STEPHANIE Millward’s eternal optimism remains in rude health, even if illness scuppered her hopes of competing at this summer’s IPC World Championships in Glasgow.

After making the Great Britain squad for the Beijing Paralympics seven years ago, the 33-year-old pool ace has competed in nearly every major competition since, including world championships in Eindhoven and Montreal.

At the 2013 worlds in Canada, Millward clinched five medals.

But she won’t have the chance to defend those titles this July after her campaign as last week’s trials, which took place at Tollcross International Swimming Centre, the same venue as the championships themselves, was wrecked by a virus.

The Wiltshire star, who competes in the S9 category, was third in the 100m freestyle B final and eighth in the final of the 100m backstroke in the but she bombed out in the heats of the 400m freestyle whilst also not being well enough to compete in the finals of the 50m freestyle and 200m individual medley.

But despite being denied the chance to represent her country at a third worlds, Millward is refusing to allow herself to get downbeat with the ultimate goal of the Rio 2016 paralympics always on her mind.

“I got struck down with a nasty virus and had all sorts of gross things happening to me, so it wasn’t nice at all,” said Millward, who won five medals at London 2012 and seven at last year’s IPC European Championships in Eindhoven.

“I’ve been to competitions when I’ve had flu in the past and I’ve managed to get through that but this time, I just couldn’t do it.

“You can get ill at any time but this just happened at the worst time for me.

“My husband Adrian hadn’t been well either.

“The doctor did have to sign me off from a couple of races and I wasn’t really paying much attention to how I was doing.

“I was just going back to the hotel as quickly as I could.

“It’s a shame but I would have used the World Championships as training for Rio. Rio is the big gold star and I’ll just have to find somewhere else to swim fast in the summer.”

Trowbridge’s fellow London 2012 Paralympian Aaron Moores also failed to make the British team for the worlds.