I can't remember if I've talked about swimming before, but when I was young, I swam a lot. I qualified for National championships on two occassions, and when I stopped just before my 18th birthday, I would regularly do eight session a week, every evening after school and three mornings sessions before. I was in pretty good shape.

Then I quit. Then I got fat.

Alright, shut up, I know I'm not enormous or anything. But I barely went above 9 stone (too small for a 17 year old, 5'9 male) when I stopped, and today flirt dangerously with 13 when on the scales (just pushing me into the overweight range on the BMI scale). So I could be better.

I've got back in the pool on several occassions since I stopped, for a decent run of time before falling out of the habit. Since we moved to Cowley, I went to the local baths once. Then, in May, Cath joined the David Lloyd gym, and we got a couples membership after I tried the pool a few times and enjoyed it. So I started going a couple of times a week and then found out they had a weekly club session, so I've starting going along to that as well. The guy who runs it asked me if I had a goal, so I told him the abridged version of the above story ("I was in pretty good shape. Then I quit. Then I got fat.") and he wondered if I'd think about doing competition again. In a burst of overenthusiasm I looked around to see what the university-level competition was like and, well, they apparently import huge Americans to swim over here, so the competition is faster than I ever was in my prime, so that was out of the question.

But there is a thing called Masters events, which are competitions for older swimmers who don't spend all their life training or are an imported American. Amusingly, the first age group is 18-24 years old. In golf, Masters starts at over 50s. In darts, Masters is over whenever it is you die. Anyway, there are some competitions I'm eyeing up for next year, because training is going well - I'm feeling faster in the water each week, and my stamina is building up and even though I'm carrying 4 extra stone, I think I could get within a few seconds of my best ever times over 100m. So, all very exciting and I'll probably put up occassional updates.

Update 1: I have lost no weight yet.

I love Wikipedia:

"The world record for most aces in a match is held by John Isner, with 93 aces (although game still ongoing) in a first round match against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships on June 23, 2010 (Mahut holds second place with 80 in the same match)."

Four minutes later:

"The world record for most aces in a match is held by John Isner, with 93 aces (although game still ongoing) in a first round match against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships on June 23, 2010 (Mahut holds second place with 82 in the same match)."

Tonight, Ronnie O'Sullivan's annual campaign to become world snooker champion and my annual campaign to see Ronnie O'Sullivan prevented from becoming world snooker champion coincidentally came to an end, with a favourable end for just one of us. Mark Selby, you are a beautiful man.

So it's Selby vs. Dott and Robertson vs. Carter. A Selby-Robertson final would be my ideal, because both are guys I've wanted to see win this for the last few years, and aside from Dott's victory of Maguire and Allen's early round performances, both have probably played the best snooker this tournament.

Stupidly, a week ago, I got caught going 36mph going down Banbury Road into Summertown. The letter came yesterday, but addressed to Cath because she's the named owner with the DVLA. And instead of taking the £60 fine and 3 points like a good wife, she's shopped me. Actually, she has filled in a form with my details, put it in an envelope and asked me to post it tomorrow, so technically, I'm shopping me.

Mainly I'm most embarassed by the fact that I got speeding just 6mph over the limit. What's the point of speeding by so little - you get there hardly any faster, but the penalty is the same as if I'd gone 50.

Speaking of speeding, Usain Bolt's new world record was just breathtaking. The record came down by 100ths of a second every few years for ages - he takes 0.11 off in one go. It's important not to go over the top though - listen to the commentator saying (approximately), "he thinks he can go 9.4, but that's his limit. I'm not sure, I think he could go whatever time he likes". One day he shall wake up and say, "I want to go 5". And it shall be done.

Something I found today that is great, and needs to be watched.

Two out of four predictions right on the snooker. Selby was robbed (by the unfair process of winning less frames). My semifinal predictions are unlikely to be correct, given I didn't even get the possible matches right. It's been a ridiculously good tournament.

I really wish people would stop supporting Ronnie O'Sullivan. Sure, he can be exicting to watch. But he's a child, who loves attention, and is equally happy to get in the arena or away from it. Then maybe he'll quit, like he always promises to do because this sport, which he is so naturally gifted at, makes him so miserable.

My predictions go: Day beats Allen, Selby (COME ON MARK) beats Higgins, Robertson beats Maguire, Murphy beats Hendry. Then, Robertson beats Selby, Murphy beats Day, Murphy takes the final? Odd, because saying Murphy beats Hendy is the only one I'm not sure about. But if he does, I'd fancy him for the title (to be shared in the divorce?). You may be surprised to find I'm behind Selby.

COME ON MARK.

So, I'm still up at 3.30am because I wanted to watching the swimming finals, and it turned out to be an excellent decision. Firstly, Phelps wins his seventh gold, and until I saw the replay, I have no idea how. I thought maybe the timing system just didn't want Phelps to lose. Cavic looked like he was already on the wall when Phelps still had daylight between his hands and the pad. The super slow-mo showed how Cavic lost it in the last 20cm. Incredible.

Then, Becky Adlington's 800m was as perfect an individual swimming performance as I can recall, and the magnitude of her achievement can not be overstated. A British swimmer with two gold medals, and a world record. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye. Actually, it did. An absolute joy to watch.

I can't remember watching a couple of hours of sport that was more fun than this evening's session in the Beijing velodrome. The British team were winning everywhere. It was glorious.

Once again, the incessant focus on athletics at an Olympic Games drives me crazy. It's looking like being one of the least successful years ever for British track and field, and given the BBC recently argued that they can't show all sports so they have to focus on the ones where British athletes are competitive as part of their public service committment, the endless promotion of the 100m sprint, and the way it dominates the schedule seem to me to be a little hypocritical.

It's been an exciting week in the pool. Outside of Phelp's sizeable achievements (though I'd like to note that I remain unconvinced he will take the gold in the 100 fly, meaning it will only be seven golds), there has been lots of upsets, fast swims, and close finishes. Rebecca Adlington's first gold in the 400m crawl could be followed by a second in tomorrow's 800m final, which would be an incredible achievement. Indeed, a Kelly Holmes level achievement. If she does it, she should be a top contender for Sport Personality of the Year come December.

Today's Wimbledon final may have been the best game of tennis I've ever seen. There are epic matches where opponents make mistakes or struggle with the pressure, allowing the momentum to shift back and forth until someone finally crawls over the finish line. This was not that. Both men played as well as they could - the standard was impossibly high through the five hours on court - with Federer possibly just past his peak, and Nadal on the ascendency.

Even when one had an advantage, the other man would find someway of fighting back. Federer made so many aces when Nadal looked like breaking serve. Nadal was able to turn defence into offence in a single shot, such is his incredible baseline power. At times it was an exhibition match, only played at full-speed, for the most prestigious trophy in tennis. And it think its testament to Federer's status that to beat him Nadal had to create three championship points, as well as a dozen or so break points that could have created a match winning position. He's the best player in the world because he has that extra gear, just when he needs it. To beat him, you have to make him find it one too many times.

Whether this is a passing of the torch moment remains to be seen. I suspect Federer (who is 26, by the way) has several years at the top left. But the balance of power has been shifted. Next year will be exciting.

Needless to say, I have done nothing else with my Sunday. As the Lord intended.