Petria Thomas

With the start of the Olympic Games just 1 month away, life in swimming is starting to get pretty exciting. I have recently returned from a one month trip to the USA where I completed one week of training in Flagstaff(altitude training), two weeks in Phoenix, and then travelled to Long Beach, California for a swim meet against some of America's best. It was a successful trip away with some good quality training and racing.

I have spent the last couple of weeks continuing my preparation in Canberra with all things going well. Then last week the entire Australian Swim Team was gathered in Brisbane for some final racing practice. The team competed against each other in two swim meets. It provided a good opportunity to hone some of those all important racing skills such as starts, turns and finishes etc. I was extremely happy with my performances and times.

This week, I am back in Canberra before heading off to Singapore on Sunday, 18th July to commence final preparations for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The 10 days in Singapore will provide for some acclimatisation to the heat that we can expect to experience in the Greek summer. From Singapore I will meet up with the rest of the Australian Team in Sindelfingen in Germany for 11 days before heading to Athens.

As you can see, it is now all systems go! I am excited about what may lay ahead and eager to face the challenges that arise. Thanks again for all the support.