Brown not just a floater in Doha

Myles Brown goes into the World Short-Course Championships starting in Doha tomorrow ranked second in the world in the 400m freestyle.

And this time he believes he has the right psychological approach so he won't melt amid the pressure of the competition.

Brown trains in the same club squad as Chad le Clos, and has long been tipped to shine brightly by their coach, Graham Hill. But to date he has struggled to rise to the occasion at the big galas.

At this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, for example, he bombed, failing to even qualify for the 400m freestyle.

"I found myself worrying too much about how they [his rivals] were going to swim," said Brown, who finished fifth in the 400m final at the World Championships last year.

"At the World Championships I had no expectations. Seeing those big names against me was more exciting. But at the Commonwealth Games it changed."

So he decided to focus purely on his own performances, and that switch has helped him during the World Cup series, his best time of 3min 37.96sec being second only to China's Yang Sun in 3:37.10.

"With Sun I saw him as another competitor," said Brown, who is ranked above Commonwealth Games champion David McKeon of Australia, ranked third in the world in 3:38.17.

Brown has put his BCom studies on hold to focus on swimming in the build-up to the 2016 Olympic Games.

He at least won a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games - alongside Le Clos and Leith Shankland - and he is hoping that South Africa can make the podium again in Doha.

The 400m race - Brown's best chance of a medal - is on Friday.

Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh are South Africa's top chances in the individual events.