Selston swim star Molly Renshaw ready to resume rivalry with best mate Abbie Wood at Tokyo Olympics

Abbie Wood (R) and Molly Renshaw after the Women's 200m Breaststroke Final during the British Swimming Glasgow Meet. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Renshaw bagged victory in the 200m Breaststroke at the European Aquatics Championships in Budapest in May and beat training partner Wood in the process.

And the former Ripley Rascals swimmer is eager to renew that rivalry as the GB duo look to outswim each other in the quest for Olympic glory.

“Me and Abbie train with each other every day so it’s nice to have that friendly rivalry,” she said during an interview with the Swim England website.

“We are kind of best friends out the pool but she is a rival in the pool – but it’s great to train with her.

“Training has been going really well. We are hoping to go there and go faster than we did at trials and, hopefully, that will put us in a good position in the final and put us on the podium too.

“When we’re training, we’re just thinking about the bigger picture and trying to get as many metres and hard work in as we can. So it’s nice to come to these days and celebrate it and then head home and get more hard work done.”

But above all Renshaw, who competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics, is just keen to savour the moment.

“Throughout my whole swimming career, I have had the motto ‘a happy swimmer is a fast swimmer’,” she added.

“Just enjoy the moments you have with your team mates and surround yourself with great, like-minded people who want to achieve the same thing – and they will definitely help you achieve your goals.

Now she is on the biggest stage of all, Renshaw fondly looks back on where it all began and the opportunities given to her by the Ripley Rascals club.

“They gave me loads of experience on what to expect going forward,” added Rensahw.

“I learned time management and general life skills from an early age and that has helped me to get where I am today.

“It’s a key life skill to have – swimming saves lives at the end of the day so definitely get involved.

“You make so many friends along the way and so many life skills that will come in handy at a later date. It’s a great sport to be involved in.”