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"There's a little bit of me wishes the Olympics were tomorrow."

Rachel Cawthorn is in the form of her life. The 21-year-old sprint canoeist, from Guildford, won in Germany earlier in June.

And the sport's leading British star, Tim Brabants, says she has become "the one to beat" in the women's events.

For now, though, she is , soaking up sun before throwing herself back into her training regime.

"But I could do with the race practice and the lead-up to 2012 is going to be exciting," she continues, rethinking. "I wouldn't want to miss out on that. It's exciting, especially when you hear stuff on the news about people interested in tickets.

"That brings it closer to home but you think about all the stuff you have to do first, and realise you have to get on with it."

Cawthorn's team-mates say she is a "ball of fire" when the race is on, yet she appears quiet and unassuming on camera. And she has turned to an unlikely hobby as a means of winding down away from the water.

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If you spent your weekend bemoaning , then I'm sorry: you were watching the wrong sport.

Forget Robert Green, you need to meet . His heroics between the sticks for the British men's handball team on Saturday helped the team to a result which means as much as the World Cup does to English football.

With the score between Britain and Bulgaria tied at 32-32, a save from White prompted a GB move in which Steven Larsson scored the winner with mere seconds on the clock. Pandemonium ensued. It was .

Read that again. Their first competitive win ever. It's hard to convey the atmosphere as Larsson found the back of the net. The can only accommodate a few hundred fans, but they took the roof off.

Anyone who ever played will know the feeling of finally managing to win a game. Transfer that to the world stage, in arguably Britain's least successful Olympic sport, two years before a home Olympic Games, and imagine the raw relief and joy.

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