Manchester Uplifting for Matson

Swimming Victoria
Published: Jul 23, 2012 11:17:31 AM Updated: Aug 27, 2012 09:22:35 AM

I arrived in Manchester after a 23 hour flight and to my surprise avoided the worst of jetlag.   It helped that I had an exit row seat on the plane which gave me extra leg room on the long haul flight.   The two hour stopover in Singapore was a great opportunity to stretch my legs and explore Singapore Airport, although everywhere I turned I was asked to rate some aspect of the service whether it be from the state of the toilets to the cleanliness of the lounge area.

Once arrived, I headed to the Australian Swim Team’s staging camp were I have spent the last week.  The people of Manchester have been really accommodating and are always keen to help a lost tourist.   It has been an amazing experience and the team atmosphere has been uplifting.  I've meet some amazing people and made lots of new friends .  On the connecting flight from Heathrow to Manchester I had the opportunity to sit next to James Magnussen which allowed me to pick his brain on his thoughts for London.   It was intriguing to learn about his training schedule, which is a lot different to mine, and talk to him about his career.  What an amazing individual his is and our chat was quite eye opening.

One of the highlights has been meeting the US basketball team who are staying at the same venue as the Australian Swim Team.   They were kind enough to offer us some tickets to some Men’s and Women’s basketball games which I will certainty take up.   Kobe Bryant also even came down to the Manchester Aquatic Centre to watch us train and I had the chance to have a quick chat to him about his life and training resume.  I offcourse grabbed a picture with him; he is Kobe Bryant after all. 

Aside from that I have completed a great block of training.  Both my coach (Ben Hiddlestone) and I are happy with where I am at.  The majority of the team has now left for the athlete village, leaving a small number of us who are swimming later in the program.   I will arrive on July 28^th.  My race is nearing closer by the day and I can’t wait for my opportunity to compete on the world stage. 

Matson Lawson

Tigersharks