James looks forward to Athens and says why he supports the London 2012 Olympic Bid (article from the Manchester Evening News)

There has not been much from me in the MEN over recent months, that's because I have had my head down training hard as we are now in the Olympic year. When I say I have had my head down, I actually mean I have had my head "Down Under", which is where I have done a lot of my recent training. I am now back into the swing of things at the Manchester Aquatic Centre and training is going well. The trials to make it onto the Olympic Swimming Team are in Sheffield in April, just 7 weeks away. Going to Australia over the winter months, really gave my training the extra boost it's needed and I am feeling the best that I have felt about my swimming for a long time. While I was there, I managed to do some training with the Sydney Olympic 100 Metres Butterfly Silver Medallist, Australian, Geoff Huegill. Training equally as well as Geoff, I came away with a lot of confidence.

This really is an Olympic year in more ways than one. Not only are the Olympic Games taking place in Athens in August, but also London is bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games and will find out this year if it is successful. As an athlete, I am completely in support of London's bid to stage the Olympic Games. People ask why Manchester could not host the Olympic Games? The answer is simple; Manchester is not big enough to host the Olympic Games. Although Manchester did a fantastic job of the Commonwealth Games in 2002, and being a Mancunian, I am very proud of my home city to have hosted such a fantastic event. I have also attended two Olympics and I can tell you that an Olympics is three or four times bigger than the Commonwealth Games and Manchester just does not have the infrastructure to handle this. The IOC has also been pretty clear that they are predominantly interested in capital cities making bids for the Olympics so everybody should get behind London's Olympic bid as it will be great for the whole country. Not only will there be sports facilities created for many sports but the whole nation will see benefits. Following the facilities created for the Commonwealth Games, Manchester will see major international teams base themselves in the city before the Olympic Games. The feel good factor the Commonwealth Games created would return and many more youngsters would be inspired into sport.

There are many doubters, but I believe if Athens can get the Olympic Games and make them work, with all their problems and negative publicity, then London certainly can. If we want to keep sport in this country at the highest international level, then we need to invest in it. There is no better investment in sport than to host the Olympic Games. Statistics have shown that every time a nation holds an Olympics their medal count is increased dramatically. There is often the boring talk of a facilities legacy but this time it really is true. London is soon to have no Olympic sized swimming pool, the last one at Crystal Palace is due to close down. The Olympics would mean that a new pool would have to be built. Whilst this is fantastic, and we do need more 50metre swimming pools in the country, the Olympics means more to me than a facility. The emotional and inspirational value the Olympics holds is very close to my heart. My own inspiration to become an international swimmer came watching Adrian Moorhouse win the Olympic Gold Medal in the 100metres breaststroke in Seoul in 1988. With the home nation winning more medals when it stages the Olympics, let's inspire more children and hold the Olympics in London in 2012.