I've got a strength and conditioning coach, a weights coach, but I've also got a nutritionist, a physiotherapist and a masseur available to me if I need it. It's quite a good network. I've also got sports scientists who record the technical information, so that, after the race, we can analyse the video and check comparisons between, not only me and the other competitors, but me and my best performance. I couldn't do it without these guys, but I'm the one who gets all the credit.

I set goals, but they're mostly very personal goals. I never try and set a goal where 'I want to win this,' or 'I want to do this,' where other people can affect what I do. If I want to swim a new best time, I sit down and work out the best way of doing that. Whether I can shave a few tenths of a second off a turn or the start, my goal is putting them all together in a race. That's the way I set my goals.

Dedication and time management are two of the biggest things. I hate being late for anything. If anything, I prefer to be ten minutes early rather than thirty seconds late. I'm also very dedicated and I want to do my best in everything I do. I believe swimming has helped transfer that into my life as well.

I've got a strength and conditioning coach, a weights coach, but I've also got a nutritionist, a physiotherapist and a masseur available to me if I need it. It's quite a good network. I've also got sports scientists who record the technical information, so that, after the race, we can analyse the video and check comparisons between, not only me and the other competitors, but me and my best performance. I couldn't do it without these guys, but I'm the one who gets all the credit.

Education is fantastic. In my case I had to split my university course so it took a few more years. I really want to excel at everything I do, so I sat down and spoke with both my swimming coach and my tutor and we worked out a good plan to get the best out of both my swimming and my education.

You've got to put a lot of hard work in and it's not just in the swimming pool. You've got to look after yourself, you've got to sleep well and you've got to recover between the sessions, whether that's resting or getting the right food inside you. I always try to get the best out of myself and strive for perfection.

If there was a birthday party or a gathering and I was at training and couldn't make it, then I guess I might have missed out on a few things, but I wouldn't see them as sacrifices because I love what I do so much. I feel I've made the right choices in the way I've lived my life.