Lady of the Lake
Keri-Anne Payne takes time to absorb the scenery as she prepares for the British Gas Great Swim.
Last Updated: 25/04/12 1:07pm
World open water champion Keri-Anne Payne found Lake Windermere an exhilarating place to continue her preparations for London 2012.
During a practice session ahead of the British Gas Great Swim in Windermere, the Stockport ITC swimmer stopped to appreciate the scene around her.
As the Olympic countdown continues, Payne's preparations include a trip to race in Israel before she returns to take part in the Great Swim Series in London, as well as a return to Windermere.
Payne said: "There are not really any extremes in Britain. I've not really done that many because it's a bit cold here and I've only really done the Great Swims and one 5k by City Airport in London.
"The absolute beauty of Lake Windermere means it has been the best swim for me in Britain.
"Swimming around the course the day before, having a look at it, stopping and looking at the beautiful countryside. It was probably one of the most memorable swims I have done in Britain. I took a second to take it in."
Last Wednesday marked 100 days to go until the Olympics. There was a lot of publicity surrounding the landmark but for the Johannesburg-born swimmer it had little impact.
Hype
She added: "It probably doesn't have as much meaning. For us it's just another training session, it's just another day, another piece of the puzzle.
"It doesn't mean that much, probably because every year we are used to having trials and then a major championships.
"We don't really count down the days until those kind of competitions so there is no point in hyping up the Olympics too much because then you will start getting too nervous about it.
"So it's a case of doing the same thing we've done for the last 10 years, getting into that routine again and knowing what works best for us."
The swimmer also expects the hype to increase around the country in the build-up to the Games in which she will look to at least replicate her silver medal from Beijing four years ago.
"It's still a long way away and there are major things like the Premier League still happening," she said.
"I am sure when we get closer to the Games things will start happening more and more.
"I wouldn't expect everybody to be running around talking about the Olympics every day from now until then because they'll get bored of it before the Olympics come."
