The 2018 Commonwealth Games were a shining light in Aimee Willmott's swimming career.

After finishing second to Team Scotland's Hannah Miley at the 2014 Glasgow Games, Willmott turned the tables on the Gold Coast and touched the wall ahead of the Scot to win the 400m Individual Medley.

Her days of playing chaser were finally over and it was a moment to remember.

She said: “It was such a special moment. I turned around as I knew where my mum and dad were sat and I saw them jumping up and down.

“Ten years of emotions. Ten years of just missing out. It felt like the perfect race even though it wasn’t the best time.

"I say it’s the pinnacle of my career and that it took me ten years to win that."

Willmott followed in her father Stuart's footsteps when taking to the water after he competed for Great Britain at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

And she went on to boast an impressive international career spanning three Commonwealth Games, three Olympic Games and eight international medals before retiring from competitive swimming in 2021.

In Glasgow 2014, Willmott also claimed silver in the 200m Butterfly behind Canada's Audrey Lacroix, adding extra fuel to her search for a gold four years later.

She said: “I was so upset with the silver medal in Glasgow. I did not enjoy being on the podium.

“In Australia, I thought whatever colour medal I won, I won’t begrudge it – just enjoy it. That was the thought process going through my head.

“At the time, I thought it might have been one of my last international meets – I wasn’t sure where my career was going to go and I was a little bit nervous about that.

“So I thought I would try and have fun and, whatever the result, I should be happy with that.

“My coach said before the race you can do this if you want it. I stood behind the blocks and felt really confident – I was going to just give my best and see what happens."

And her best was enough as Willmott touched home 0.26 seconds faster than friend and rival Miley to earn Team England's second gold of the Games and claim her first major international title.

She said: “I wanted to get Team England off to a good start.

“I’d wanted to do that four years before and I didn’t quite do that. So to win that gold for myself and Team England was a great feeling.

“I was pipped by cycling for the first gold medal of the Games. It would have been quite nice to do that for the whole team but it was a special night.

“The whole team was buzzing. They always knew I had finished second behind Hannah so it was nice to finish the swim, go back and have a massive smile on my face rather than being moody because I’d finished second!"