"I had a look at the Aquatics Centre on Monday and it's fantastic," she told insidethegames.

"It's a fantastic pool, the right depth, the water is very soft and will inspire all those who walk out there.

"It's fantastic, I wanted to dive in - I was waiting for someone to push me in but no one did!

"The stadiums look fantastic and they are doing the landscaping now so they are well ahead of time and below budget - that is very important."

Fraser is one of the all-time swimming greats and one of only two competitors to have claimed three Olympic gold medals in the same discipline, claiming successive victories in the 100 metres freestyle at Summer Games between 1956 and 1964.

She believes the British athletes will have a good Games thanks to having home advantage and the likes of Rebecca Adlington in the freestyle and Keri-Anne Payne in the open water competition will be among the front runners for medals.

"I think there will be a lot of challengers from England (sic) but also from around the world," she said.

"I would say that the English competitors will do well because it is on home soil and it is also an advantage to know what the weather will do and where you are.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there are quite a few English swimmers and athletes [emerge] who you have not heard of."


Though she would not be drawn on who she thought would be claiming gold, Fraser had words of advice for competitors during the hours before they swim at the Aquatics Centre next year.

"The most important thing to think about is to plan your race, not to worry about it the night before, and get some sleep," she said.

"It's good if you have planned your race the week before.

"You know that if everything works out well you are going to swim well."

Fraser, who set 41 world records during an illustrious career, was one of a number of high profile sporting figures at the Lilian Baylis Old School for the Laureus Sport for Good Global Summit, where they participated in and watched various sports sessions.

Representatives from a number of the 89 sports-based projects worldwide which are supported by Laureus were in London for the summit.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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