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I'm 33 years old; I'm getting old. Every year is different, and as an athlete, you've got to be honest with yourself.

This is my 20th year in the sport. I've known swimming and that's it. I don't want to swim past age 30; if I continue after this Olympics, and come back in 2016, I'll be 31. I'm looking forward to being able to see the other side of the fence.

In many ways, I feel I'm still as physically fit as I was 20 years ago because I've always been athletic.

When you're an athlete and you play every day and are conditioning yourself every year, the aging is gradual.

Unless you're a vegan freak of nature like Tony Gonzalez, I don't think you can play sports much past your early 30s.

That's the thing: You'll lose your legs, your athleticism, but if you can shoot - definitely from 3 - you can play into your high thirties.

Even though I'm not a competitive athlete, I have to still maintain things and try to keep myself fit because I am at that age where I need to make sure to get those regular checkups and make sure everything is in tact.

I think I'm realising that careers for tennis players are very short. On the women's side now, players are starting to peak later on, but the average age is about 31, 32 when you finish playing, so I want to make the most of it while I'm young, fit, and healthy. I don't want to waste any time.

I love athletics. As an athlete, I like to believe I can still do the things I used to do when I was once young.

The best thing about getting older is knowing history. The longer you live, the longer you have been in a sport, the more you know, and the more you know where things started.