I can’t say there has been much happening, well not much that is too exciting anyway.

I swam in the Victorian Short Course, and it appears that all my training is continuing to pay dividends. I swam well, especially in the 800m freestyle and the 400m freestyle, where my time of 3:39 was among some of the better times of this year.

I guess the big news of the week for me was being quoted as being “disgusted” at my performance at the World Champs. I probably used too strong a word, but I certainly was dissatisfied with my performance. The further I get away from it, the more disappointing I realise it was. All I ever ask is to get the best out of myself. At those championships I probably didn’t.

Moving forward I have committed to swimming the 10km open water event in Beijing. It’s not going to take my focus away from the pool events, but is something I have elected to challenge myself with.

Being four days after the 1500m it fits in perfectly with my program. My goal is to be competitive, and I think I can be, my training schedule is similar to that of an open-water swimmer, and my good mate Ky Hurst has already started giving me tips.

The event will be held in the rowing course, which means pollution shouldn’t be a worry. The man to beat is Christian Hein, the current world champion from Russia. I hope my 10 years of surf lifesaving comes in handy.

Out of the pool I was in Sydney for a promotional launch. Uncle Toby’s has formed a partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee, so I went to Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton pool for that, then to the Nestle offices to meet and greet the staff. They were great and made me feel welcome.

In sport it’s good to see the Brisbane Lions doing well. They may need to win every game, but I wouldn’t write them off just yet. Especially if Jonathan Brown and Jared Brennan keep kicking goals. Who knows they might even be the value bet for the flag.

Take care - Grant

Not much has changed in the past couple of weeks, just been training hard.
 
I’ve had a heavy schedule with back-to-back 70-80km weeks in the pool.
 
Once out of the pool I have been resting a lot, and have had to stay away from my lovely wife as she has been sick with a nasty dose of [...]

First and foremost thanks for all of the support that you have given me while I was over in Europe. I had a great time, even though the majority of it was spent racing and traveling from place to place.
 
My return to form was something I was extremely happy with, when I went over I [...]