Filip Nowacki admitted celebrating a breakout Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has been the farthest thing from his mind as he gears up for the European Aquatics Championships in Paris this week.

It has been a whirlwind past couple of weeks for the teenager, who claimed silver in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke, nudging mentor and three-time Olympic champion Adam Ramsay-Peaty into bronze.

Nowacki then went one better in his preferred 200m breaststroke, beating 2020 Olympic gold medallist Zac Stubblety-Cook, but the 18-year-old has barely had a chance to reflect on his seismic achievements.

Instead, Nowacki is targeting European honours, getting his campaign under way on Monday in the 100m breaststroke alongside Ramsay-Peaty, and he accepts that is part and parcel of a swimmer’s lot.

“No time to celebrate,” Nowacki told the Press Association. “After the Commonwealth Games, it’s always quite hard to settle back down to reality and it’s very important you do that as fast as possible.

“Because living on a high and living on that emotion is very taxing and it takes a lot of energy out of the system so now it’s just about recovering and getting the mind straight before diving back into it.

“Ultimately, all the hard work in the season has been put in, I can’t change how I’m going to swim apart from making sure my body’s fresh and my mind’s ready to go.”

Nowacki, the world junior 100m and 200m breaststroke champion, became the most decorated athlete in Jersey’s Commonwealth Games history with his two medals, claiming the island’s first gold in 36 years.

“I’m very proud of myself,” he said. “To step up on a senior international stage is challenging and there was a lot of pressure from Jersey that I didn’t quite feel beforehand.

“But after both my races, I stepped back into my hotel room and I could finally breathe again – it was a massive weight off my shoulders, which I didn’t realise I had in the first place.”

A mouthwatering clash with Leon Marchand awaited Nowacki in the 200m breaststroke on Wednesday and Thursday, but an adductor injury has led to the four-time Olympic champion pulling out of the event.

“I’d love to race against him,” Nowacki said. “I’m always up for a race and that’s what’s very special: I get to race against the best in the world.”

While Nowacki will once again go up against Ramsay-Peaty in the 100m breaststroke, he clearly reveres the world record holder and takes every opportunity to speak to him in an effort to learn from him.

“I’ve looked up to him since he won his first Olympic gold medal in 2016, I must have been eight or nine and watching the replays on TV was special,” Nowacki added.

“It’s nice to be racing against him in the lane next to him. I’ve got pictures of us both swimming breaststroke, an underwater shot, and I think that’s really cool. Had you told me that two years ago, I would have shaken my head in disbelief.

“He’s definitely played a massive role in my character development, especially from last year. I’ve spoken to him multiple times and I always try to extract as much experience from him as I can.”

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