Tired But Delighted!!

I write this blog as I sit in a London restaurant on the first day of my week-long break! I am very excited as it's been ages since I've had this long off swimming.

The reason for the break is that I have just finished swimming at The British Gas Swimming Championships in Manchester where I had an amazing week of racing and now I need to rest!

I swam in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events. The aim for the meet was to come in top six in the 800m and qualify for the open water team that goes to Israel in May (which is itself the qualification event for the open water World Championships in Shanghai later this year) - I did that and much more ...

My first event was the 400m free which I came third in, with a five second personal best time of 4.07.9, Rebecca Adlington came first and Jazz Carlin came second.

The next events were the 1500m free and the 200m free, I broke the eight year old British record in the 1500m to win the race in a 16.06, I then had 20 minutes until the semi-final of the 200m free which was very tough but I just managed to squeak into the final in 8th place. The next evening was the final of the 200m free. From lane eight I lead the race to the 150m mark, but again Rebecca and Jazz were faster in the last 50 and I finished third with another PB of 1.59.4. which means making the Worlds 4X200m free relay team which is such a bonus - unsurprisingly I am very pleased to make the team!

The last and final race for me was the 800m free and I was seeded 4th going into the final behind Rebecca, Jazz and Cassandra Patten. It was such a tough race and my body was really sore from all the racing I had already done but I still managed to clock another PB in a time of 8.29. All after racing 6000m! There was however a running theme through the meet and the podium was again Rebecca first, Jazz second and myself third!

I was so pleased with my performances from the trials this year and I achieved what I came to do which was qualify for the open water team to go to Israel but I also managed to qualify for the World's pool team which is amazing and very exciting. Shanghai here I come!!

Back Home After an African Adventure

I’m now back home after a great three weeks of training and racing in South Africa.

In the last few days of the camp, myself and three of the girls from my club, Abbie Henderson, Charlotte Wolliscroft and Cassandra Patten (Olympic bronze medallist in the same event as I did in Beijing) went to swim in Pietermaritzburg at The Midmar Mile, the world’s largest open water event. I used to do this swim when I was kid growing up in South Africa and love coming back to do it every year. This year was the sixth time I have won the mile swim and I am very proud of that.

In between racing and training in South Africa, we even managed to have a bit of time off. We went to The Lion Park which was the most amazing experience I've ever had. On the safari we saw lions, hyenas and cheetahs, we then went to the “creche” and got to go in a cage with five adorable lion cubs, one of them even nibbled my knee!!

I’m always sad to leave South Africa, a part of me feels at home there but I was happy to be back home in Manchester. A few days after I got back I did a photo shoot with British Gas which was so much fun and I’m so excited to see the shots.

My next few weeks consist of resting and tapering for the British Trials in March at the Manchester Aquatic Centre. I’ll be swimming the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m Free - so a full on program but I am ready and can’t wait to start swimming.     

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

I'm already well into the swing of 2011 and I can't believe how fast 2010 went! 

It was a mixed year in terms of performance, I was disappointed to lose my World title at the Open Water World Champs in Canada finishing in 8th place. Later in the year though, at the Commonwealth Games, I regained some confidence when I won my first international medal for the 400m Individual Medley. I was so excited to swim in Delhi, the media made out that it was a shambles but it was an amazing experience that I wouldn't change for anything.

On a personal note I got engaged to fellow swimmer David Carry and I am having fun (but a little scared) planning the wedding which will be in September 2012. I also found out my sister, Janine is expecting her first child and I will be an auntie again, I can't wait!!

On to 2011...In the past few weeks I have had a couple of competitions, one in Sheffield where I swam the 400m Freestyle and one in Antwerp at "The Flanders Cup Meet" where I swam the 200m, 400m and 800m Freestyle. I was very pleased with my 200m as it was the first time I have been under two minutes. Good to get another milestone under my belt.

I have just started a three week training camp in Pretoria, South Africa. I grew up just down the road in Jo'burg so it's always great to come back and see old friends as well as my first swimming coach, Di Williamson, who is one of the main reasons why I love swimming so much! I can't wait to get on with some more hard work before the British team trials for the World Championships, which take place in early March in Manchester.  

Here's to a successful 2011 in and out of the pool!

Pain in Spain

Well...what can I say about the altitude training camp in Spain?! Three weeks on top of a mountain, where we eat, sleep and train in the same building is pretty tough going, but I know it will be worth it in the long run. I much prefer warm weather camps where I can swim outside! What it has been though, is an experience I have never had before in swimming.

We spent the first two and a half days indoors because we were tired from travelling and just being at altitude has an effect on your body, the snow and fog outside didn't help either! On the third day, we decided it was time to get out of the building and walk down to the local town, Pradollamo. Our coach had walked it the day before and told us it was about 20 minutes and down a few steps...little did we know it was 20 minutes of walking down 407 steps!! Needless to say we were all a bit shakey walking down but we were in high spirits and throwing snow balls at each other the whole way down.

Pradollamo is a little ski town in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Spain. We are staying a little higher up the mountain, at the "Centro Alto Rendimiento", which is the Altitude Centre. The reason why training at altitude is beneficial is because there is lower air pressure up here, therefore less oxygen, this stimulates the body to get better at absorbing and transporting oxygen by increasing the number of red blood cells. When we get home on Thursday I'm off to the English Institute of Sport to measure the change in haemoglobin mass (red blood cells) to see if we have achieved what we came out to do.

As well as our time spent training, which is roughly 77.5 hours of swimming in 3 weeks - with an average of 70,000m per week - we went sledging which was so much fun! Watching Michael Rock do a face plant in the snow was the highlight and I have it on camera! We also went into Granada for the day and saw the Alhambra Castle and had a very nice lunch.

With only two days to go until we go home I will enjoy looking at the breath-taking scenery and watching the skiers on the ski runs looking like ants in the distance. What I am most looking forward to is getting home for Christmas and spending time with my family and my fiancé David Carry.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Busy, busy, busy!

I haven't stopped since getting back from Delhi!


I've done a couple of photoshoots. Myself, Liam Tancock and Becky Adlington did a shoot with Simon from GB Swimstars which was really good fun – I can’t wait to see what the shots look like. And the other shoot I did was with Liam Tancock at the Nottingham Virgin Active which is such a great gym – it’s in an old train station so the walls are all old red brick, stunning! The shoot was for Speedo’s Aquafit products, I even got involved in an Aqua Aerobics class when I was there...which was great fun and pretty hard too!!


I also had a lovely surprise awaiting me when I got back, for which I’d like to thank Links of London. They gave me a London 2012 friendship bracelet which is my new favourite piece of jewellery! They gave it to me as congratulations for my medal at The Commonwealth Games, so kind of them.


Now that’s all done and dusted, I am currently at the start of a three week training camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain. It’s an altitude training camp at 2,300m above sea level, it should be an interesting experience as I have never been this high before!! We get back home on the 22nd December which is pretty close to Christmas so I’ve had to be really organised this year and have all my presents sorted before I went away. It’s also my birthday while I'm away so that should be a nice break in the camp.


I've been back in the water for only 5 weeks and so far it’s going well, it’s not been easy that’s for sure, but I’ve enjoyed getting some hard work done!


The weekend before we flew to Spain, I raced at the Stockport Open Meet which went brilliantly! On Friday night I swam the 1,500m and clocked a 16.29.4 long course which is only 15 seconds off the British record!! Not bad for 5 weeks of training! For Saturday and Sunday the meet went from long course to short course and I did the 400m Medley in a 4.41 and the 200m Freestyle in a time of 1.59.8. I was really pleased with my swims and looking forward to racing them at nationals next March.


I’ll let you know how I get on in Spain!

Back in Blighty

I’m back home now after a couple of brilliant weeks, so I thought I’d just spill the beans on what I’ve been up to.

After all the excitement at the pool for the Commonwealth Games, some of my teammates and I decided to stay in Delhi and see a few sights. Perhaps India’s most famous monument, the Taj Mahal, was absolutely amazing, truly one of the best sights I’ve ever seen - just pipping the Great Wall of China to first place!

We also went shopping to one of Delhi’s many markets, where I bought a very cute jewellery box. When we weren’t out and about, my fiancée, David, and I spent a lot of time around Scotland House – which was great fun. I also really enjoyed the closing ceremony where David was brought out on a tuktuk!

The morning after the ceremony, I had to be up early for the flight home, and it was great to touchdown in England after a few weeks away. I spent first the few days back in Manchester with my family - we had a party, my mum made cup-cakes and my favourite meal!!!

After the welcome home, it was down to London for a few days with my sponsors, Speedo. Becky Adlington, Liam Tancock and I all went to watch Arsenal play a Champions League game and were invited out onto the pitch at half time, we got an amazing response from the crowd! The next day the three of us had a Speedo photoshoot outside its flagship store in Covent Garden and following that we did some media interviews and taught a handful of journalists how to improve their stroke!

The day after I did a talk with another sponsor, Lloyds TSB. They were giving a staff member tickets to the opening ceremony for the Olympics in 2012 – it’s really getting that close, how exciting!

So it was a busy return from Delhi! After London, it was back up North and some wedding planning with David – scary!

A Dream Come True!

What an amazing, but challenging, few weeks it has been!

I'm writing this while watching the rugby 7's Tonga v Papa New Guinea match. One of the best parts about being at a multi-sport event such as the Commonwealth Games is that you’re able to watch all the other sports after you have competed, which I am enjoying very much!!

The biggest challenge for me since I’ve been in Delhi has been the anticipation and waiting around I had to endure before my swim. Five long days of watching my teammates win medals or narrowly miss out on making finals - the highs and lows of swimming! That said, the athlete village was great. Everything in my room was clean and working so I was very happy to spend time before race day in comfortable surroundings. And the food hall is every athlete’s dream! A room with all kinds of (great) food, ready for you, when you want it, amazing!

Eventually Day 6 of the swimming programme arrived and with it the 400m I.M. - my chance to show what I could do. After a comfortable heat I was the fastest qualifier, but I didn't read too much into that as I knew the meet had been long and most of the girls were tired. I just decided to enjoy it, waving at the camera as the announcer called my name.

It might have been one of the hardest races I have ever done and I remember screaming at myself to dig deep in the last 25m. I didn't want to come 4th. After touching the wall I didn't know the result and didn't want to look in case it wasn't what I wanted to see. I must have taken about 30 seconds to turn around and see that I had come 3rd!! Finally a pool medal, the one I desperately wanted!! Standing on that podium was an amazing feeling, one I will remember forever!

I’m going to be staying in India for the rest of the week and will be doing a bit of sightseeing – I’ll let you know how I’m getting on!