At first, I concentrate on myself, though we assess before competitions who is capable of what among rivals and we adjust my tactics accordingly.

Yes I do, I am constantly checking times on the internet to check where my opposition stands.

"For sure, Michael Phelps is the number one opponent - we have raced against each other many times. Ryan Lochte is a great rival and so is Markus Rogan. The American mentality is something which is really unique. They can approach the races in accommodating fashion, with ease. This positive thinking puts them above the rest."

"I haven’t really touched the International scene; I have only just arrived, so I have no rivals yet!"

"To be the best, this drives me all the time. When it gets tough, I recall those moments when I wasn't in my best shape and I was defeated. You can learn from your mistakes to improve. Success is also a great force when you return to the pool after a longer break. But for me, the main motivation in the tougher moments, when it hurts over the last lap, is thinking 'gosh - last time I was neck-to-neck with him and I could not overtake him in the final metres..."""

Yes, the Olympic Games is always in my mind, so when you're tired etc, ... I think about the Olympic Dream

OK, here it is, the set which usually chases me out of this world: 4x100 fly; 400 IM; 4x100 free; 400 free; 4x100 back; 400 IM; 4x100 free; 400 free; 4x100 breast; 4x100 free; 400 free; 4x100 free; 400 IM; 4x100 free; 400 free. Horrible. And I have to push it hard. During a four-five week span it's included twice in the training programme per week.

Graham Hill’s Saturday morning session - usually an Hungarian 400m medley set!

"It is great to get away because I can concentrate solely on swimming. The warm-weather camps are always important because we can escape the winter and from the 'flu which usually strikes in January and February in Hungary. And there's more to it: I don't have to wake up so early!"

It is always good to travel to where it is hot, because a different environment and scenery is always good for the mind.  It takes the pressures off a bit."

"In training, it's rare, you can practice dolphin-kicks, the final metres, but on the whole, I'd rather prepare for the race mentally. I work with a psychologist: she makes me prepare for every situation imaginable. Sometimes I try to live through each scenario before falling asleep. All kinds of screenplays: I lead by two metres, I trail by a body-length, we are neck-to-neck ... and in each case I have to respond in 'this way or that', I have to focus on 'this or that' in particular... and so on."

I like to always stick to the same routine.  For example, I always warm up a certain time before I race; I always eat at a certain time, too.

Probably one-third of the whole training time is devoted to landwork but no other sports are involved. As a medley swimmer I do every stroke so 'fly makes up about a quarter of the whole regime, sometimes a little bit more, but not that much.

I have stepped up my condtioninng training as well as getting in Pilates. Other than that I do not do any other sports.

"We've developed a kind of relationship based on cooperation and deep understanding towards each other. This is the key to success. On race day György Turi controls my schedule until the start. He usually hands me a timetable, almost a minute-by-minute itinerary. Then he accompanies me to the last call room, we have one last brief conversation and after that it's all about me."

Very close and fiery relationship, with the utmost respect.

As place for final mental tuning. If you are not able to achieve the right rythm, you will fail in the race. At major meets, the atmosphere usually doesn't allow you to get distracted and you can concentrate on yourself. But if there are fellow Hungarians swimming right before my race I take a glance or two on the monitors.

A place full of nerves!"

There are plenty of them, though you might not notice them. They are just usual little things, one coming after the other. They are necessary to produce a peak performance, to have a good feeling inside. My most spectacular ritual is the shaving of my head on the eve of my first appearence at a major meet. Apart from swimming I don't believe in rituals - black cats excepted.

Yes I wear a lucky costume before I race. It's getting old now, so I need to find a new one … ha, ha

"No, because the perfect race simply does not exist. You will always find errors, unsteady moments which should be improved. Perfect race: something that hasn't yet been invented."

My perfect race will hopefully come at 2012, winning Gold for my country."

"Actually, it was in Dubai, at the World Swimming Championships (25m), where Chad had the better finish and edged me out over the 200m 'fly. Rivalry is an important factor, all the stuff connected to this provides the push you need in the hardest moments."

I would not use the word rival but competitors, they are all important in pushing the standard of performances.

I cannot tell you too much about Chad as I don't know him yet. However, his age is a major strength, sometimes I consider myself a little bit old for this workload, to withstand pain, getting the body to recover between sets or races and so on. Though I do believe that I'm still capable of reaching the top. If I'm in good shape I feel I can fly over the water - and that usually happens when I manage to do everything in training.

Laszlo is a great 'fly swimmer and he is also a very well-rounded athlete.  I am also a fairly decent 'fly swimmer.

What you must avoid is losing focus for a single moment. From the moment you march out on to the pool deck, only the race can be in your mind. If there is anything else, just for a fraction of a second, you can totally lose ground. I hear the noise of the crowd, and what the fans did for us during the European Championships in Budapest 2010 was fantastic: it gave me extra energy. But that had to be channelled into the race and I had to take care not to be be taken away by by emotions. Though I waved to the crowd and felt great, tactics still ruled my mind, what my coach said about the first 50m metres. In Rome, back in 2009, one of the photographers hinted, when we marched out with a 'hey! ... the underwater pics we made yesterday during practice are really fabulous!' What? Someone spoke to me right before the start? What? And I really became disorientated in that very moment. Thank God it was just a heat, and I managed to pull everything together in the next seconds, but that was a really embarrassing experience.

The Commonwealth final – you feel very proud to be wearing your country's flag on your cap.  And of course, you feel lots of pressure, the thing that I try to avoid is getting too excited, because even hours before the final starts, I get excited.

"Actually, all great moments live with me constantly. Until last year, the Beijing Olympics were the best among the best, I had the video of the 200m 'fly on my iPhone and for a month or two I watched it every second or third day for a while. But now I would pick my emotional win over 200m medley in Budapest [European Championships, 2010]."

My first gold at the Commonwealth Games, because it was my 1st Senior (long course) INTERNATIONAL GOLD - and I was delighted.

When I was young I just jumped in and burst through the water almost on instinct. Right now I would say I have a clear picture of what happens to me in the pool. Development is another factor. Once, there was a clear way of improving year-by-year. Then came the suits, which took me the wrong way. The suits gave us false feelings, false impressions. We put them on and felt we were in top shape. Now, not having the X-Glide we have to suffer for each and every metre again.

"There is a huge difference for me, because as a senior, you feel more like an ambassador because you are racing the best of the best."

X-Box is the favourite time-killer, sometimes I go shoot some pictures [photos] but of course, I devote most of the time to my fiancee.

I love the beach. I also love playing playstation – soccer games…

To tell the truth, currently I have everything I need to feel happy and satisfied. Maybe there are some luxurious things I may dream of: a Lamborghini, a yacht, a top camera from Nikon... These are not available for an average person and I'm not planning to buy them, either.

Patience, knowledge, understanding females, eternal youthfulness and a Ferrari - ha ha

"The three songs: Take a look around, by Limp Bizkit; What I have done, by Linking Park; and Princes of the Universe, by Queen. The books: Lord of the Rings and a book on Surviving a Desert Island. The film is Star Wars (would you let me to have the entire series? ED: ok, just for you.) And the luxury would be a satellite phone (ED: refused)"

Songs: R. Kelly, World's Greatest; (struggling to name two others from so many...); Books: Muhammed Ali's autobiography "Soul of a butterfly"; Lance Armstrong's "Not about the bike"; film: not sure.

I prepare for the Olympics, all other things are not that important. The only medal that has eluded me so far is the Olympic gold: I train pretty hard to get it - we'll see whether I can succeed.

2011 – World Champs – personal best times and a medal;  2012 – Olympics – medal.