January Birthdays!

Continuing with last month's wisdom from the Guardian Lifestyle Swimming Blog.

Training and natural physique are not the only factors that determine your speed in the pool. Here, we look at the unfashionable but compelling evidence that your zodiac sign is just as important.

There's one inescapable fact in swimming, above and beyond all the training, the lessons, the hard work, the psychology - your horoscope. This particular branch of science has had a bad rap in recent years, but the evidence is now pretty clear that what star sign you are directly affects your swimming abilities – as some of the stars of the swimming world, including Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington, clearly show.

This month's birthdays fall in the following star signs:

Capricorn: 22 Dec – 19 Jan

That person standing at the end of the lane yelling at you to go faster? That's a capricorn. They make excellent coaches. In the water, they are in control, disciplined, self-reliant, will push themselves to be literally their best selves.

Guess who are Capricorns with birthdays in January? Graeme on the 2nd and Anne Marie on the 11th (both can be found at the end of the lane!); Susan P on the 12th and Sara-Jane on the 18th (both are the best they can be!)

Aquarius: 20 Jan – 18 Feb

The waterbearer! This is the dawning! No surprise that both Mark Spitz and Rebecca Adlington are aquarians – no sign is better suited to swimming. (Except maybe the fish.) Aquarians are rebellious, unconventional, they like to go their own way (you can go your own wa-eh-ay). How does this translate in swimming terms? They are bloody good at it.

Aquarians celebrating birthdays this month are: Rosemary (our own Rebecca Adlington) on the 20th; Simon on the 29th and Joel on the 30th (who if they had moustaches would both pass for Mark Spitz!)

Happy birthday to one and all!!