Recently by Tom Parsons

Greetings once more from the Westin Resort in Macau.

The Games have begun and the athletics team are flying out to Beijing in staggered intervals, depending on the day each athlete is competing. I would say at least half the team have left Macau and the rest of us are waiting anxiously, excited by the prospect of entering the Olympic Village. We watched the British swimmers bring home 2 medals yesterday. The girls showed an incredible display of power and determination, coupled with some classic, high-pitched commentary, some of which could only be heard by dolphins. Goose-bumps galore!

There has been little drama over the last few days here in Macau and everyone looks in fantastic shape... probably due to a mixture of healthy eating, hot weather, and the scrupulous monitoring of body weight. However, some of the team coaches seem intent on making the most of the abundance of free food and are struggling to maintain their Spartan bodies! Last night some of us had a swim and a jacuzzi and then chatted in the 'gentleman's room', discussing gentlemanly topics. We did not indulge ourselves in drinking brandy or puffing on cigars though, you needn't worry.

From a personal perspective, the last week has gone even better than i could have imagined. My second jump session was very pleasing as i was only given one jump at each height before the bar was raised. I cleared 2.15m, 2.20m, 2.25m and 2.28m all at the first attempt and had close attempts at 2.31m and 2.33m. The 2.28m clearance was very good as the camcorder slow-motion footage showed I was probably 5 or 6 cm clear of the bar. My previous best in training was 2.24m so I was obviously delighted. This is a huge improvement on last year and jumping like that on the day should qualify me for the Olympic final.

Yesterday, I completed my last jumps session in the pouring rain. This also gave me great confidence as I was unsure of my mental ability to cope with these kind of conditions. I have been jumping with fellow Brit Germaine Mason, and I am confident that we are both capable of competing well in the Qualifying round on Sunday 17th August. Before then, I shall do an activation weights session to get my muscles firing. I will stay in a positive mindset, knowing that all the hard work has been done, and the opportunity to express myself in front of millions of people has arrived.

I have washed my Villa socks after their magical powers helped me set that new training record. They were given to me buy a friend who is recovering from ruptured cruciate ligaments and has been unable to compete for over a year. Hopefully they are lucky for me, but I'd like to think I wont need luck. Hope all is well back home. Hi to my family, friends and all those with 'a support Tom Parsons' sticker at Aston University! I hope to make you proud.

Tom Parsons

Greetings from the Team GB preparation camp in Macau. I travelled well and managed to do a decent training session following a good night's sleep on the first day. However, last night I was still awake at 3am as my body clock struggles to adapt to its new routine.

I'm not the only one struggling though, as my room mate Greg Rutherford (long jumper) was also wide awake till the early hours.

In fact, he is still fast asleep as I write this message from the darkness of our hotel room at 12.25pm! I may have to wake him soon as otherwise he won't get to sleep again tonight. He had a tough day yesterday though, as he was forced to miss his Grandads funeral and they are a very close family.

We have been friends for a while so its good to have someone to talk to... at 3am! Yesterday, we were unable to train due to the onset of a typhoon. Therefore, we had to suffer the consequences of being stranded in a 5 star hotel. I managed to struggle through this ordeal with the help of a Jacuzzi, 11 unbeaten games of pool and some sweet and sour pork!

I will go to the track later this evening to do a jumps session with my coach Fayyaz Ahmed and practice jumping in the rain, which looks like it could be settled in for a while. I will try not to spike myself today, as this seems to be a running theme of late, and I am accumulating an impressive array of scars.

Like all the athletes I am doing a pre-recorded interview in about an hour's time for the BBC in case they need some footage whilst the Games are being broadcast. That reminds me...I need to go and have a shave as I am starting to look like Tom Hanks from Cast Away.

Anyway, I hope all is well back home and Villa have signed lots of World Class players (or any for that matter!). Thanks for all your support and I will try and write to you again soon,