Lauren Boyle's sniffles came through the phone loud and clear. New Zealand's best swimmer isn't exactly a box of fluffies a few weeks out from the Commonwealth Games.

If it works don't change it might be Sophie Pascoe's motto as she sets her sights on more international success at the Glasgow Games next month.

It is rare to be able to pin the Paterson brothers of Sacred Heart College down long enough for a 20-minute interview.

National record holder Matthew Stanley fought his way back from disappointment to win on the third night of finals at the Mayfair Pools Oceania Championships in Auckland last night.

It's a fair bet that not many young New Zealanders know about Winston Churchill. Fewer still may recall his select words to Harrow School students, to "never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up."

Does a spa pool after a speaking engagement in Virginia count? Otherwise the answer is: a while. I'm normally in the gym five days a week but I don't miss training six hours a day, watching the ceiling go by.

Not many teenagers thrive on staring at the bottom of a swimming pool from 5.30 most weekday mornings.

Former Australian swimming king Geoff Huegill has hit troubled waters.

It proved a triple treat for Lauren Boyle on the final night of the State New Zealand Open Championships in Auckland last night.

It proved a fairytale finish to the State New Zealand Swimming Championships, when the women's 4x100m freestyle relay team bettered the Commonwealth Games standard in the final event.

Howick Pakuranga backstroke swimmer Corey Main is the first of the newbies to join the established stars by bettering the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard at the State New Zealand Open Championships in Auckland last night.

Top performers Lauren Boyle and Glenn Snyders added further Commonwealth Games qualifying performances.

Aussie swimming great Ian Thorpe is "quite sick" in hospital after contracting two potentially deadly infections and will never swim again competitively.

A record field is lining up for the 10th anniversary of the Motatapu off-road sporting event which takes place next weekend in Central Otago.

A double for New Zealand in the finalists for the prestigious international Laureus Sports Awards for 2014.

Wendy du Toit set herself a goal two years ago that she would complete the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand for the first time for her 50th birthday.

Ian Thorpe's father says the Olympic legend is having a tough time battling depression, but he hopes his treatment will soon see him right.

Olympian Ian Thorpe has checked himself into rehab in Sydney while battling depression and alcohol abuse.

Ten-year-old Hannah Milne had the experience of her life last year and can't wait to put it to good use in the State Capital Classic next weekend in Wellington.

They may not be one of the country's glamour high-profile swimming clubs but Manurewa will be competing alongside some of the best in Australia and NZ next weekend.

Swim sensation Lauren Boyle scorched through 2013, claiming three bronze medals at the world championships in Barcelona and striking gold in short course World Cup races.