admits she’s fed up of clinging to fellow Brit Fran Halsall’s coat-tails — and believes there’s no better time to beat her rival than at this summer’s World Championships in Shanghai.

The 23-year-old is not yet assured of a trip to China this summer and must make sure of her place by winning the 100-metre freestyle at the ASA National Championships in Sheffield this month.

She did come within a whisker of world silver medallist Halsall, who won five medals at last year’s European Championships, at the British Gas Championships in March but, having touched home in second, she must also make sure she’s ranked in the top 16 in the world to secure a Chinese adventure.

Ever since collecting 2009 world silver in Rome, Halsall has ruled the British roost in the shorter freestyle races, while Smith has had to make do with relay success — securing a gold and three silver medals from last year’s European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

But Smith, from Kidderminster, believes she can step out of Halsall’s shadow this summer.

“Technically I haven’t qualified for the World Championships yet, so it would be nice to swim faster than that in June and get closer to that if not a personal best and, hopefully, that will qualify me for the worlds,” said Smith, speaking from a British Swimming warm weather training camp, powered by British Gas.

“It’s all about the emotion and the buzz when you are at the worlds to help you along.

“At the previous trials, I missed out on winning to Fran by three-hundredths-of-a-second and I have not yet been that close to her before.

“In 2009 she was second in the world and for me I have got to take that as a positive but also try and build on it.

“She is a team-mate but at the same time a rival and it’s great that we have got two girls right up there.

“For me, that was an aim of mine to get a lot closer to Fran and I feel that was fulfilled at the trials and the next aim would be to beat her.”

Last year, British Swimming head coach Dennis Pursley instructed GB’s finest to prioritise the Commonwealth Games ahead of the European Championships — and Smith readily admits she didn’t do herself justice in the individual events in Delhi, touching home fifth in the 100m freestyle.

But Smith, who has altered her stroke to compensate for a long-standing back injury, believes she will turn up the heat when it really matters in Shanghai.

“My stroke has been altered slightly and I feel like it is a lot stronger now, it doesn’t come naturally at the moment but it will get there,” added Smith.

“It definitely feels like it is going in the right direction, I have had a slight injury so it is building into it but in the next week or so I should be fully back on it.

“It has been a fairly long term thing, I think it started officially playing up in December and I only really found out what it was after the first trials.

“I just feel like I can be a lot stronger than that and it is definitely heading in the right direction.

“Last year, the Commonwealth Games weren’t particularly good in terms of my swims, I didn’t feel great.

“I feel like at major events previous to that I have definitely upped my game and performed and hopefully I can do that again.”

The nation’s leading energy supplier British Gas is the principal partner of British Swimming and is supporting the sport at all levels from grass roots to our elite athletes. Visit britishgas.co.uk/ swimming