EXCITEMENT LEVEL RISES FOR AUSSIE SWIMMERS IN KUALA LUMPUR

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29: The excitement is building for Australia's Beijing bound swimmers as the 43-member squad settles into its week long staging camp in Kuala Lumpur before moving to the Chinese capital.

After arriving in the Malaysia over the weekend the team has been training at the Bukit Jalil pool at the National Sports Centre.

The Bukit Jalil pool hosted the swimming section of the 1998 Commonwealth Games where current team members Grant Hackett, Adam Pine and Ashley Callus all won gold medals.

Today marked the first of the team's media days with a large contingent of both Australian, local and foreign press on hand at the morning training session where excitement and anticipation was oozing from some team members.

Pine, a triple Olympian who made his Australian team debut in 1993, said it was noticeable within the team.

"Everyone is getting excited now and whether it is your first, second or third Olympics it is a pretty special time," Pine said.

"We are a close knit team and we have just been spending some time together, going about our business of preparing the best way we can here before we get into Beijing."

Pine will swim the 100 metres butterfly in Beijing and is a candidate for the 4x100m medley relay.

At the other end of the experience and age spectrum is 17-year-old backstroker Belinda Hocking.

Hocking qualified to swim the 200m backstroke in Beijing and said it was great to be getting closer to the start of the Games.

"It seems like such a long time since the trials in March and I am glad we are finally here in camp and getting ready to go to Beijing," Hocking said.

"Being one of the younger swimmers it is very exciting and everyone has been having an amazing time preparing for the Olympics."

When told that Pine, Hackett and Callus raced at the camp's training pool in 1998, Hocking giggled with amazement at where she was and what it meant.

"I was seven and probably just learning to swim at that point," she laughed.

"It's pretty amazing that I used to look at those guys on television and now I am in a camp with them and soon we are going to the Olympics.

"Hopefully people will be at home cheering for me, just like I was cheering for them."

The team will continue training before the camp wraps up on Sunday morning when the team jets to Beijing.