I fantasize about going back to high school with the knowledge I have now. I would shine. I would have a good time I would have a girlfriend. I think that's where a lot of my pain comes from. I think I never had any teenage years to go back to.

Thank God I never got in a fight. All of the jock dudes hated me but all of their girlfriends thought I was nice so they wouldn't touch me. It was infuriating to them.

I was dating this guy and we would spend all day text messaging each other. And he thought that he could tell that he liked me more because he actually spelt the word 'YOU' and I just put the letter 'U'.

I suppose I was a little bit of what would be called today a nerd. I didn't have girlfriends and really I wasn't a very social boy.

I'm quite sensitive to women. I saw how my sister got treated by boyfriends. I read this thing that said when you are in a relationship with a woman imagine how you would feel if you were her father. That's been my approach for the most part.

I have mostly been terrified of listening to scary stories around a campfire. We camp a lot as a family and at night my dad would try and tell us scary stories. This made eating s'mores difficult. The story would start with something like... 'and the old man who lived in these woods...' I would then run back into the camper terrified.

From about eight years old I was always making things on the sewing machine. Friends would see me making dresses and costumes and I'd use difficult fabrics such as Lycra and elastic. But you know my dad was creative and my brother is inventive too.

I'd always assumed that I would die at about the same age as my dad - he was 45. I am five years in credit now. I can't get my head around the fact that I am older than he was - ever.

Obviously losing a parent is very difficult. I miss my dad every day but I know he would be proud to see me continuing to swim and going for another shot at the Olympics.

I had my footballing heroes such as Bryan Robson and Diego Maradona but my dad was a rugby league star and he was my real hero. But the relationship with my mum was rocky and we saw things that would affect any youngster.