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RYK'S TAKE ON...
Live from Melbourne
Ryk Neethling
Posted Wed, 15 Mar 2006

Greetings from Melbourne, with the start of the Commonwealth Games just days away, and the excitement building. Interest is HUGE here, and although apparently tickets have been selling that well in some events, swimming sold out months ago.

The facilities here are great, and the swimming pool is awesome. Melbourne has at least five 50 metre indoor pools that are all better than the one we have in South Africa. The athletes' village is okay, although the houses are noisy and transport is a bit of a mess.

It's great being in the village though to be part of the South African team. The team spirit is great — we have a big team, and after the cricket everyone is in high spirits. Bloody awesome game!

The food is also okay, but after eating the same stuff for three weeks, it gets a bit old.

Ian Thorpe's withdrawal has left me a bit disappointed, as I'd been looking forward to competing against him for some time. But it will definitely still be a good meet. I still need to finalise my program of events, though.

You may have seen the beards Roland and myself have grown. The beards are there to slow us down a bit in training, and then we shave our whole body down before we race. It's more psychological than anything. It can also be intimidating sometimes. We will see if it works.

In between swimming, I'm looking forward to watching the athletics at the MCG, as well as the hockey, and maybe some lawn bowls… Watching other South Africans do well always inspires you, much like the cricket, and hopefully I can do the same in the pool for the other guys in the team.

It's my third time in Melbourne, so I've seen most of it already. I have a week after the swimming before we go to China to check it out.

Oh, and the Formula 1 Grand Prix starts here on the second of April. We drive on the track everyday on the way to the pool. I'm looking forward to supporting the Red Bull teams during the Formula 1. I've never been to one before!

That's all from Melbourne for now — hoping to have a few South Africans supporting us in the crowd, and a few medals to show for my time in Australia!