London 2012 is claiming to be holding a consultation on its transport arrangements for the Olympics. Just to emphasise the vital importance of these arrangements, despite the enormous disruption this will cause, the webpage has Olympic athlete Karen Pickering saying 'Competing at a major event is stressful and nerve-racking enough for an athlete, we don’t want to have to think about transport and getting to our venues. Every little detail counts in an athlete’s preparations. When I was competing I knew exactly what time I needed to prepare, to get changed, to do my warm up, to get changed. Athletes need absolute confidence that the transport won’t let them down and impact on getting ready to perform at their best.'

Fancy a dip in the London Fields Lido in July 2012? Suffering from a heatwave, got the children on holiday, just in need of a little restful soak? Not on your lilo! Hackney Council have agreed to allow the American swimming team to use it for last minute training. And it's not just Hackney. Other 50 metre pools will also be taken over for last minute practice. The Brits will be in Edinburgh.

Let the Bejing Olympics of Global Re-branding and Marketing begin!

A talented young swimmer with dreams of winning gold at the 2012 Olympics died after pushing himself too hard in training.

Luke Jeffrey, 15, drowned after secretly getting back in the pool following his coaching session, an inquest heard. The county-standard swimmer, who was said to be pushing himself to the "absolute limit" to make it to the London Games, is believed to have blacked out while practising underwater lengths.

On the face of it, this should be a golden era for Britain's public swimming pools. The government is constantly urging us to do more exercise. And ministers have pledged to improve sporting facilities in the run up to the London Olympics in 2012. But despite that, hundreds of local pools are increasingly shabby and some are threatened with closure.

There are choppy waters ahead for swimmers in Oxford after it was revealed there is no cash to build an Olympic-size pool for the city.