Off Track ..... Older rivals, bigger pool for 12-year-old

When she steps onto the starting block at Beijing's Olympic Water Cube pool, Cameroonian freestyler Antoinette Guedia will be up against much bigger rivals and a pool twice as long as she's used to. Aged 12 years and 10 months, Guedia is the youngest athlete competing at the 2008 Games and she can count the number of times she's competed in an Olympic-sized pool on one hand.

"It is a bit overwhelming. I'm little," said Guedia in lilting French, fiddling with the green, red and yellow-beaded "Africa" necklace she wears as a lucky charm.

She will be up against swimmers of all ages in the women's 50m freestyle today, including 41-year-old Dara Torres who has already won silver for the US in the 4x100 freestyle relay.