Hi Liam, how are you? I'm good thanks, just finished my training for the morning, a swim, some weights and a massage.
That's just how Small Talk likes to start the day. London 2012 is on the horizon, how are you preparations going? It's very exciting, the Olympics aren't far away now. It's going to be great to have home support – I think it was at Manchester in 2008 for the short-course world championships when I realised how great it is to have the crowd behind you. My training has been going well and I'm just trying to push myself to keep getting better. We've got the world championships in Shanghai soon, and I'm feeling fit and healthy and on target for next year.
You're the 50 metres backstroke world champion, as well as the world record holder. Do you feel pressure as the guy out in front? I don't look at it that way. There are some really competitive times being set at the moment and there are really good swimmers from countries like Australia, South Africa, the United States, France, Japan. Even though I'm the world record holder, I just see that as the time for everyone to beat, including myself. It's kind of like motivation to keep improving.
Now, Small Talk doesn't like to mention this, but we understand that when you broke the world record at the 2009 world championships you were wearing one of those super swimsuits that have now been banned? That was a crazy time when loads of new records were set. Basically, the suits were better for swimming in than human skin, because they reduced friction and drag in the water, although everyone had the same advantage. Fina, swimming's governing body, decided to change the rules – you used to be able to be covered from your ankles right up to your neck but now it is just from your knees to your waist for men, kind of like trunks. Speedo have been really good in helping design the new gear, letting us test it out, so that has helped.
Do you miss the old suits? No, not really!
Even though you could go quicker in them? [Laughs] No. It's weird – I don't know the best way to explain it. It's like if there's a barrier, and someone goes through it, it encourages everyone to push themselves further. Mentally they then think 'we can do that'. I'm quite a positive person, and I think records are there to be broken.
Ahead of London 2012, you're not afraid some fast young buck might come up through the GB ranks to displace you? There are some really good younger guys coming through, like James Goddard, who's a Commonwealth champion, and Joe Roebuck, who I also went to Loughborough with. It's a good thing for British swimming.
The public recognise swimmers a lot more now, though perhaps the girls, like Rebecca Adlington and Jo Jackson, more so. Are they better than the boys? [Laughs] I don't know about that … We tend to see ourselves as a team, so we all support each other, and cheer for each other from the stands. I don't think there's any sense of rivalry!
You're going out with fellow GB swimmer Caitlin McClatchey – what's it like being in a relationship with someone you work with? It's cool, it hasn't caused any problems. She goes to Loughborough as well and it's good to be with someone who understands about my commitments and the travelling, that sort of thing. We don't train together, and we don't tend to talk about swimming too much – we just chill out.
Speaking of Loughborough, are you still a student? I actually had my last exam and finished my final bit of coursework, which I handed in before we went on our training camp to Barcelona. [Small Talk mumbles congratulations] … Thanks. I studied sports science, and I've been at Loughborough for eight years now, so it's good to finish! They've been very helpful, letting me move my deadlines to fit around training and competitions.
Did you experience the full gamut of student life – by which Small Talk obviously means getting drunk every other night? Well, no, there hasn't been much opportunity for that but I don't feel like I've missed out. I've obviously got to train most days and look after my body, which involves eating the right things and getting enough sleep.
And what about all the early starts? I don't really find it too difficult, I've been doing it since I was small. I guess I want to make the most of the day.
Hmm, so you're one of those 'morning people' we've heard about. Moving on, you do backstroke – how do you see where you're going? Well, there are five metre flags, so you know when you're reaching the end of the pool because you can see them in your peripheral vision. You can also figure out where you are by looking at the ceiling, although that doesn't work if you're outside – I remember once getting a bit of a surprise in an outdoor pool in Australia when an albatross flew over! But I can time my swims down to fractions of a second, so I generally know where I am.
You're from Exeter – what's the best thing about the West Country? What isn't the best thing about the West Country?! There's the coastline and beautiful beaches, three cities all within easy travelling distance, the countryside, friendly people. I should probably be some sort of official ambassador because I'm always telling everyone what a great part of the world it is. I'm definitely a proud Devonian!
Presumably you're an Exeter City fan, then? Yeah, I am, I go along whenever I can. I think they've just had their best season in about 30 years. Normally I go with a few mates, go and stand up on the Bank and get involved. They know who I am as well, so the last time I went, after the game I met some of the players and the manager. That's another one of the good things about being from the West Country – in the same way that I support them, they support me.
If you weren't a swimmer, what other sport would you have played? I played rugby when I was younger, so probably that. I don't think I was good enough to have been a footballer … Exeter Chiefs have also had a really good year [their first in the Premiership]. I try and keep up with what's going on via the internet and Twitter, even though I'm not down that way too often these days.
According to your website, you've seen 17% of the world. Do you have a favourite place other than Exeter? I thought that was a pretty cool figure when the programme on the computer worked it out! I do enjoy travelling, I like Australia, Spain … I'd love to go to South America, as I've never been there. But really there's no place like home.
You mentioned Twitter and are an enthusiastic tweeter. Are you a fan? I do think it's a good thing. Usually I get interviewed straight out of the pool when I'm dripping wet, so it's nice to be able to communicate via Twitter and show a bit more of my personality. Before, you couldn't do that sort of thing, or interact with the public, but now I can answer questions or give advice, which I think is a good thing.
Who is your most famous follower? Um, I dunno, really … Lots of the media.
Well, they don't really count, do they? [Laughs] Ha! I guess some of my team-mates … Actually, I tell you who I do like – Jake Humphrey, who does the BBC's Formula One coverage. He's very interesting on the F1, which I'm a fan of.
[Tentatively] According to Wikipedia, your nickname is Fatboy? Is this true or just a Wiki-lie? Yeah, that is true. Basically, when I was young, my older brother started calling me it … He wasn't being malicious, I was just a big lad, although I did have an ounce of fat on me. A few of the people I swam with in Exeter picked up on it, so it's kind of stuck.
Careful, you'll be called Fatboy wherever you go now … I don't mind who calls me it really!
It also says on your website that one of your hobbies when you were young was collecting insects … Well, it wasn't exactly a hobby but I used to spend a lot of time outdoors. I like nature, so I would always be out in the fields, looking for slow worms, that sort of thing. One person I would love to meet is David Attenborough – he's seen some really amazing things. I would love to do something like that in the future.
Perhaps a post-swimming career as a naturalist beckons … What super power would you have? I'd like to be able to just click my fingers and be somewhere else … Not like time travel but … [Small Talk interjects] Teleportation? Yeah, that's it. That would be great, I would click my fingers and be on the beach in California, or by the pool. And it would mean less time on planes. I could turn up for competitions really fresh!
You wouldn't fancy having gills like Aquaman – or would that be too much like work? Nah, that sounds a bit boring!
Fair enough – though Small Talk thinks you might win a few more medals. What would you put in Room 101? Wars – they're pretty bad, aren't they? And disease.
They're certainly two of the big ones. What was the last CD you bought? Ooh, I don't know, it would have been ages ago. I normally download music now. One album I have been listening to a lot is HIStory, by Michael Jackson. A lot of stuff out now gets old really quickly but he's kind of timeless.
And what about Jacko's moves? I'm not much of a dancer – I'm crap really!
You're too honest. Finally, and this is a tough one, how much water does it take to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool? Actually, we worked this out a while ago – it depends on how deep it is, because that isn't always the same. But it has to be 50 metres long and 25 metres wide, so we did the maths … though I can't remember what we came up with now!
If you had to have a guess? I'd say about 500,000 litres.
According to Small Talk's research [cough, Wikipedia, cough] it's actually 550,000 gallons – so that's about five times as much. Still, you were more prepared for that question that we expected. Ah well, at least the number was about right!
Indeed. Anyway, it was good talking to you Liam, best of luck with everything. Thanks, and you too Small Talk. Bye!
Liam Tancock is a Speedo ambassador. For more information go to www.speedo.co.uk