So it has been an eventful couple of weeks, world cup, the AIS meet and Swimmer of Year Awards as well as a series of personal events. So lets get through the swimming first, as I said in my last entry, I wasn't really expecting to swim overly fast, which is why I am so happy with the couple of weeks. The world cup was a great way to blow out the cob webs, like most sports, match or race practice is vital. After not really racing since the national short course (racing in a 25m pool) my skills were a bit rusty so to get three 2^nd places was satisfying. Although we were still training hard through the week the AIS meet turned out to be even better. The racing the week before helped immensely and the two meets were probably the best in season performances I have ever had.

We were also lucky enough to have a team of about 20 British swimmers train down at the AIS for a fortnight, including the commonwealth record holder in one of my main events (Kris Gilchrist in the 200m Breast). This was a great way to compete on a day to day basis, and compare and to pick up on areas where I could use some improvement. These included turns, and trying to maintain race pace for longer periods then I usually do.

Now onto something that was more exciting, the Swimmer of the Year awards, which were held on Sunday the 4^th of November. Libby Lenton was crowned swimmer of the year which was pretty expected. A little less expected was Jess Shcipper being crowned both People's choice and swimmers swimmer, which I think was wonderful because she has had 3 wonderful years and probably hadn't received the credit she deserved. The other major award, the golden moment of the year, went to Bronte Barret for her Australian Record in Japan. The fact is that the record she broke is one of the greatest in Australia's swimming history, Tracey Wickham's record stood for 29 years. I was fortunate enough to be named to the All-Star team for the second year running which was a nice reward for what I consider a good year.

The other big news in the last fortnight was Jodie Henry leaving the AIS to return Brisbane. This is of course unfortunate for the AIS, because to lose a person and athlete of the class as Jodie from any training group will be impossible to replace. I think home sickness and happiness is a real issue for swimming. It is a tough sport at the best of times so if you are unhappy in your daily life how happy are you going to be when the alarm goes off before 6 in the morning? I really hope Jodie can find that happiness and passion that she had before Athens because she is a great swimmer to watch. Till next time.