JAZZ Carlin has the talent at her disposal to be a formidable force at the Rio Olympics says swimming team leader Chris Spice.

The Swindon swimmer, who now lives in Bradford on Avon, continued her preparations for the Games last week at the Mare Nostrum series, picking up three gold medals in the process.

Carlin’s ability to swim in three events, the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle, makes her a strong asset for Team GB heading to Rio de Janeiro in just seven weeks’ times.

The 25-year-old is yet to decide on what events she will go in come the Games but Spice is keen to ensure she does not compromise her most likely medal targets by spreading herself too thinly.

“Anyone who can swim a number of events really helps the performance of the team,” he told the Adver.

“Jazz, on the girls’ side, is one who can extend across a range of events.

“Clearly it is helpful for us and with Jazz and her character, she is so tough when it comes to competition, is exactly the sort of person we want to be swimming multiple events.

“We have to prioritise people in certain events and Jazz’s eight and four are clearly chances for us and we have to protect that.

“The 4x200m (freestyle) relay will come up and we have to put a team in there that we think will make the final and then if she is feeling well then we will swim Jazz in the final.

“Clearly that increases the chances of the 4x200m team but we have got to protect our main medal shots and that is the job we have now.

“The thing the selection policy has done is enable us to put a lot of people in medal range so we have to be very careful on what we prioritise and that will happen over the next couple of months.”

At the British Championships, which doubled up as the Olympic trials, Carlin secured her spot on the team with her final swim, claiming gold in the 400m freestyle, but let the pressure of the occasion affect her performance.

However, Spice says that the Commonwealth gold medallist will be working with their extensive team to ensure she is ready mentally for the competition.

“Jazz has been on the programme for some time now and they work with a range of people on the programme and she has had great support here,” he added.

“It’s all about preparation in the arena and now that she has ticked the box the next thing is what is Rio going to look like?

“We’ve done a lot of work already, I guess it is now getting that across to the athletes so that they can feel comfortable to perform their best.”