Petria Thomas

With only a couple of weeks to go before the Opening Ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games, the Australian Olympic Swim Team has gathered in Sindelfingen (Germany) to finish off final preparations for the all important racing which lies ahead.

Team spirit is good as always, even though there are some weary eyes after the long travel time from Australia to Europe. I was fortunate enough to have been in Singapore for the last 10 days or so with the AIS team. Our Singapore visit turned out to be a blessing as it broke up our long trip to Germany and provided some warm weather training in preparation for the heat of Athens.

Training in Singapore went well, but it was also great to escape the bitter cold winter that Canberra is experiencing at the moment. It was an easy and relaxing visit to Singapore and I was able to enjoy the great shopping and culinary delights that the country has to offer.

What was better still is that I was able to escape all the Olympic hype and scandal that has been occurring back in Australia for the last month or so. All in all I feel very relaxed about my preparations leading into the Olympic Games and am looking forward to my races.

On a personal front, my husband Julian, has probably already arrived in Athens. He is a strength and conditioning coach and is ensuring that everything is in order when the athletes arrive.

My mum and sister are also coming to Athens and I cannot wait to catch up with them over there.

Thanks again for all your support and I hope all is well back home.