There is no evidence that Michael Phelps was paid a $100,000 to swim a couple of laps for a "TV mogul's wife."

The Australian Press is reporting about a snippet in the New York Post's gossip column, Page Six, that Michael Phelps was paid $100,000 or so to swim a couple of laps for the wife of a "TV network mogul." Even Swim News and Swimming World have commented upon it but there is absolutely no evidence or confirmation whatsoever that it occurred. This is up there with the rumor that Phelps and Stephanie Rice had a tyrst.

I am sure that if it were true TMZ.com would have been all over it since they are Los Angeles based

The, Page 6, 30-word-or-so snippet appeared here: [Link]

Ian Thorpe: He looks up while sprinting and note the timing of his breathing!

The timing of my breathing is off and often during a sprint my arm throws water into my mouth. At the UCLA meet I was so introverted about the timing of my breathing during two 50scm sprints that I just did not breathe at all. Times suffered as result but I am in the lab working on it by checking out films, DVDs and You Tubes to study it and get different points of view. My breathing issue should be fixed in about 30,000 meters! That's the amount of work it usually takes me to get something right.

Note Thorpe's head position: he does not look down when sprinting.

Danish 'Lego Man' washes up onshore at Brighton Beach!

A Danish "immigrant" made entirely out of Lego and "presumably looking for work" on English shores washes up at Brighton beach where Kids were unable to "resuscitate him!" Another pathetic drowning story from the Daily Mail: [Link]

106-years-ago, Ferdinand Minkus, invented a breaststroke machine?

News gathering for the Scaq Blog has been slow: Natalie Coughlin is out of the water so she can plan her wedding, Phelps isn't training and is spending the rest of the year being a 20-something, Grant Hackett has retired, Nick D'Arcy hasn't punched anybody out lately, and I still have not found the "Holy Grail" of swim blogging: A photo of Gwen Stefani swimming butterfly in high school.

So, when in doubt, find something ridiculous that is swimming related and that is exactly what I accomplished. I found a "breaststroke machine," or perhaps it is a "swimming bicycle?" I can't figure it out and neither could, Ferdinand Minkus, the inventor of the device who, in his patent application, calls it a "swimming appliance."

Here is a link to the patent Minkus filed in 1906: [Link]

You can click on the image to see a larger version or just go to the link and see the image and a writeup along with it. Also note if you are a journalist or want to keep up with swimming technology, you can subscribe to a Google Patent RSS feed with a key word such as Speedo, or TYR Sport and you will be notified if said companies have a patent in the works. If you need help with it, write me and I will tell you how to set up an RSS reader with Google.

Here is a link to Google's patent search engine. Try typing in the word Speedo or TYR Sport and see what you find: [Link]

Take this short test to see how many "miles per gallon" your body gets!

38 miles per gallon

UPDATE: I am tweaking the test for swimmers:

• On question 2: List your 500LCM time as an answer to how fast you can run a mile
• On question 5: If you have swam 25% of the running distances listed, multiply that distance by 4 and answer that distance as your distance ran.
• On question 13: If your heart has reached 200-beats-per-minute after a swim workout or a race, answer that you vomited or passed out after a workout

If food was liquid like gasoline, here is a short test you can take to see how many miles per gallon your body gets. I suppose I am a "Prius!" Any "Mini Coopers" or "Hummers" out there?

This test was created by the Car Connection.

Time seemingly dilates when I'm doing breaststroke!

Breaststroke for me was the easiest stroke to learn and it is the hardest one for me to perfect. At all times during the stroke one faces a preponderance of resistance whether you're pulling your legs inward to produce a kick or thrusting your arms forward into a glide, it is simply a constant negotiation with 100's-of-pounds worth of liquid in front of you.

To clarify, in freestyle you develop your momentum and you simply maintain it. Same with butterfly and back but breaststroke becomes an exercise in creating new momentum with every kick and every pull. The trick is what can you accomplish during the glide if you are strong enough to produce a powerful glide.

When I am sprinting a 50 breast and I am in the throes of kicking and then lunging forward, I am convinced that it's taking me 2-minutes to get across the pool but when the clock says something like 36.00-or-so when I touch the wall, I am astonished that I wasn't a 1/2 hour slower because that is how long it feels.

I have a new pull and I think I can produce a time in lower 30's now come SCY season. At least I hope so.

Photo brought to you by patries71 photostream on Flickr: [Link]

Roland Schoeman and Ian Crocker off the blocks in slow-motion along with César Cielo and his breakout!

Craftsmen and craftswomen make their jobs look so effortless. Schoeman looked the best to me.

Acura embraces the art of of the dive while BMW embraces the mathmatics of the swimmer!

Have you noticed that when actual aquatics is position with a product it's usually to instill a sense of class?

Phelps, Kobe, Tony Hawk and A-Rod "pimping" the video game 'Guitar Hero!'

Not that I like the commercial or the product, I am just finding it amusing how talented people can be leased no matter what the product or the service is. This is includes Dara Torres promoting a "supplement" for $3.5 million or Phelps promoting everything from fast-food to video games.

Example: Gunthy Renker, the Proactiv distributor, makes 1-billion a year on all their products put together. They do so via celebrity endorsements because people want to believe that celebrities and athletes really wear, use, or ingest whatever product it is that that they paid to say is responsible for their talents, good looks or abilities! [Link]

Europe is not immune either. See Laure Manaudou below promoting European company EDF:

A softare package used to

I was looking for a particular pool in Wellington, England and I ran into these photo-illustration of swimmers at work. To see less distorted view; (especially the start dive image), click on the image to see the full composition. These swimming images come from Quintic.com, a company that provides athletics related software to schools and teams. [Link]

Both Stefan Nystrand and Alain Bernard sound hungry for WRs - Eamon Sullivan just seems bored!

Stefen Nystrand, the Sweede, is a very gutsy sprinter who, when interviewed, seems to talk about his upcoming races like they are opportunities. See interview at FloSwimming: [Link]

Alain Bernard, the Frenchman, looks at each race as if it was a defining moment of his ability and hard work! Idon't think it is a stretch to include that he strongly desires to elevate and maintain his position as the very best. See subtitled You Tube interview: [Link]



Eamon Sullivan, according to this profile in the The West.au: "... He hoped the move would mark a new chapter in his career and set him on the path for bigger and brighter things over the next four years.

“A change of location is probably what I need to refresh my passion for the sport,” he said. “Right now I am enjoying being me and I’ve come back [from a six week vacation in Europe] motivated and happy and ready to get back into things.” ..." [Link]

We at the SCAQ blog welcome our European, sprinter, overlords!

The 'National Institute of Health' published an article in 1989 explaining why breststrokers swim faster if they shave down!

"... In a separate group of swimmers (nine who shaved body hair and nine controls), removing body hair significantly reduced the rate of velocity decay during a prone glide after a maximal underwater leg push-off. It is concluded that removing body hair reduces active drag, thereby decreasing the physiological cost of swimming. [Link]

Who knew that body hair was the "moral" equivalent of "barnacles" on a "boat's hull?"

Image from Wikipedia: Photograph taken by Mark A. Wilson (Department of Geology, The College of Wooster). [A beautiful photo as well.]

Alain Bernard, now has a pool named after him!

From Universal Sports: "...French swimmer Alain Bernard, ... honored in the town of Aubagne, France, on Oct. 18 after a pool there was named in his honor..."

Link to the photo-gallery which is worth a look: [Link]

As sprinters, Alain Bernard and Eamon Sullivan are on another plane of existence. Clinging to that plane is Stefan Nystrand and Cesar Cielo but the two aforementioned sprinters have created a sprint rivalry that rarely exists in sports. One will eventually be crowned the world's fastest swimmer and the process to find out who it will be is terrific to watch.

Now, having made my case, and though both are apparently the fastest men in the world, each of these individuals were soundly beaten by Jason Lezak in the fastest 100m swim in history of the event at the Beijing Games during the 4x100 relay. Consequently, there is plenty of room to go time wise.

I wrote 'TYR' a letter and asked how they were doing?

When Nike exited the swimsuit market I made a personal decision to avoid Speedo. I was afraid that Speedo's "marriage" with USA Swimming would drive other suit makers out of the market. I have even blogged about these feelings; hence, I wrote TYR a letter asking how they were doing and though I am not allowed to publish verbatim the contents of the letter, I do have permission to tell you that the TYR R&D techs are back in the lab trying to build even better suits for 2012.

Cool "pool" table for the discriminating swimmer at large!

Wendy, from the blog of(f) the deep end fame sent a link to this "pool" table right when I was downloading the above images for the blog. So, it is a case of either "great minds think alike" or she understands how poor my taste is in regards to furniture.

The table is being blogged about all over cyberspace but here is the best writeup on it here at WooHome.com:

"...The UK-based design firm Freshwest showed this table at Tent London, the international creative design event. Designers Freshwest successfully combine narrative and humour in their conceptual design - “Pool Table“. “Pool Table is made from 50mm acrylic with miniature diving board, reflected and refracted light in such a way that it resembled the depth and hue of an actual swimming [pool].” It even features a miniature diving board on one end to complete the effect. The bad thing is that the “Pool Table” is just a concept right now, but I’m sure that this design has a lot of potential. ..."

More on Columbia University's policy that you must know how to swim before graduation

Thanks to Chris B. who sent me the actual requirement in writing at the Columbia.edu site: "...All students are also required to pass a swimming test or take beginning swimming for one term to fulfill the swimming requirement. Students may not register for more than one section of physical education each term. Students who fulfill the attendance participation requirements for the course will pass the course. ..." [Link]

He also searched up the You Tube above of actual students learning how to swim at Columbia for the first time.

The moral of the story: send your kids to Columbia University!

Stefan Nystrand: "...46 seconds in an Olympic pool is coming fast."

Nicole Jeffrey has an article in The Australian about sprinter Stefan Nystrand and his thoughts about the upcoming FINA World Cup meet this weekend in Sydney, Australia.

Here is a snippet: "...The world short-course record-holder, who arrived in Sydney yesterday to contest next weekend's World Cup meet, predicted that every leading sprinter would be eyeing off the 47-second barrier after Australia's Eamon Sullivan clocked a sensational 47.05sec in an Olympic semi-final in Beijing.

"It's very close (to 47 seconds) already," Nystrand said.

"Men's freestyle sprinting is going down a lot now and it wouldn't surprise me if it kept going down, but you have to swim and accept the fact that times go down and go with the flow. ..." [Link]

This time last year Nystrand was king of the hill, the only man to clock a sub-48 second time (47.91sec) in 2007. The Swede also set an outstanding short-course world record of 45.83sec. ..."

(See You Tube above of Nystrand swimming a 45.83 100SCM.)

You can watch him swim for free by going to the Universal Sports website. Click the banner below to see it.

Is this the material that the 'TYR Tracer Light' and 'Tracer Rise' are made from?

It's called Nano-Tex and above is a demonstration of an attempt to stain the material with coffee. The liquid just beads up and refuses to saturate.

I saw a demo of the Tracer Light and 'Rise suits do the same thing. However, I let a pool of water remain on the material and came back 40-minutes later and the suit was still dry. I also remember words like nanotechnology being bantered about but I was to blown away by watching the water bounce around the suit like a mercury. It's my belief the Tracer may be made of this material.

Here is a link to the post where I spoke of my experience with the Tracer products: [Link]

Here is a link to the Nano-Tex website: [Link]

A web cam photo of the constrution of the London 2012 aquatics.

Found this originally here at about.com who links to London2012.com. Though this is a web-cam photo there is no direct link provided to the web-cam itself.

From London2012: "...Progress on the site is well underway with construction starting in July 2008, two months ahead of schedule. During the Games the Aquatics Centre will include a 50m competition pool, a 25m competition Diving pool and a 50m warm-up pool. ..."

See renderings here for the new London Aquatics Centre.

Other venue web-cams: [Link]

Luke McKenzie swimming in last week's Kailua-Kona Ironman - Note the t-shirt under his speedsuit!

Dave A. sent me this and it blew me away. Here you have Luke McKenzie of Australia swimming in 76-degree, Hawaiian, water while wearing a Chloroprene, blueseventy, speedsuit and it appears he is wearing a t-shirt underneath as well. I am flabbergasted! Was he chilly or something?

Photo courtesy of the Herald Sun [Link]

I think he kills the purpose of a speedsuit with shirt underneath.

'New York Times' article from 1913: Senior class member from Columbia University could not swim so he got no degree upon graduation!

In 1913 for a student to obtain his B.A. he had a final requirement to demonstrate that he could swim. if a student could not swim, the student received no degree. Here is a link the NYT which provides access to a PDF file: [Link]

Stephanie Rice signs a 2-year, $465,000, contract with Australia's Seven television network

From the CanadianPress: "... First up was a two-year, US$465,000 contract with Australia's Seven television network. She's already helped host a model contestant show for the network and done a few segments for a lifestyle program.

"I'm very interested in the media, and I love fashion," Rice said. "It's been a great experience, so different from the pool. And it might help prepare me for something after swimming."

Some of the gossip sections in Australian newspapers and magazines would have her convinced a post-swimming life in fashion is in the cards. ..." [Link]

Stephanie Rice is now a bought and paid for personality! All she has to do is be herself and talk about stuff that amuses her. Ultimately, her deal with Australia' Seven TV, is as ethical a transaction as you can get. She is not selling snake oil, fast food or Playboy magazines: She is selling her ideas, opinions, and ultimately herself!

Obviously Michael Phelps, Dara Torres and Amanda Beard have merged their swim careers with business interests, but what about Olympians such as Ryan Lochte, Kim Vandenberg, and Brendan Hanson Hansen? [oops!] All three have an amazing amount of Charisma great looks and the ability to communicate well. So why Stephanie Rice and not the three listed above?

I suspect that Stephanie Rice forewent the sports management route and an astutely went for talent management instead. Olympians should look at Rice as a business template and follow suit.

Kim Vandenberg is quite attractive, she is articulate, and poised. She is featured in the photograph above. I was impressed with her answers in this interview at Women'sHealth magazine: Link and this is why I use her as an example of poorly leveraged beauty and talent. Stephanie Rice is no Kim Vandenberg.

Ryan Lochte could be making HUGE modeling fees as could Brendan Hansen, who has demonstrated time and again that he is an amazing gentleman, has brand recognition in Asia and actively supports charitable organizations. These are talent "goldmines."

All of the above should have multiple agents: Modeling, theactrical, PR, and such not one agent does all.

Sports management is more interested in leveraging one's accomplishments rather than the athlete themselves. The above three athletes have so much to offer and they are practically invisible despite having a constituency as large if not larger than Stephanie Rice.

Inner city youth gives an enthusiastic play-by-play of Jason Lezak's victory in his 4x100 relay leg!

Amit sent me this You Tube link and I post it to illustrate that Jason's Lezak historic 4x100 relay leg had far reaching consequences including touching the hearts and minds in a community that needs more pools and more swimmers.

So, visualize Jason Lezak touching the wall as you hear this quote by our friend, ninjawarriordex4, at YouTube say: "Hasta Lasagna, I got my Eyes on YA!!"

Waiter, I'll have what he is having but make it a double!

Gisele Bündchen's "water dress!" It took me two days to get this video up but it is worth the view. Found originally at NotCot.org who linked to SpaceInvaders.com.br [Link]

credits: client: mattoni karlovarksé minerální vody, a.s.
agency: mpg srl., italy
creative director: dario mondonico
copywriter: antonio pinter

production: cow & boys, italy
producer: fred turchetti, stefano patrizzi & carlo giudice
direcotr: matthias zentner
dop: torsten lippstock

post: velvet
editor: jochen kraus
producer: julian büchner & gustaf richter
vfx: black mountain studios
vfx supervisor: andreas illenseer
td´s: daniel stern & abdelkareem abonamus
artists: enrico seiler, stephan habel, christian mumba, tobias ott, adam wasierski & nico conte
music: eartha kitt
service production : czech connection

Chris Angel walks on "water!"

Obviously there is a rigid plexiglass or translucent plank just underneath the surface!

Swimmer sketch using a 'Wacom' tablet and 'Corel Painter.'

Creative Commons (BY) Tony Austin [Link]

WADA Rule: If you admit you doped after being confronted - your doping suspension is one year?

From AGI Italia in regards to Italian cyclist Marta Bastianelli: "... articles 2.1 and 10.5.2 of Wada regulations, declared the athlete herself responsible for the ascribed charges and, recognizing the reduction of the sentence for a not substantial offence, imposed her a year ban with effect from 7 August 2008, date of the precautionary suspension, to 6 August 2009. ..."

Jessica Hardy, post trials, got a one year ban after admitting she inadvertently took Clenbuterol via a food supplement. [Link] The Guardian [Link]

Stephanie Rice interview.

Unfortunately there is no swimming herein.

On a lighter note here is a pool in Dubai to help me recover from the last psot!

Welcome to the Burj Al Arab Spa Pool

When I search Google news for blog ideas, I wish there was a way where I could filter out all of the drowning stories!

The majority of the drownings are all generally avoidable, they mostly involved children and they are all depressing. Socrates was right, part and parcel of being educated is learning how to swim.

FINA wants to add more open water events to the Olympics - One suggestion calls for male/female time trial teams!

Tremendous enthusiasm here on FINAs part especially the proposed concept of using teams for time trial swimming whereas they would "draft" of each other like you see in the five rider Tour de France trial trials. That would be spectacular to witness and that is what swimming needs: more spectacle.

From the British Times Online: "... At present, a five-kilometre race is favoured. However, interesting alternatives arose in the European Championships in Dubrovnik, Croatia last month, where there was also a five-kilometre time-trial and five-kilometre two-male, one-female team event. The team event, using teamwork and slipstreaming, as in cycling, has great potential. ..." [Link]

The age-grouper that got away: "Marc Rubin had a brilliant youth swimming career during which he defeated Michael Phelps"

The fellow's name is Marc Rubin. He's playing football now for Penn State and they are doing quite well. From the New York Times: "...Were he not practicing with the Penn State football team this summer, Mark Rubin would probably have been in a pool somewhere. Maybe he would have even made it to the Water Cube for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

“Eight gold medals? I would say highly unlikely,” Rubin, a senior safety, said in a teleconference Tuesday afternoon. “Two to three gold medals? I would say probable, if I dedicated myself to swimming.” [Link]

Bravado or honst assesment?

Stephanie Rice has a new tattoo and it's not a ship nor an anchor on her chest either!

The spot where she got it must have hurt like heck but what cracks me up is that she is posing in front of a Nickleodeon backdrop. "Hey kids, check out the new tat! I be so stylin.'"

National Nine News down under has the story and photos. [Link]

I was thinking of getting an Ironman "M" tattoo once but I feel there is a "statute of limitations" on that. When you are an Olympian, you are an Olympian for LIFE. When you are an Ironman, you are only an Ironman for that year! I think it is more healthy for one's psyche to think of it in those terms as well.

2008 Kailua-Kona Ironman Swim Start

Not much here but the the madness of 1000 swimmers or so starting simultaneously from a fixed position. This start looks more aggressive than the Dwight Crum Pier to Pier race which takes up to a 1/2 mile to sort out your own personal space. I feel races with a 1000+ swimmers should be staggered if the start is placed in such a confined location as we see here but what do I know?

An underwater museum will display Cleopatra's lost city of Alexandria in all its splendor!

From Designer Gallery for the English language overview: "... Jaques Rougerie has opted to display the palace of Cleopatra in its natural habitat. Rougerie has designed an underwater archaeological museum that would allow visitors to see the beautiful statues et al from an underwater location where the once lost city of Alexandria now dwells. ..."

Credit goes to NotCot.org who linked to totonko.com: [Link]

Three-time Olympian, Four Time Gold Medalist, Dawn Fraser is racing again at 71-years-old!

From NT-News down under: "... Dawn Fraser, winner of four Olympic gold, six Commonwealth gold and owner of 41 world records, placed second in her highly anticipated 50m (70-74-years) freestyle event on Day 2 of the Alice Springs Masters Games.

While not a golden comeback - Victoria's Barbara Wilson-Brooks ensured that with a winning time of 47.59secs - Fraser greeter her effort as a resounding personal triumph. "..." [Link]

Dawn Fraiser is looking to drop 5-seconds off that time so she is back in the game and competitive as ever.

The Commonwealth dominates the 'Ironman' - Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander win the 'Ironman World Championships!'

I gave Chrissie Wellington top billing because her time today of 9:06:23 would have have set a mens world record when I did the race. (Loving that smile and that curly hair.)

From Associated Press: Australia's Craig Alexander rallied Saturday to win the Kailua-Kona Ironman World Championship.

The 35-year-old triathlete from Sydney completed the 140.6-mile endurance test in 8 hours, 17 minutes, 45 seconds.

"..."

"I can't believe it. It was a hard race," Alexander said.

Britain's Chrissie Wellington won her second consecutive women's title, finishing in 9:06:23. She overcame a flat tire that cost her 10 minutes on the bike ride. ..." [Link]

Dara torres signs 3-million-dollar deal with nutritional supplement company 'Living Fuel.'

From Sameer Reddy at Newsweek: "... Media pundits seized on the deals as a chance to knock Phelps down a few pegs, holding up Dara Torres' (who recently sealed a $3 million two-book deal for a memoir and health and fitness book) taste for LivingFuel, which she plugged during an appearance on Late Night with Jay Leno, as a more admirable example of athletic endorsement. ..." [Link]

As for me: I should not get on my high horse here for if I was offered 3-million-dollars to eat some crow or drink some snake oil, It's a possibility that I could be leased for such an endeavor.

I could not even finish up the rest of the article. They bring up Michael Phelps, Amanda Beard, and others. We all know the real reasons that individuals become Olympians and it has nothing to do what you can buy in a bottle and how you cow is flavored at a fast food restaurant : [Link]

Dope test created for an advanced form of the blood booster EPO! - Beijing athletes to be retested!

CERA is a newly created form of Epogen or "EPO" creted by Swiss pharmaceutical company, Roche. It ultimatley is an advanced form of Epogen that both kidney failure patients and corrupt endurance athletes want.

Amgen developed Epogen first and litterally made billions-of-dollars off its sales thus setting Amgen up as the biotech giant it is today. After 17-years, the Epogen patent expired allowing other drug manufacturers to "monkey" with it and make revised versions of it. That's where Roche comes in.

Roche adds a "...gylcol molecule" to the EPO making it more powerful and subsequently requiring patients to receive less doses of it. Patients like the idea of receiving fewer shots and cheaters, who are obviously more inspired by a more powerful form of EPO, began taking it. However, there is this little detail the dopers missed and I suspect that little detail is the "Methoxy polyethylene glycol" molecule they added to it. (Who has that molecule bouncing around their system like a carbonated bubble inside a bottle Perrier? Not me!)

Roche knows what they created and they know the consequences, so they hook up with WADA and I have a strong suspicion that they said, test for "Methoxy polyethylene glycol." My reference for believing that is the test marker is this NPR article that references it: [Link]

The Guardian: "...On Wednesday the International Olympic Committee said the new Cera blood test would be used to analyse almost 1,000 blood samples collected during the Beijing Games, and an IOC spokeswoman added last night that these samples could also be tested for autologous transfusions "if a method is fully validated by the scientific community [and] Wada.". ..." [Link]

The Associated Press: "...The head of the Tour de France on Tuesday hailed a new lab test that has exposed three riders in the 2008 race for cheating with an advanced form of the blood booster EPO.

"It's very good. It allows us to confound the cheaters," Christian Prudhomme told The Associated Press by phone. "What's being done at the Tour de France has never existed in the world of sport, in no competition."..." [Link]

However, The Giro d'Italia Chief won't retest riders for CERA because he "knows that all his riders were all clean." (I can just see our American NFL Commissioner saying to himself, "yeah, that has a nice ring to it as a drug protocol - Gosh, I soooo stupid not to have thought that up myself!")

Vello News: '...According to Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday, Zomegnan believes none of the riders on the race - won by Spaniard Alberto Contador - used the drug. ..." Vello News: [Link]

Thanks to the French Coach for suggesting this article.

As you know, my butterfly is lousy but with Christmas coming up, I will pretend I didn't see this $1,800 'Lunocet Monofin'

From Gizmodo: "... Because while Phelps is able to swim at an inhuman 5 miles per hour, the average swimmer using the carbon fiber Lunocet will routinely hit about 8mph. Is it too late for us to book our tickets to Beijing?

The Lunocet weighs about 2.5lbs out of the water, but in the water it's positively buoyant. Constructed from silicon wrapped in carbon fiber with a titanium footplate, the system gives you the same power on a downstroke as an upstroke. Coupled with a pair of strong legs the monofin could theoretically generate enough power to drive a human completely out of the water—yes, real life dolphin acrobatics at last. ..."

I would pay $50 to see what it feels like to swim as faster than Michael Phelps in one of those gizmos! So if if any of you win the lotto this weekend, HOOK ME UP!

Gizmodo [Link] - Lunocet website videos: [Link]

I will practically post anything with Therese Alshammar in it

From You Tube: "...Krooli (The Crawl) is set almost entirely in or by the water. It uses images to explore the significance of water in the philosophy of swimming. It is not a biographical documentary of a swimmer, although the main characters are real competitive swimmers. Even though the film explores the profound meaning of the interface between a swimmer and the water, it is just as much a story of the meaning of a sport to an individual, a young competing athlete. It speaks of devotion and a search for ones own place in sports and life ..."

If you got 24-minutes, I give you Kate Ziegler in: "A Shot at Glory..."

NBC, FX Network, ESPN and others are putting up high resolution content at Hulu.com. Perhaps they are trying to disrupt iTunes? I don't know; nonetheless, I'll take it, especially the swimming content.

So, you can watch Kate Ziegler here at the blog or you can go to Hulu.com and see it there. Whatever you decide, pass it on.

From Wikipedia: "...Hulu is a website that offers free, ad-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, FOX, and many other networks and studios. Hulu videos are currently offered only to users in the United States.[1]..."

People outside the United States may have issues viewing content.

Tara Kirk is back in the "lab" along with Cesar Cielo and both will be racing in Brazil - Watch it at the 'Universal Sports' website this weekend!

Tara Kirk, denied a legitimate spot on the US Olympic Swim team after Jessica Hardy tested positive for a banned substance will swim in Brazil. Looks like Tara Kirk may be swimming the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke and you can see it all at here at the 'Universal Sports' website: [Link]

Here is another article at Universal Sports regarding Tara Kirk an her come back in Brazil and he considerations about that fiasco with the USA Swimming and Olympic Trials fiasco: "... Kirk is back racing following a tumultuous summer, where she failed to make the U.S. Olympic team at the Beijing Games by an excruciating 0.001 seconds, then entered a continuing legal battle with USA Swimming over an Olympic berth denied her in the 100-meter breaststroke after Jessica Hardy was found to have tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol shortly after Olympics trials in early July. "..."

The latest: "... Last week Kirk’s attorney received a letter from USA Swimming asking Kirk to pay the federation’s attorney fees. Meanwhile, other swimmers have been slow to join the fight. Kirk doesn’t blame them. She says swimmers might be afraid the federation would retaliate.

“There is always that risk, when you go against the establishment, the little guy is going to end up with the short end of the stick,” she says. “It’s hard. It’s one of those things where you burn a lot of bridges...It takes an emotional toll.”

But Kirk, who says she still mourns her lost Olympic experience, says she could not drop the issue for another reason...."

And USA Swimming, it's directors and employees have no problem ding that to an American swimmer who tried to represent her country? She has to get congress involved. She is waging to polite of an argument.

You got to go to read the article to find out. :-P [Link]

Making 'Evian' water more "insert silly adjective here!"

There is some sort of arcane anthropology in those Jean Paul Gaultier Evian bottles pictured above but I can't seem to figure it out. I just keep comparing it to my 99-cent, half-litre, plastic bottle, of Arrowhead Drinking Water with those billions of carbonated bubbles bouncing around in it like pac-man.

Somehow I feel like I am not getting Evian's investment here. But then again, I just promoted Evian as will another million blogs.

Hmm, Perhaps you buy it, store it, and bring it out for an auction at Sothebys 30-years from now. Seriously, and don't laugh, they are doing that now for tennis shoes!

The Evian water packaging design was created by Jean Paul Gaultier, probably one of the finest experimental clothes designer France has ever produced. He designed wardrobes for such notable films as The City of Lost Children, The Fifth Element, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and her Lover! The most notable feature about Gaultier is that he was self taught.

The Evian site [Link]

Amy Shipley writes how 'jammers' among other advances saved male age group swimming

Amy Shipley is a writer for the Washington Post and she has written an article about the Gender gap in swimming: i.e. Zillions of girls and few boys, however, a simple piece of equipment is changing that. Amy Shipley knows swimming and she addresses nuances most journalist don't notice. For instance:

"... aficionados who rail about the damage high-tech suits have done to the record books can't help but admit that male athletes look much cooler in technically advanced, long-length suits than skimpy Speedo briefs.

Phelps's longtime coach Bob Bowman deplores the idea of young, developing swimmers wearing the speed suits, but he happily encourages boys to wear a modified version -- tight-fitting, thigh-length shorts known as jammers -- simply because they discourage self-consciousness.

Bowman, Dolan and others blame the traditional tiny briefs for nothing short of driving young boys out of the sport.

"I honestly think they were a barrier for getting boys into the sport on the entry level," Bowman said. "..."

"..."Ten years ago with the younger kids, we'd have 16 or 20 girls and only three boys," Bowman said. "It's a difficult environment when you have those ratios. ..."

The image above is from the Speedo site. Michael Phelps has obviously been cut out and dropped in front to the L.A. Coliseum Pool, the pool where the 1932 Olympics took place.

UPDATE - I have to include this note from Scott of the Canuckswimmer:

I don't agree with this. For one: the boy/girl ratio isn't anywhere near that - research I've done for a long pending post shows shows in 1992 the ratio was 4:5 in favor of girls while today it's closer to 2:3 (source: USA Swimming).

This means the discrepancy in participation has grown in the years jammers were gaining in popularity. Furthermore the actual numbers of males in club swimming have increased by nearly 28,000 over that period. Ergo jammers aren't the reason.

I'd like to add that I personally can't believe there would be many boys under the age of twelve who would be self-conscious about their suits; and for those over twelve I'd have to believe the attraction of being in a sport dominated by girls wearing wet skin tight suits would be more of a draw than worrying about showing off your 'package' (other than those embarrassing situations which attractive girls wearing wet skin tight swimsuits can bring on).

The real reason for the increasing number of girls vis-a-vis boys in swimming is due to the relative lack of high profile sports available to girls compared to those available to boys and a society which now encourages women to participate in sports. Consequently it is entirely logical to see swimming take in more girls than boys in recent years.

The 'Ironman' is this weekend - The original 'Ironman" - The one Julie Moss made famous!

The 'Ironman' is 30-years-old this month and will take place on October 11, 2008. To pay homage to it, I am posting swim course maps from some of the fantastic locations where the event is held.

BTW, Julie Moss changed my life but she is probably so sick of hearing about it and my Triathlon claim to fame is that I did race against her in Kona!

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Penticton, Canada
Florianopolis Island, Brazil
Zürich, Switzerland
Goto-Nagasaki, Japan
Nice, France

Wikipedia [Link]

This is not a unique form of coral or a bizarre sea anemone - They are rubber creatures made out of balloons

For me it looks like a sea anemone embedded in the coral but I am always thinking about water. I found this originally at NotCot where DesignBoom is featured and gets the credit!

From Desing Boom: "...Like the pop artists of the late 20th century, artist Jason Hackenwerth transforms common materials and imagery into something new. Hackenwerth’s material of choice is balloons. he blows up hundreds of balloons and strings them together in unusual forms to create artwork that resembles an array of
strange animals, insects or aliens. ..." [Link]

The Jason Lezak Celebration went very well!

The Jason Lezak Celebration went very well! Thank you to all those that donated or attended the event!

Here is a are some fresh videos from 'You Tube' of the 'Tiburon Mile' open water finish!

Here is a link to the result: [Link]

ErikHockstein and Jenny Cook set USMS records today at the 'SPMA Mission Viejo Short Course Meters Meet!'

SCAQ swimmers Erik Hochstein and Jenny Cook broke USMS records today. Erik Hockstein set a national record in the 400scm IM swimming a 3:48-and-change and Jenny Cook with that "titanium cog" for a heart stormed the 200scm breaststroke swimming it "old school" or flat in the water like Rebecca Soni! I didn't get Jenny's time but it will be posted soon. I am convinced that the breaststroke is an art and not a science.

Also, I saw a world record set by a 95-year-old in the 400 IM. Will I even be alive at that age? Oh, and he looked like he was a 75-year-old guy too. "Freshley's law" still holds true regarding swimmers and aging.

As for me, I did okay: the life guard was able to resuscitate me in just minutes this time without having to call 911. ;-)

'USA Swimming' Archive: Bob Bowman provided five workouts he gave Michael Phelps in late 2000!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 19, 2000

3:45 PM (SCY)

(No AM Practice)

5x100FR on1:20

5 x 100 K on 1:40 (choice)

5 X 100 FRIM on 1:25

5 x 100 PB on 1:20 (51")

16 x 50 on :55 (25 scull/25 swim 4 of each) (2,800)

10 x 400 FR ( Start on 4:45 and descend interval :05 each swim)

INT (MP RESULTS)

4:45 (4:15)

4:40 (4:05)

4:35 (4:05)

4:30 (4:00)

4:25 (3:55)

4:20 (3:50)

4:15 (3:45)

4:10 (3:44)

4:05 (3:45)

4:00 (3:40.0) (1:50.6/1:49.4)

(4,000)

25 x100FRK

1 on 1:40, 1 on 1:30, 1 on 1:20 (1:10)

1 on 1:40, 1 on 1:30, 2 on 1:20 (1:10,1:10)

1 on 1:40, 1 on 1:30, 3 on 1:20 (1:09,1:09,1:09)

1 on 1:40, 1 on 1:30, 4 on 1:20 (1:09,1:08,1:08,1:08)

1 on 1:40, 1 on 1:30, 5 on 1:20 (1:08,1:07,1:07,1:06,1:03.4)(2,500)

200 SW DN

9,500 SCY

POST PRACTICE

Wall sit 3 min

5 x 4 corner lunges

3 x 8 assisted pull-ups (last set 5 sec. negatives)

3 x swiss ball bridge + 5 pushups

4 x 10 push-ups (form!)

3 X 30 v-sits

3 x 30 standing squats

3 x 10 leg extensions with ball

4 x :40 flutter kicks (20 sec. rest)

3 x 15 squat thrusts

[Link]

Underwater Photographer and filmaker, Zena Holloway, has updated her site!

Zena Holloway is a photographer/cinematographer with an impressive client list. Her clients include such notable publishing and consumer product icons as Nike, National Geographic, Sony, Umbro, and more. She has updated her website which opens up with some underwater models filmed in slo-mo. [Link]



Imagine what Glenn Mills could do with a budget like hers: Black screens behind the swimmers, cable rigs, 1200w Cinespace lights, I wonder what a budget for a shoot like that would cost? My guess $10,000 a day just for rentals, setup and a good gaffer.

Oh the possibilities!

Striped Glaciers: When fresh water meets and collides with the Antarctic!

From the Telegraph, freshwater glacier-ice breaks off and drifts in the Antarctic creating stripes and layers in multitude of colors. The photo above is not even the best of the bunch either: [Link]

Alain Bernard thinks very highly of Michael Phelps both as as swimmer and a rival!

Sketchy Babelfish translation from MyFreeSport: "...For you is the American Michael Phelps a model, extraterrestrial or a simple rival?..."

Bernard: "... It is a great model and a rival, even if he is not a direct rival since he does not make the same races as me separately the 4x100 m… With each race, it shows us things which one is not able to imagine. It shows us with a certain facility which can appear disconcerting, a capacity to connect the races and also a diversity in its operating range. It brings much to world swimming. It is necessary that one of serf. It can come on 100 m, me also I will be there. I will not go up on the 400 to defy it, that it is sure (laughter)! ..."

[Link]

French Cinéma: Laure Manaudou protrays a swimmer who has hit rock bottom!

Art imitates both sport and life in a new French movie staring Laure Manaudou titled: "The Coach."

Below is a sketchy Babelfish translation from a European website called: "My Free Sport" with the details.

“It was said to me that you were the best”, the swimmer starts, in prey with the doubts before a return to the competition. “One told me the same thing of you. You just forgot it. I am there to help you to become again that which you were”, answers him a specialist in the mental coaching of the stars of the sport, the policy and finance, incarnated by Richard Berry. It worries: “And if I do not arrive there? ”…

The scene, relayed by the Sunday newspaper, is held last on September 15, in the cloakrooms of the Charléty stage. It constitutes the opening of last film of Olivier Doran (the removal, Pur weekend). In “the coach”, Manaudou plays, you will have included/understood it, his own role: a champion with rock bottom. ..."

I hope both the film and Laure Manaudou have a happy ending.

[Link]

Alain Bernard still hungry for more racing - Will race in Stockholm and Berlin!

Losing a world record will do that to you. How many times has the 100m free record traded hands between he and Eamon Sullivan? (I suppose it's my job to count, huh?)

"... PARIS (AFP) — French triple Olympic medalist Alain Bernard is to compete in two European swimming meets in November, weeks after his 100m freestyle gold triumph in Beijing.

He will take to the pool in Stockholm on November 11 and four days later in Berlin, before going on to participate in the French national championships on December 5-7.

[Link]

'Nat Geo' video - "Behind the photo: Flip Nicklin on Humpback Whales"

It's not the scale nor the composition that grabs me but rather the gravity and lack thereof that water affords us. [Link]

Amazing photo gallery link: [Link]

The article regarding humpbacks: [Link]

Herald Tribune: "Swimmer Libby Trickett breaks with longtime coach"

Wow! Jessicah Schipper and now Libby Trickett! I am noticing that Australian swimmers are more aggressive in demanding results from their coaches than we Americans are. Libby Trickett nearly did not make it in the 100m free Olympic final and only did so when Chinese swimmer Pang was DQed for a false start. Trickett was the world record holder too and had to swim in the gutter against Britta Steffen.

Swimmers her in the US seem to marry their coaches more so than Australians. Cullen Jones seems prone to the Australian mindset whereas, like the Australians, he has made it clear that "he is the CEO of his career" and not his coach.

From the International Herald Tribune: Trickett, 23, told a news conference she was leaving Brisbane coach Stephan Widmer to train in Sydney under Grant Stoelwinder, who coaches world sprint record holder Eamon Sullivan.

"For me to commit to four more years, I needed new challenges and new stimulus and I think that's what this will bring for me," Trickett said. ..." [Link]

From the Sydney Morning Herald: "..."She rang and said, 'It's Libby,' and it took me a few moments - I let the voice play - then I was like, 'Oh, Libby'," Stoelwinder said. "It was a huge compliment. I spoke to Eamon, he's in Geneva, he's been to Oktoberfest and now is on his way to the Canary Islands. He's really excited. I think in Beijing, Libby asked Eamon a few questions about the program, and I think he had probably had some idea Libby was maybe looking at some options after Beijing."" [Link]