Roger Federer, Alex Ferguson, Mike Tyson, David Beckham and even Tiger Woods!

I’ve been fortunate and truly blessed to have interviewed some of sport's biggest names one-on-one, but for years there remained a glaring hole in my professional resume.

Or rather two glaring holes: Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. I’d have taken some time with even just one of them, but the two of them together and the chance of a first ever trip to Las Vegas? Not something I was about to pass up!

While I never got to interview either of them at the peak of their playing powers, this was in a sense much better. I found both very welcoming, friendly, relaxed and very eager to talk.

What struck me was just how much winning Olympic gold means to both of them. Steffi shocked me when she said her gold back in 1988 was actually bigger in her mind than a grand slam title. Then I got to thinking ... the German has a total of 22 majors, after all, and only one Olympic gold! Or two, maybe, if you count the gold she won for her country when tennis was an exhibition event at Los Angeles ’84.

I concluded that no-one who’s won everything would want to end their career without a prestigious Olympic title.

I knew the celebrity couple rarely did this kind of thing, at least together, and having never before actually spoken to either of them I didn’t quite know what to expect. I’ve been doing this kind of thing for too long to actually get nervous, but there’s no question I was feeling a fair few butterflies! I’d done my homework though and felt well-prepared.

Both arrived early and went into make- up. Steffi emerged and, after introducing myself, we engaged in casual chat and took a trip down memory lane in recalling who she’d beaten en route to that 1988 gold. In an instant, I relaxed and when Andre arrived it was just like chatting with a pair of long-lost friends.

I only once ever recall feeling a few nerves in an interview situation before. That occasion was with Mike Tyson after a fight in Denmark. Though he’d won the fight, he hadn’t performed to the best of his abilities and looking back I don’t think he really wanted to do it. It’s to his credit that he did, of course, but some of his answers were brief to say the least!

Andre and Steffi spoke passionately throughout. I could sense their pride in their achievements, and the setting for the shoot was even more special – especially for Andre. We were recording in the special workout facility of Gil Reyes –Agassi’s fitness trainer for 17 years. They remain firm friends, and what caught my eye was the fact that every one of Andre’s 8 grand slam trophies was on display for all to see.

Golden moments: Agassi and Graf relive Olympic glory

Our 30-minute segment flew by. I know I relaxed greatly during the shoot and I feel they did too. The couple’s love for the game was all too apparent. Steffi’s command of the English language is excellent but I sensed her husband’s reassuring presence allowed her to wax lyrical about her terrific achievement in South Korea.

By the way, Andre’s memory is incredible. He was able to recall every opponent en route to taking gold at Atlanta '96. Pretty much every scoreline too. Now that’s impressive!

You can always tell when interviewees really want to be there in the first place. Andre and Steffi most definitely did. In fact, after the main half-hour slot, Andre hung around for general chit-chat off camera then agreed to record a separate 10-minute piece for us before shooting off to join his wife in picking up his other pride and joy – their children.

Just before we all went our separate ways, Andre gazed out of the window of the Reyes gym. His eyes were focused on the court that was just yards away. Had I brought my racket with me I may well have asked for a hit with one of the game’s all-time greats.

I really do think he would have accepted my challenge too. Who knows, maybe we can leave that for next time we meet!

Michael Phelps can claim to be the greatest swimmer of all-time for the following reasons:

- In 2008, he performed one of the greatest feats in Olympic history by winning eight gold medals from eight events in the pool
- He has set 29 individual world records, which is in itself a record
- He is the most successful swimmer in World Championships history boasting a haul of 26 gold medals
- And his success has transcended and changed his sport

And at the age of 27, the man known as the Baltimore Bullet and the Flying Fish, was primed to add clear water to any pretenders to the throne by netting a further seven golds to his burgeoning spoils of water-based combat at the London Games. The scene was set for history to once again be rewritten and to add to the spectacle Phelps would need to conquer one of the greatest rivalries in sport, on the greatest of stages, to take glory.

The man most likely to end Phelps' gold run was of course Ryan Lochte - the 27-year-old who was the first man to break a long-course world record since the buoyancy suits ban came into place in 2010 and who won five gold medals in the 2011 World Championships by beating Phelps twice in the 200m freestyle and the 200m individual medley. The all-American fight for supremacy of the pool has proved a powerful narrative in the build up to the Games.

The question is now, in the aftermath of Phelps' capitulation to Lochte in the men's 400m individual medley, is there any rivalry left? In fact, even to suggest Phelps had lost out solely to Lochte would be disingenuous as the American former champion finished fourth behind Brazil's Thiago Periera, who took silver, and Japan's Kosuke Hagino who sealed bronze.

Lochte, on beating his double Olympic champion-teammate by a full four seconds, told reporters: "I'm in shock right now, but I knew I could win so I'm happy I could do that.

"I know he gave everything he had, so I'll have to have a chat with him and see how he is after that." When he does Phelps may repeat the answers he gave to the press: that he had felt great for the first 200m but after that it "didn't happen".

For the inward-looking Phelps the result will leave him much to ponder. He has been used to being within tenths of a second to his rival, whether in front or behind, so this will need some reflection, especially given the tight nature of the semifinal in which Phelps struggled to come through intact.

Lochte, on the other hand, will take great confidence into Monday night's hyped rematch in the 200m individual medley. His gregarious personality may yet about to be challenged with the rigors of becoming a multiple champion, a test that Phelps' is well used to.

For the neutral, the hope will be that this has not been the last chapter in what has been a captivating rivalry, one where the exploits and exertions of one has driven on the other to further greatness.

Phelps is on record saying he has often thought about leaving the sport, if he doesn't bounce back on Monday maybe those voices will carry the day. Even if the outcome is not quite so dramatic, a key factor for rivalries to work is being close enough in performance to beat each other, a factor that is now is doubt.

Phelps, more than ever, will need to recapture the form that built the legacy at the top of this page just to stay close. Lochte may have his eyes set on building a legacy of his own.

It’s gold or bust. There are two teams who enter the men’s Olympic football tournament with just one goal – finishing at the top of the podium.

For different reasons, Brazil and Spain are taking these Games in London – which feature under-23 players plus three overage members per squad – as seriously as if it was a World Cup or continental championship, and I hope they get to meet in the final.

For the "Selecao" this competition is about much more than just pride or bragging rights, it’s about history. Brazil may have won the World Cup a record five times and the Copa America on eight occasions, but they have never got their hands on Olympic gold. It is something that not only the country's fans and officials are hoping for, but the players themselves have been saying it would be a dream come true.

As far as I am concerned, the Brazilians have the strongest squad in the competition. Neymar is easily the best player who will kick a ball in the UK over the next three weeks and this could be the tournament where he truly arrives on the global stage. Then there is Thiago Silva, Alexandre Pato, Hulk, Ganso, Marcelo – all full internationals who play for top clubs.

On paper, the Samba Kings have a phenomenal team. Add that to their determination to make history, and they will be a tough team to beat.

Perhaps the only side who can do that is Spain. Right now they own just about every other title in the world of football, having won the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012, the 2011 European Under-21 Championship and the last two European Under-19 Championships.

The winning culture has definitely been passed on from generation to generation and this Olympic team has plenty of talent. As a matter of fact they will have a trio of players (Jordi Alba, Javi Martinez and Juan Mata) who lifted the Euro 2012 trophy less than a month ago in Kiev.

Of course Spain know what it’s like to win gold. They won the Olympic tournament on home soil in 1992, when the likes of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique were in the squad. The foundations laid by Pep as a manager at Barcelona have now allowed the current generation to reap the rewards, and the gold medal this summer would complete quite a winning cycle for "La Roja."

The greatest football team: Spain 2012 vs. Brazil 1970?

Outside of the leading favorites, we should not overlook Switzerland, whose under-17 national team put on a show on the way to winning the 2009 World Cup. Look out for players such as Fabien Frei, Pajtim Kassimi and Haris Seferovic to show off their skills.

So what about the host nation? I can’t believe Team GB manager Stuart Pearce didn’t pick David Beckham. He has been the perfect ambassador for the UK before and after London won the right to host the Olympics and on the pitch he would have contributed as much as Ryan Giggs or Craig Bellamy.

I thought the snub was unjustified, and by leaving the veteran midfielder out Pearce lost someone who would have been an inspirational figure in the dressing room. At a time when English players have an image of being spoiled brats who really don’t care much for their club or country, Becks would have been a perfect contributor to alter that.

Should Beckham be playing at the Olympics?

Pearce recently complained that there was a lack of young quality players who were available for the Games, but if you don’t pick ones who set an example then you are really not doing yourself any favors, are you?

So time for a prediction, and I say Brazil will win the gold medal. They have too much quality not to win the tournament and they will ride Neymar’s skills all the way to a victorious performance at Wembley on August 11.

"First Saudi Woman to Compete in Olympics" is one of those headlines journalists live for.

In an ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom where women can't drive, can't travel without the permission of a male guardian or practice sports in public schools, women are no longer forbidden from participating in the world's highest profile sporting event.

Or so we thought.

Following months of debate and mounting international pressure by human rights groups calling on the International Olympic Committee to ban the kingdom from participation on grounds of discrimination, on June 24 Saudi Arabia's London embassy published a statement saying the country "is looking forward to its complete participation in the London 2012 Olympic Games through the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, which will oversee the participation of women athletes who can qualify for the Games."

The media held their collective breath in anticipation of a grandiose announcement by Saudi royals proclaiming a great move forward for women's rights in the kingdom.

After more than a week, the first official comment came on Monday in an interview in a local Arabic-language paper with the Saudi Sports Minister and Head of the Olympic Committee Prince Nawaf Al-Faisal outlining the conditions for female participation in any international athletics event, including the Olympics.

"The female athlete's male guardian must give his permission and accompany her to any competitions," Prince Nawaf told the paper. Women also have to "wear appropriate Islamic dress" (which likely includes a headscarf and loose-fitting garments) and "there must be no mixing with men during any game".

To ensure no one is tempted to stray, the woman and her male guardian must both sign a pledge vowing to abide by these conditions before she would be allowed to compete.

For months journalists have been hounding the media-shy 20-year-old female equestrian show jumper, Dalma Rushdie Malhas. U.S.-born and Paris based, she was the most likely candidate to be the first Saudi female to compete at the Olympics after winning a bronze in 2010 at the Youth Olympics.

"This is a dream come true," an excited Malhas told CNN following the initial announcement. "This opens many doors for women."

Malhas had already been invited to compete by the IOC but the new Saudi decision meant she would finally have national endorsement. She is not veiled and it is not clear whether she would agree to abide by these conditions and hard to even imagine what kind of loose garments an equestrian could feasibly compete in.

A day after the landmark statement, it was announced that Malhas, was not even in the running. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) issued a press release saying Malhas had failed to qualify for the Games due to an injury her horse had suffered.

"We understand that the IOC has a number of other female athletes from Saudi Arabia in other sports who are currently under consideration," added the FEI statement.

Mere weeks before the games are set to begin, these other athletes have yet to appear. The strict new conditions are not an encouraging sign and there is no indication yet of what the IOC thinks of these conditions. Would "Islamic dress" be approved for competition? Is it not still discrimination to force women to be chaperoned and sign a document promising to stay segregated?

For those watching the story unfold, it is a hollow victory for Saudi women.

The quiet announcement lifting the ban on female participation paired with Malhas' disqualification means that, in theory, the kingdom could avoid the embarrassment of an IOC ban without actually having to field female athletes.

Human Rights Watch described the lifting of the ban as "an important step forward."

"But," adds Minky Worken, director of HRW's global initiatives "an eleventh hour change of course to avoid a ban does not alter the dismal and unequal conditions for women and girls in Saudi Arabia."

Although it made the headlines of the international media, the story was, disappointingly, almost non-existent in the Saudi press and this Olympic debate speaks to a much wider issue of women's participation in society as a whole.

The Saudi political system, led by a relatively reform-minded King Abdullah, is in constant struggle between ultra-orthodox Islamist clerics and those who would like to see the kingdom evolve socially and culturally. Currently the establishment actively discourages women from being athletic by banning sports in girls' public schools and issuing statements by clerics calling female athletics "immoral".

Find any article about Saudi female athletes and you'll see one of two photos: either Malhas competing in 2010 or a group of veiled women stretching on a basketball court.

Those women are the members of Jeddah United, a private basketball team and sports company, purportedly the first private female sports club in the kingdom. Starting with 12 players in 2003 they now boast 350 members, mostly children of both genders.

Their founder Lina Al Maeena, who plays center on the team, said she loved basketball as a student at a U.S. college and when she struggled with post-partum depression it was the athletics-induced release of endorphins that helped her recover.

Al Maeena says it's not about challenging norms (the women play in private female-only facilities) but about wellbeing.

"It's a social debate that we have to go through to promote [sports] and tell society, or the opposing segments in society, that we're not going against our religious or cultural beliefs," Al Maeena told CNN in February.

It is possible that as billions tune in for the July 27th Opening Ceremony we may see a woman marching proudly in the Saudi team as it files into the Olympic stadium. But this unlikely event may be as downplayed locally, like other women's issue in Saudi.

Some will say this will be a token gesture to appease the West. Others will say this is King Abdullah's subtle way of introducing quiet and organic reform without the pomp and circumstance that makes good television.

"The most important thing is not to win but to take part" is one of the Olympic mottos. How very true.

London’s Olympic Games will be the poorer for David Beckham’s absence and his omission from Britain’s football squad highlights the lottery of selections based on subjectivity instead of results.

The fact that so many of the UK’s esteemed football writers - normally highly critical appraisers of sporting talent – have voiced their dismay on social networking sites shows how many experts recognized that Beckham’s place at the Olympics was about more than just his merit as a player.

Henry Winter of Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper wrote “Becks deserved more respect.” Matt Dickinson from The Times tweeted, “shocked by the Beckham news” while The Mirror’s John Cross said he was “Stunned – Beckham deserved it on every level.”

Even Italian football writer Tancredi Palmeri joined the debate, comparing the announcement with Roberto Baggio’s controversial omission from Italy’s 2002 World Cup squad.

The former England captain inspires loyalty from those who have watched him play. In the country which invented soccer, attitude is valued as highly as technique and Becks always looked like he was giving 100 percent.

On top of that, Beckham is a global sporting icon who has maximized his brand value off the football pitch as much as his talent on it.

The star midfielder was even used as part of the team which successfully secured London's right to host the Games for a third time in 2005.

Forbes magazine’s most recent list of the world’s highest paid players put Beckham top, above other more highly-rated stars like Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

Although the 37-year old Englishman plays in America’s Major League Soccer, which is considered at least one level below Europe’s top leagues, his presence in the United States has helped boost his global celebrity.

And, like it or not, the Olympics is now as much about sporting superstars as those heart-warming stories of little-known athletes, from far flung corners of the planet, living off a pittance and defying the odds to reach the podium.

Beckham isn’t the only headline act that Olympic spectators will miss during London 2012. Swimmer Ian Thorpe – a five times gold medallist – failed to make Australia’s team, although he only had himself to blame.

“The Thorpedo” simply wasn’t quick enough after coming out of retirement. And that was the problem for Haile Gebrselassie. The former world record holder for the 5000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon didn’t make the cut at Ethiopia’s qualification race.

However, unlike a swimming or running race, selecting a football team is subjective. And the coach of Team GB’s football squad, Stuart Pearce, had the perfect excuse to indulge in the sentimentality of including a fading football legend admired in Britain and around the world.

London 2012 is a one-off. Because England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate as separate football associations they are only entering a team this year because the tournament is on home soil. They won’t for future Olympics.

Tickets for the football matches haven’t been as popular as some of the other events. Beckham’s presence could well have boosted sales and, while making the Games a financial success isn’t normally a coach’s concern, perhaps it should have played a part in Pearce’s thinking.

Normally I would applaud a cold-hearted, logical approach to picking a team but Beckham should have been an exception to the rule.

"Sing" was the name of Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber's song to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Shame it wasn't given the subtitle "And Prove You Know the Words." Then it could have been used as the official anthem for football's European Championships and the London Olympics as well.

Because it seems people have a bit of a bee in their bonnets. Even the non-royal ones.

UK athletics head coach Charles van Commenee has said he's making sure all Team GB athletes are practicing the words of the British national anthem ahead of the Olympics, to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment with U.S.-born team captain Tiffany Porter at the World Indoor Championships in March. Porter has been dubbed a "Plastic Brit"  – and was challenged to prove her British credentials by reciting the opening lines of "God Save the Queen."

Poland's France-born footballers Damien Perquis and Ludovic Obraniak were asked to sing part of the Polish anthem ahead of Euro 2012, amid talk of a split in the squad – which also features players with German connections recently brought in by coach Franciszek Smuda.

But does being able to sing the national anthem prove your right to represent a country? Does every Poland-born Polish person or British-born member of Team GB know the words of their anthems? You just have to cast your mind back to the cringeworthy performance of popstar Christina Aguilera singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 2011 Super Bowl to see that where you’re born doesn’t necessarily mean that’s always the case.

Designer Giorgio Armani has found the perfect solution to the problem – he’s included the words of the Italian anthem in the team’s Olympic kit. Not just a handy cut-out-and-keep guide in the pocket either. He’s gone as far as printing the words to “Il Canto degli Italiani” on the inside of team jackets and sweatshirts.

Armani’s reasoning? He says he’s done it because "sport is the most patriotic thing that there is and it inspires national pride."

I understand the need for the feeling of national pride. An awareness that when you pull on that strip you're not just running or playing for yourself, but representing a flag and a nation. But isn’t it how you perform when that whistle or gun goes that should matter most – more than whether or not you sing the anthem?

There have been calls for Roy Hodgson to drop England stars Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard et al if they’re not singing along in Poland and Ukraine. But – as we see all too often – these guys are chosen for their footballing ability, not their brains or ability to belt it out. And (unlikely I know) if they help to bring England’s first major trophy since 1966 – never mind singing – they’ll be screaming from the rooftops.

Serbia's Football Association suspended midfielder Adem Ljajic for failing to sing "Boze pravde" ahead of a friendly against Spain. He said it was for personal reasons – and a stance that won’t change in the forseeable future. Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic sent him home, and told him he won’t be changing back into his national strip until his attitude changes. You could say it’s just unlucky for Ljajic he’s not eligible to play for Spain or San Marino. It’s not as if you can be punished for failing to sing along to an anthem without any words.

And as we’ve seen recently, even if the athletes have done their homework it turns out that event organizers don’t always do theirs. South Africa’s women’s hockey team were forced to stand through the awkward embarrassment of the anthem from the apartheid era, "Die Stem," at the London Cup instead of "Nikosi Sikelel' iAfrika." And if Maria Dmitrienko’s name isn’t the most memorable, it’s difficult to forget her face after organizers of a shooting championships in Kuwait celebrated her gold medal with the spoof Kazakhstan anthem from the film "Borat" instead of the real one.

So what about the route that UEFA has gone down with the European Champions League? Scrapping national anthems altogether and having an event theme tune rather than anthems from individual countries? It might be something the Greeks are interested in, rather than learning all 158 – yes, 158 – verses of "Imnos pros tin Eleftherian."

Yes, I’ll admit it. I have been known to pole dance. And yes, there are pictures to prove it. No, you’re not seeing them. And I can assure you I didn’t take my clothes off.

But I will say that an afternoon meant to be a bit of fun was one of the most painful and bruise inducing of my life.

I am allegedly quite fit (in the running, exercise sense, before you accuse me of getting ahead of myself). But before you could say "Peter Stringfellow" – the longtime UK strip-club entrepreneur – that pole had me waving my white flag of surrender, even before I’d managed to climb to half mast.

So yes, I can see where professional pole dancer Becca Butcher is coming from when she says: "It can be extremely challenging - it’s Olympic-level difficulty." But does Olympic-level difficulty mean deserving of a place at the Olympic Games?

Bernie Ecclestone told me last week in Monaco that Formula One won’t be included in the Olympics in the near future because of a ban on mechanical sports. But he did go on to admit "but they keep adding things which I don’t believe are Olympic sports - so maybe - it would be nice to see it happen." (More on the newest recruits of Rugby Sevens and golf in a moment.)

I love F1 - but for me, it should never be part of the Games. Leaving mechanics to one side, it’s big enough on its own. And certainly doesn’t need the profile.

I, like many others, believe the Olympics should be the pinnacle of the sporting calendar for the athletes - and events - involved. That Olympic gold medal should be worth more than any other honor in their field, or pool, or boat.

So yes, I’d get rid of football and tennis, and not even begin seeding the greens or commissioning the official Olympic mouthguards ahead of Brazil. Golf and Rugby Sevens are both heading to the Games in Rio in 2016 - having been awarded official Olympic status three years ago.

But it remains to be seen whether the biggest names from those sports will find the time to make it there too.

Thankfully for lovers of the aforementioned sports, and of course their governing bodies, it’s not me making the rules. It’s the International Olympic Committee. So how do they decide? According to the "Official website of the Olympic Movement:"

“To make it onto the Olympic program, a sport first has to be recognized: it must be administered by an International Federation which ensures that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter. If it is widely practiced around the world and meets a number of criteria established by the IOC session, a recognized sport may be added to the Olympic program on the recommendation of the IOC's Olympic Program Commission.”

Squash and karate were just two of the sports left disappointed after the last round of judging in 2009 – and didn’t even make it to a full vote. Both are administered by an international federation, both are widely practiced around the world - but neither made the grade.

There’s suggestions that golf and rugby were frankly just seen as more marketable, as having more commercial value. And when you look at the additions of BMX and open water swimming to the last Olympics in Beijing in 2008 - billed as an attempt to attract a younger audience - maybe sexy sports are the way forward.

And talking of sexy...

The trials for the British Olympic swimming team start this weekend, and training has been going really well. It’s not so intensive, it’s more recovery work and fine-tuning skills - so it’s nice to not be feeling tired all the time!

The big moment, when I find out if I have qualified for my home Games, is now just a matter of days away after what feels like years and years of preparation.

Having watched some of the cycling world championships at the Olympic velodrome recently, and having seen the enthusiasm and support from the crowd, the excitement ahead of London 2012 is really snowballing now.

Even the British public wants a piece of somebody or something that’s going to be at the Games. It feels more pressurized this time around, but it is about turning pressure into positive energy.

Handling the pressure is tricky for me, having had a bout of depression in the last four or five years. It is now about rediscovering my confidence in competitive situations.

Looking back, the depression probably began after the Athens Games in 2004. When you get to the pinnacle of your sport, as I did in becoming a world champion the year before, there isn’t much in place to help you if it all goes wrong.

You deal with psychologists, but they only deal with you as an athlete rather than as a person. I beat myself up and fell deeper and deeper before family problems meant it all came to a head at the end of 2008.

Missing out on Beijing 2008 was a significant factor. In swimming especially, you work for the Olympics. It’s the pinnacle of your career, like a footballer working towards the World Cup. You train for four years and to fall at the last hurdle is gut-wrenching.

You get to a point where everything comes to a head. You think, “I can’t take this anymore,” and you crack. The way you deal with it dictates which way your life goes.

As soon as you recognize there is a problem, you can seek help for it. You have to reconnect with who you are and what you want to do. Like with addiction, once you accept there is something wrong then you can tackle it.

Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I’m approaching everything I do now in a different way to before. I feel like a different person heading into the trials, I feel like I’m experiencing it for the first time.

I have found myself again. I will be intrigued as to how I compete, because it has been a while since I have been in a good position mentally.

I don’t know what I am capable of doing. Everything in my life has been different since dealing with depression, including my training. I have tried to keep a better balance in my life and I think that has helped.

I have given myself the best chance I can of qualifying for London given the budget I have and everything else that has been going on. When I get to the trials, I will give 110% in everything I do. Only time will tell what results come out of that.

An Olympics is an amazing place to be. I call it a bit of a freak show – you sit in the canteen and you could see a seven-foot Chinese girl who is the best volleyball player in the world, and opposite you'd have an American basketball player you might have watched on television when you were growing up.

All of a sudden you are not only among other athletes you look up to, but the other sportsmen and women who are the best in their chosen field. It's an amazing who's who of the sporting world when you get to an Olympic village, so you try to take all that in and not get too excited. You don't want to burn up too much nervous energy, you've got to remember why you are there – to compete.

Atlanta in 1996 was great for me – a lot of people say it was one of the worst Olympics there has ever been in terms of organization but I didn't see it like that, I saw it in terms of being a young lad fresh out of university and coming away with a silver medal in the 4×400 meters relay for Great Britain.

One of the big things I remember was being thrust into the limelight. I remember my first live TV interview after a heat in the individual 400 meters, it was myself and Roger Black (who also won silver in that event) and we were doing it down the line back to the UK.

Instead of looking into camera, as Roger did because he's a professional, I spent the whole interview looking at the monitor by my feet that showed my reflection. At the end of it Roger said to me, "The whole interview all people could see was the top of your head!"

At an Olympics, you haven't got your home comforts. You might be sharing with an athlete who snores - simple things like that - but you've got to keep your focus.

There are the external pressures of friends and family – everyone wants a piece of you, but you've got to be selfish and switch your phone off, tell your mum and dad and your friends to leave you for two weeks. You've got to realize why you are there. You've trained all year for the Olympics and you've got that small window of opportunity to get everything right. You’ve got to try to put everything negative out of your mind.

It was amazing to get a silver medal in Atlanta. The proudest moment for me was seeing my mum and dad on my lap of honor. I had arranged to meet them after every heat of the 400 meters but kept missing them, then out of 110,000 people in the crowd I spotted them on my lap of honor. It was the first time I'd seen them during the Games and it was a really nice to share that moment with them.

The Olympics went in a flash for me, I broke through and it all happened really quickly. At the time I thought, "I'm going to do better next time around" but as it happened I had a lot of injuries. My advice is to seize the moment. Don't think, "I'm 21, I've got loads of Olympics ahead" – you might not have. You've got to grasp that opportunity and savor the moment.

Sydney was a bad experience after having had a fantastic 1998 when I became European and Commonwealth champion. Then I had a complete year off in 1999 with an injury and I couldn't get back in shape for the 2000 Olympics. I dropped out of the 400m and did the relay, but the team wasn't as good as it had been four years earlier. It's horrible when you go to a major championships and know you are not in good shape and you've got to try to perform.

It was quite hard to watch my teammates and think that four years previously myself and Roger were competing for medals in the final. The worst place for an athlete who is not 100% fit is watching – it is horrible.

The amount of pressure you put on yourself is what counts. I'm very jealous that I’m not 10 years younger and still competing, because I think if a British athlete can't raise their game in a home Olympics in front of a home crowd, then they are never going to do it.

I think it'll be an amazing atmosphere in London and the home athletes are very fortunate. They must grasp that opportunity because having the Games in London is truly once in a lifetime stuff.

When your name is read out on the blocks the crowd are going to go crazy, and that can only be a good thing for an athlete. Two things happen under pressure: you either raise your game and perform the best you've ever done, or you crumble. If an athlete crumbles I will feel sorry for them but they shouldn't – they train all-year-round for that one window of opportunity.

When you go to the Olympics, you're a perfectionist. When I finished second in 1996 people thought it was amazing because I had just come out of university, but I was devastated. I thought, "It doesn’t matter – I’ll be better by Sydney."

The silver medal was great, but it wasn't gold. Now as I get older and look back on it I'm really proud of my medal, of all of my medals. I know how much blood, sweat and tears have gone into winning them.

It’s not long until the British Olympic swimming trials in March, and it’s really exciting because it’s the first time I’m going to see the new pool in London. Days are ticking by and it’s getting really close.

I’m really excited by the prospect of actually competing at the Olympic pool for the first instance in the trials, and then hopefully I can convert my times into a place on the team and compete there again in the summer. I went to Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004, and I want to be involved again.

Having the Olympics in London will be amazing. I went to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and that was a fantastic experience. It makes it even more exciting because your family and friends can be more part of the whole concept of what you’re going for.

At home it’s more accessible for them and they can understand a bit more the passion you have for the sport. It makes it that extra bit special.

When I missed out on the team for Beijing in 2008 it was heartbreaking. I’d done everything I could but I fell at the last hurdle. They only take two competitors for each event, and at our trials you have to do the times on the day to go through. I did the time but I was third on the day.

After that I very much felt like, “I’ve trained for four years to do this, what do I do now?” There were about eight of us in that position after the Beijing trials. We went to the U.S. nationals, our last main meet of the year. Then it was a case of sitting around and back to the drawing board. Thinking about what to do, how to move forward and if I want to move forward.

I got married in the summer of ‘08 so there was all of that going on as well, and there were a few problems in my personal life, so swimming took a back seat for the first half of this four-year cycle. I fractured my ribs and that led to other complications with my back, so I was forced to take some time off - which was something I hadn’t done in 13 or 14 years swimming at the top of my game.

It’s something I wish I’d done sooner in life. It gave me time to appreciate what I had done, and when I did get back into swimming after about four months out, I was ready and raring to go, re-energized and wanting it even more. The hunger was back again. I wish it was something I’d done earlier.

The last six years I’ve been funding myself, so it’s a case of “I can do it without anyone’s help, I’m doing it my way and I can still do it well my way.”

I’m quite susceptible to being injury prone and illness prone, so it’s about keeping that at bay, keeping strong mentally. When you’re at the starting blocks, it doesn’t matter what happens from the neck down, it’s neck up. You could have the worst preparation but as long as you can get in the right frame of mind, everything else is irrelevant.

At the moment I’m doing eight or nine swimming sessions a week. I’m training myself. I’m doing a weight program that is assisted by Mark Foster, a legendary British sprint swimmer who was a world and European champion in short-course events. I worked with him before Beijing, it’s just the weights side of stuff and it’s something we’ve continued to do.

I also do coaching. When I had that forced time off I set up my own swim academy in Havant, outside of Portsmouth where I’m from. It’s something I always wanted to do, and I had time to do it. It’s my way of giving back to my local community. It’s not something I’ve just put my name on - I’m actually hands on with it.

It’s quite nice to do something that’s not directly about me. It’s so nice to be able to watch kids enjoy the water and progress to actually swimming. It’s very basic beginner level that we’re doing.

I’m going to be 30 not long before London 2012. Everyone always says that it’s good to be still swimming at my age, but I was doing it really well at a young age. For example you had Dara Torres, who won silver medals for the U.S. at the last Olympic Games - she was in her 40s. I can remember going to Sydney in 200 and it was a big deal because she was making her comeback at 30-something then. If you can hack it, why not.

What do you think? Is there anything you'd like to know about my bid to qualify? Do you have any questions about how athletes train for big events? Please let me know below and I'll try to answer them in my next blog.