ONE STROKE AT A TIME

My first serious boyfriend was a sprint freestyler and Commonwealth Games gold medalist. Fresh out of the pool from a 4 x 100m win he blurted down the barrel "Gday Mel how are ya babe?" I was proud as punch of my hardworking hero. To this day the smell of chlorine reminds me of young love.

Filling in on reception at Channel Ten I met my soon to be long-term boyfriend when he and Kieren Perkins entered the studios for a pre Victoria Canada Commonwealth Games photo shoot. Incidentally Kieren met his wife Sam (a then news journalist) on the same day. As a Junior Publicist I was able to use my new beau's athletic frame and prospects as a rising star in the pool to further promote both him and Channel Ten's games coverage in the press, a win for all.

On occasion he'd win the battle and drag me along to early morning training where, in a lane beside Susie O'Neil, Sam Riley and the rest of Scott Volker's swim squad I'd lag behind.

Later, under Russian coach Gennadi Touretski at the ASI Dwade shared a dorm with best mates Lumpy (Michael Klim) and Miller. My stays would comprise of donning a "gymie's" tracksuit as camouflage to sneak into the dining hall together, watching Dwade, Lumpy and the great Alexander Popov glide and Miller fly. And let's not forget hitting the aquatic centre spa with the boys after training. It was a tough life for a young woman and one that led me to believe extraordinary physiques and achievements like their were the norm. Certainly I was somewhat misguided and ill prepared for life ahead. However through observational learning I benefited greatly from watching professional swimmers train and embrace sport and the discipline it takes to achieve optimal health, speed and near impossible goals.

Cut to thirty years on and swimming has got me through some of the toughest times in my life and is a major factor in keeping the pain of my scoliosis condition at bay.

Again today I broke the water under night lights, saw garbage trucks come and go through goggle vision and between three and six hundred metres the darkness disappeared and a new day dawned.

I find swimmers methodically doing laps to be poetic, every so often exchanging pleasantries when they come up for air. It's like a secret club. Walking to the change room a woman smiled at me as if to say she was in on it too. "It" being a love of moving your body in a weightless environment along with an appreciation for life, opportunities that begin with each sunrise and the joy you derive from starting the day in this meditative way...

Breathing in and out, in and out, I hear the air expel as bubbles. Thoughts come and go and when my mind is finally silenced by repetitive motion all I'm aware of is music. The sound of my hands alternatively cupping the water, my metronome head swaying from side to side, the beat of my kick; the rhythm of them working together propelling me forward.

Aside from being a good alternative to actual meditation, for me a swim at sparrows instills a feeling of strength and power which translates to an attitude that anything is possible...and it is right?! Join me on a swimming journey to better health, mobility, muscle strength, mental clarity, friendship and positive energy. This daily journey I highly recommend.