Germany’s Britta Steffen has said her reign as Olympic 50m and 100m freestyle champion is both a blessing and a curse as she prepares to defend her crowns at the London Games.

A year after flopping at Shanghai’s world championships when she failed to reach the 100m final and did not even race in the 50m heats after abruptly leaving China, Steffen is back to her best and ready to race in London.

“I feel good, I like the way I am feeling and things are going well,” Steffen, 28, said on Thursday having trained at the London pool.

“It’s both a blessing and a curse (to be champion).

“On one hand, you know that you won four years ago, but on the other hand, people look at you differently to someone who is new on the scene.”

Having set the freestyle world records by claiming gold over both 50m and 100m in Rome at the 2009 world aquatic championships -- in the era of high-tech bodysuits -- Steffen is again clocking times close to her personal bests.

It is a far cry from last year in Shanghai when a weight-training programme robbed her of her speed and she has put her training focus back on endurance.

Steffen opens her London campaign on Saturday in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

“It would be very nice if we could achieve a good result in the relay,” she said ahead of Wednesday’s individual 100m freestyle heats with the 50m heats next Friday.

In the wake of last year’s Shanghai failure, Steffen says her goal in London is to simply reach the 50m and 100m freestyle finals.

“I have changed my training around, I like the way things are going and I have a good relationship with my coach, my friends and family,” said the Berliner.

“That always helps me with my goals.

“If I feel well in myself, that is always a good sign.”