The 'TYR Tracer Titan' - The first suit to use 'Yamamoto SCS-Fabric BRS MARK-III' fabric!

Has the Tracer Rise been replaced by a far superior version? Most likely for the subhead on the Tracer Titan product sheet makes it clear that they are using the next generation of hydrophobic fabric coming out of the Yamamoto Corporation, a company that provides Yamamoto SCS fabric for such speedsuits as the blueseventy, Rocket Science and the Jaked suit.

The Yamamoto SCS-Fabric BRS MARK-III has 34% less drag than the previous SCS Fabric, is a much thinner fabric, absorbs 0.5% less water, and TYR has it first. I am unclear if the fabric will be available to other suit makers.

I find this very exciting news for their former suit, the Tracer Rise, was setting world records for the past six months and now they have "leapfrogged" that technology with a suit that on paper looks even better! I can't wait to pour myself into one of these.

Check out this comment from their product sheet that clearly suggests that latic acid can be "dampened?"

The flexible Titanium alloy layer provides optimal thermoregulation which aids in the reduction of lactic acid in the blood, optimizing muscle performance. Titanium is recognized for its high strength-to-weight ratio which allows the material to contour to the natural shape of each athlete, significantly reducing stress and fatigue on the muscles.

[Link]

Some thoughts: I think the phrase, thermoregulation, is a fancy way of saying it will keep you warm. Well, the suit definitely looks sexy and TYR has proven in numerous meets these past six-months that their suits set world records too. I want to see this one in action for I like the cut, the color and I want one for SCY Nationals!

I have no clue when they are for sale.

The suit will be available at the NCAA level and I was told by TYR PR that they are shipping off tons of these 'babies' to colleges everywhere so as to make them available per the FINA rule regarding suit availability.

Here is a snippet from an NCAA memo release from CollegeSwimming.com:

In light of the recent proliferation of new models and designs of technical swimsuits, international bodies have begun discussions on implementing scientific measures to be used for approving swimsuits for competition. In mid-January, FINA announced it was temporarily halting the intake of approval requests from manufacturers designing new swimsuits. As a result, the committees have been forced to reevaluate using FINA’s list as the resource for approving swimsuits for intercollegiate competition.

Since the NCAA does not currently have the capability to test swimsuits, and since there seemingly is no discernible justification for treating any one technical suit differently from any other for purposes of use at intercollegiate competition, the committees have decided to permit all technical swimsuits for all 2009 NCAA swimming and diving championships.

[Link]

The biggest question here is if the fabric is stronger than the previous Yamamoto SCS fabric and is it elastic enough to avoid suit malfunctions? I will catalog any failures I see.

These are the most courageous start dives I have ever seen!

Ouch 1 from Glenn Mills on Vimeo.


Ouch 2 from Glenn Mills on Vimeo.


Ouch 3 from Glenn Mills on Vimeo.

USA Today: Double Amputee fitted with a mermaid tail!

I love these sorts of stories where technology or craftsmanship suddenly allows a disabled person to be gloriously effective at sport. I just love it.

From USA Today:

"... A prosthetic is a prosthetic, and your body has to be comfortable with it and you have to mentally make it part of yourself," said Vessey, who has been swimming in a pool and Auckland Harbor.

"It was absolutely amazing," said costumer Lee Williams. "It's beautiful to watch Nadya swim and to see that dream come true and to be a part of that. I feel quite blessed. ..."

[Link]

Ian Thorpe considers the FINA speedsuit meeting a mugging or "beat up."

Ian Thorpe is pro-speedsuit and he wants swimming to move forward with them. According to Ian, the FINA meeting last weekend was a "mugging" whereas several several speedsuit manufacturers were "beat up." Here is what he had to say:

"If you look at it historically, swimsuits have progressed since the early 1900s," Thorpe said. "When we talk about the swimsuits now the claims of how much they improve performance have been less significant than some of the claims that have been made in the past.

"It's something that's just beat up over and over again. For most of the swimmers, we're happy to swim in them. The only question that I may agree with some people is the fairness at that kind of intermediate level, when we are talking about kids wearing these things.

"We know that they are more expensive and so that people have equal access to what they swim in, I think we can make some new judgment and assessments on that kind of level."

[Link]

One attendee told me that Rocket Science was never shown any measurable data, nor any hard evidence as to why long arm suits should be banned. None. No studies, no side-by-side comparisons, or drag tests. I spoke with another attendee and he said FINA's attitude was, "well, we have to give [the governing bodies] something!"

I am beginning to think that the meeting was a political "dog and pony show" to appease the national governing bodies rather than the swimmers at large. I think masters will ignore the ban and FINA will look the other way or make special rules for masters swimmers.

I feel the sport will grow as as a result of speedsuits; I think it will contract without them. To ban or heavily restrict speedsuits will result in fewer sponsored swimmers, fewer meets, fewer open water events, and way less money to spend on swimming related products.

These images are the closest representation I have seen of open water swimming along a coastline!

Asako Narahashi has a series of photos he took while swimming/filming in and around places in Japan. I love the Mount Fuji shot with the solar flares bouncing off the droplets on the lens.

As usual originally found at Notcot.Org but you can see it directly at Booooooom.Com:

[Link]

Alain Bernard, Laure Manaudou, and Coralie Balmy in a group hug but who is that scary guy in the back?

It's not Jason Lezak! The headline for this French article at Pure People: "Coralie Balmy, en passe de prendre la place de... Laure Manaudou!" or Coralie Balmy, on the way to replace… Laure Manaudou!

This article sort of explains why and here is the Bablefish translation. Note, Babefish is not grammatically accurate:

"... More glamour, more powerful, more bankable and especially more… here: the swimmer Coralie Balmy has just carried out a good operation while becoming ambassadress of the Adidas mark. She joined the armada thus stars who carry already the colors of the mark to the three bands in the greatest sporting disciplines…

... Coralie Balmy is a sure value of tricolour swimming, and, therefore, a sure value… for the investors. It also presents the great interest… to continue its activity and the competition, while at the same time Laure Manaudou took a run out powder to try to regain a footing...."

[Link]

Meet new swim journalist, Roland Schoeman, for 'Sport 24!'

Glenn sent this to us and he is friends with Roland and he even filmed him for Go Swim Sprint Freestyle with Roland Schoeman.

Besides being one fast swimmer, Roland Schoeman is a snappy dresser! Dig that trendy speedsuit in the photo to the right.

Snippet from Sport24:

Cape Town - Sport24 are proud to announce SA Olympic gold medallist and multiple world record holder, Roland Schoeman as our newest columnist. ..."

Read Roland's first column HERE

Here ia snippet from a fast, ad hoc, interview they did with him:

Sport24: Finally, who is the hottest woman currently in world swimming?
Roland: There’s a Finnish girl, Hanna-Maria Seppala. Got to love the Finnish swimming federation!

Schoeman’s column will feature on Sport24 every second Tuesday, starting today, and users are encouraged to leave comments. Roland has promised to respond to the ones that don’t say anything bad about his beloved [Blue] Bulls... [Rugby]

I admire this Josh Keyes shark illustration on many levels!

I actually call it a shark illustration because I am aquatically biased but it really is a brute force illustration about global warming.

Oil has condensed atop the ocean surface and the dorsal fin that protrudes out of the water is suddenly ablaze due to the surface temperature from the sun. The shallow bottom where the shark is trolling is obviously a city street and Josh Keyes suddenly makes the event look like the shark is contained in a fish tank.

[Link]

Found originally at NotCot.org

"Ryan Lochte: Aubrey's next victim?" - Watch this post get a billion hits!

Aubrey O'Day is seen sitting next to Ryan Lochte; if you don't who O'Day is, well, she makes Gwen Stefani, or Madonna look like lazy slackers. O'Day extraordinarily industrious entertainment-wise and though she does not have the money that the aforementioned icons have, the depth of her resume is way more impressive.

Snippet from New York Post Pop Wrap:

I do not appreciate the way Aubrey O' Day is looking at Ryan Lochte -- doesn't she know he's spoken for? And I was actually starting to like the ex-Danity Kane singer following her winning appearance on Chelsea Handler's TV show.

[Link]

I spent three days working on getting a news source at the table in Lausanne, Switzerland for the FINA speedsuit meeting and then an additional 3 hours writing the articles. However, if I spend just 15-minutes on a swim gossip story, I get up to 2,000 unique views in just one day more than 5-times the response when compared to the suit articles.

Craig Lord: "Death Of Performance-Enhancing Suits Nigh?"

I think Craig is in denial: FINA is proposing so few rules that it seems obvious that suits like the blueseventy, and the Tyr Tracer Light, will have to make little to no "mods" even if every single proposed FINA rule is passed next month in Dubai.

From Swim News.com:

The end of performance-enhancing suits may be nigh: after its meeting with suit makers, coaches and others in Lausanne today, FINA issued a statement that effectively sounds the death knell for at least some of the 2008-model suits that placed the sport on artificial fast-forward. Buoyancy tests will surely do for some current suits, while restrictions on permeability of material - which could send the Speedo LZR into extinction - will not be in force until 2010.

[Link]

I am in guessing mode here: I will say that I am unclear on the tech specs for the Speedo LZR. FINA did mention that in their propose rules that: The application of different materials shall not create air trapping effects... This makes me wonder if this was the reason why the Speedo R&D head, Jason Rance, asserted aggressively how non-buoyant his suit was in the Telegraph article.

I heard a rumor that Speedo was actually working on a long sleeve version much like the Rocket Science suit and obviously that design will be on hold if the rumor I true.

Nonetheless speedsuits are good for 2009 and I am sure suits at the masters level will remain perfectly okay for longer than that.

World Federation - Sporting Goods Industry issues press release regarding FINA speedsuit meeting!

Well, I guess that shows the governing bodies: Both the money and FINA are behind speedsuits.

Lausanne, February 20th, 2009: Major swimwear manufacturers responded to the invitation of FINA (Federation Internationale de Natation) and met today in Lausanne with FINA officials, athletes’ representatives and coaches to discuss the on‐going evolution of the sport and FINA Requirements for Swimwear
Approval.

The manufacturers appreciated the positive and open nature of the discussions during which a broad consensus was reached on a number of issues. The manufacturers look forward to working further with FINA, athletes and coaches to ensure the broad proposals outlined can be translated and implemented in a detailed and effective way ensuring a positive outcome for everyone.

“We all have a mutual aim, to increase the participation in swimming and the profile of swimming, athletes, coaches and federations” says Robbert de Kock, WFSGI Secretary General. “New technologies are being used in all areas in aquatics and in sport generally and it creates an
excitement for the sport”.

The sport of swimming has benefited from extraordinary exposure in the last year and the WFSGI and the brands look forward to working with FINA to build on this success.

[Link]

FINA Releases Proposed Ammendments for Speedsuits!

Swimming World Snippet:

Material:

• The material used shall have a maximum thickness of 1mm;
• When used, the material shall follow the body shape;
• The application of different materials shall not create air trapping effects;
• BUOYANCY: The swimsuit shall not have a buoyancy effect of more than 1 Newton (100gr)

[Link]

I am breathing a sigh of relief.

Speedsuits: An informal FINA speedsuit meeting just happened!

I was thrilled to get a call from Lausanne, Switzerland just an hour ago from a individual who just attended the FINA swimsuit manufacturers meeting. This is a pre-meeting the manufacturers decided to have so as to be on the same page before meeting with the FINA officials tomorrow. A final announcement about the fate of speedsuits will be rendered in Dubai next month.

Here is are some snippets from a TVNZ article about the meeting that will take place tomorrow:

The manufacturers have never had it so good and they will not want any bans imposed.

Strong, persuasive argument is expected from all sides and FINA will need to be tough and unrelenting in its pursuit of the right answer. About 20 manufacturers will be present in Lausanne along with a number of coaches, athlete representatives and the FINA technical committee.

FINA will announce its decisions at a meeting in Dubai early next month so that the new laws will be introduced before the world championships in Rome in August. It would be a huge surprise if a ban on multiple suits is not imposed, along with strict guidelines on the area of the body which can be covered, but whether FINA is prepared to go much further than that is the major question.

[Link]

I was told that all the suit manufacturers are on the same page in that they want a de facto buoyancy test, suit thickness guidelines, a rule to ban multiple suits and/or duct tape "mods" and most importantly clear cut rules so that suit innovation can take place without the fear of a nebulous interpretation wiping out bundles of money in R&D expenses at the last minute.

I was surprised to hear that they are all getting along and that each company is going to make it clear that they will support FINA and will promote swim meets and open water events in the future.

Apparently Speedo is being the most vocal of the bunch and Jason Rance, the "mad scientist" who runs Speedo R&D, was interviewed by The Telegraph and made himself heard:

But Jason Rance, who headed the Speedo research and development team that produced the all-conquering suit with the aid of NASA scientists, has denied that it offers any extra buoyancy and is willing to prove it in a laboratory.

"What I can be clear on is that Speedo has always tested for buoyancy because we don't believe it's fair to have a suit that basically allows you to float on the water," he said.

"We would welcome an independent buoyancy test to make sure that our suit is not buoyant because I think that is something that people have jumped on."

[Link]

I asked about the TYR people and the blueseventy people since I really don't care about the Speedo people and they repeated that confidence is very high, each manufacturer wants swimming to do very well and all they just want are clear rules so they can support their swimmers and FINA swim events in the future.

I want to thank the person who called me, it was quite thrilling to get a call from the other side of the Atlantic especially about a subject I am very invested in.

MSNBC: Science proves you can boost your immune system with these 9 foods!

I have had a cold for 3-weeks and of course I finally run into this article just when I am in the finishing stages of it. So, ... I will cut to the chase with these three snippets from MSNBC.

Keep in mind they are just snippets so go check out the full text for each food:

• Yogurt: "... In an 80-day Swedish study of 181 factory employees, those who drank a daily supplement of Lactobacillus reuteri — a specific probiotic that appears to stimulate white blood cells — took 33 percent fewer sick days than those given a placebo. ..."

• Sweet Potatoes: "...To stay strong and healthy, your skin needs vitamin A. "Vitamin A plays a major role in the production of connective tissue, a key component of skin,..."

• Black tea or Green Tea: "...Immunologists at Harvard University discovered that people who drank five cups of black tea a day for 2 weeks transformed their immune system T cells into "Hulk cells" that pumped out 10 times more cold and flu virus-fighting interferon — proteins that defend against infection — than did the immune systems of those who didn't drink black tea. Green tea should work just as well. ..."

[Link]

Photo: Black tea Taken by Ultratomio at June 28, 2004(JST). Wiki Commons [Link]

Pool vandals cause $30k in damage then post photos of themselves doing so on "Facebook!"

If you vandalize a pool, I have to call you a dumb-ass because that is what you are and these dumb-asses posted their crimes on FaceBook.

Consequently, the cops found out who they are and now they are in the slammer charged with breaking-and-entering, arson and using an axe to destroy pool tiles beneath the surface.

Here is a snippet from the Daily Telegraph:

Councillor Mark Greenhill said the acts of these "grubs" were disgusting.

"Not only did they take an axe to the bottom of our pool but they set fire to playground equipment, surrounded by bushland, during a heatwave," he said.

The teens face charges of arson, malicious damage and break, enter and steal.

[Link]

Side note: I don't get social networking sites like FaceBook or MySpace. I understand how important these social networking sites can be for those people selling something like their music or a "widget" but for the majority of users who are not selling anything whatsoever, those individuals are literally filling out a database regarding their personal lives, their professional lives, and even their secret lives!

Talk about permanent record!

Do you want your employer knowing you have a vintage gun collection, that you have posted your resume on Monster, or that you have social connections with his hostile competitors at Linkedin?

How about your girlfriend knowing you made a "new friend" with a redhead named "hanky-panky?"

How about that photo of you in a speedo or that picture of your house and/or your car in the driveway up on Flickr?

When you surf all these social networks together a complete definition of who, where, and what you are becomes overly visible.

Google did a white paper about the potential risks of belonging to numerous social networking sites: [Link]

Football player, Jarron Gilbert, jumps out of a pool and onto the deck!

Heck of a swim drill and mighty dangerous too. Found originally at Digg.com

John Payne provides "opportunity and motive" as to why Libby Trickett changed her stroke

John Payne at ix3sports quotes me in his blog post about Libby Trickett's new straight-arm freestyle and as usual I start out sounding really smart till you get the typo and then I finally sound like the idiot I really am.

With this in mind, I am linking to the post, not to illustrate my typo; (which I fixed), but rather the motive behind Trickett's stroke change. John Payne has done the homework and here is a snippet about what he deduced:

"...I think Trickett’s change in stroke mechanics are a calculated move made less on “body-type and/or physical abilities” and more on taking advantage of bleeding-edge, but controversial, swimsuit technology available to swimmers today. She and her coach are betting that some of the advantages - if not all - conveyed to swimmers by the new technology will remain in place after the upcoming FINA meetings regarding swimsuit construction. ..."

[Link]

I am guessing that the crux of his argument is that speedsuits maintain momentum more efficiently and consequently you have less speed loss when taking that additional lunge needed to generate more torque. Correct me if I am wrong.

I have included a trailer to Glenn Mills, Go Swim Straight-Arm Freestyle with Olympic gold and silver medalist Scott Tucker to illustrate how the stroke is executed. Here is a link to the DVD if you are interested:

[Link]

Libby Trickett's Tattoo!

It reads Light of the World and includes a star hand drawn by her husband, Luke Trickett. Found at sunrise.seven's photostream at Flickr.com. Here is a direct link to the photo: [Link]

Random sand pattern creates a "mermaid fossil" at Horgabost beach, in the Scottish Isles!

Numerous isles in Scotland. If they were not so windy they would be a "Celtic" version of the Caribbean." Found here at Flickr/Scotland: [Link]

'TYR' Swimmers have made a difinitive statement lately - 'TYR' is having a 'Tracer' equipment give-a-away drawing too!

TYR Swimmer, Mary DeScenza, has produced some totally inspired swims: DeScenza won the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke at the US Grand Prix in Columbia, Missouri . She set a meet record there in the 100 back and I believe her "worst finish"; (that is called sarcasm), was a second place to Katie Hoff in the 200 IM.

Then there was Eric Shanteau, after battling cancer just 6-months ago, was barely edged out by Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM LCM placing second in a time of 2:00.88 to Lochte's 2:00.59 but Shanteau then went on to win the 200 breast in a 2:13.74.

There was Amanda Weir who won the 100 free swimming in a time of 55.13 at the same meet and of course there was Peter Marshall in Europe and many other meet records and WRs in Tracer equipment as well.

[Link]

So, with all this in mind, TYR is having a drawing where you can win a Tracer Light speedsuit, Tracer goggles, and TYR cap. I signed up and you can to right here:

[Link]

Even if you don't win, TYR will send you a 20%-off coupon just for signing up.

Libby Trickett has changed her stroke opting for a straight-arm freestyle.

Awesome photo of the master in her race, Libby swam a respectable 53.81 in the 100m free which is just shy of a second slower than her world record in the event.

I think this is a very exciting time for the sport of swimming for we are seeing swim technique "dogma" or "religious beliefs" about how a person is "suppose" to swim completely throw out the window and strokes are now evolving designed to match a particular person's body-type and/or physical abilities.

Libby [Trickett] is experimenting with her freestyle and she is liking what she is feeling. From the Sydney Morning Herald:

"... Showing a new straight-armed freestyle action, very similar to that of Sullivan and fellow training partner Andrew Lauterstein and a style rare in women's swimming, Trickett - who is currently in solid training - produced an impressive 53.81 seconds swim to comfortably win the 100-metres freestyle last night.

"It's one of the changes that 'Stolly' and I have made to my technique, and I'm really enjoying it, and so far I think it's been quite beneficial," Trickett said.

"It keeps my rhythm a lot better, it has changed my head position, as well as a bunch of other things. It feels strong and you have to be a certain type of athlete to get used to it, but so far so good and it's all been positive signs for me. I'm really happy with that swim. ..."

[Link]

To say that Jeff Huegill is the new "Rocky Balboa" is an under statement!

After not competing for three years, gaining 70-pounds-plus of weight, and confronting some personal issues, Geoff Huegill has made a complete "u-turn" and has erased all of the above in just three months time.

So far he has lost 30-kilos of fat, helped kick-off a campaign against binge drinking called DrinkWise, and made his debut with a third place spot on the podium in the 50-fly LCM at the 2009 New South Wales Championships in a time of 24.03. (I am currently hitting the refresh button often to see how he did in the 100-fly LCM.)

From the Herald Sun:

After making his first podium in three years with a third in the final of the 50m butterfly at the NSW Open, Huegill spoke of his dream to return to swimming's biggest stage at the 2012 London Olympics.

"It would mean more than any of the other Olympics (2000, 2004)," Huegill, 29, said.

"I am willing to block out three years of my life to go for another Olympics."

The former world record holder has stripped a staggering 30kg from his frame after blowing out to 130kg after his retirement in 2007.

[Link]

That is extraordinarily impressive to me. He lost the weight by doing double workouts, and a spin workout in the middle of day. Obviously he has kicked the habit of eating a whole pizza and downing six-pack on Friday night as well.

From The Australian:

"... Huegill has conquered his initial fear of the 100m by doing a series of 100m time trials at his squad's training camp in Thredbo over the past two weeks.

His best time was a 55-second clocking which has reassured him that he won't be disgraced when he returns to the Sydney Olympic Park pool where he won a bronze medal in 2000.

I know I have the strength and the fitness to bring it home hard," he said.

However he is not yet ready to keep pace with Lauterstein, who has made astonishing progress after shoulder surgery late last year.

He has already clocked 51.73sec in Melbourne, outside his national record of 51.12sec, and is clearly thriving in the new squad.

"There's nowhere to hide for me," he said.

"If I go bad in 'fly, I get my arse kicked by Garth and if I switch to freestyle, I have to watch out for Eamon (Sullivan), and Libby (Trickett).

"Every day I'm trying to beat Garth and Skippy (Huegill) and Eamon - it's a perfect environment."

[Link]

I looked up to see what sort of diet he was on and I found this. From NineMSN:

"... To cut down on snacking between meals, Geoff will consume Xantrax dietary supplement shakes for breakfast and dinner.

Geoff's plan is to get back into the pool for five sessions a week and to also do weights and cardio workouts three times a week. ...

Monday: Two 'swim and spin' sessions.

Tuesday: Swim only

Wednesday: Like Monday, two swim and spin sessions.

Thursday: Swim only.

Friday: Two swim and spin sessions.

Saturday: Swim only.

Sunday: Day off.

[Link]

Libby Trickett and Janet Evans are none to happy with Phelps!

Libby Trickett plays moral policeman much like Janet Evans did on CNN and tears into Michael Phelps a bit which is odd since she supported Amanda Beard when Beard posed naked in Playboy. Trickett had this to say about Phelps. From AFP:

"Personally, I think he's extremely lucky and if it had fallen under anti-doping laws, the penalty could have been double and that would have cost him a spot at the worlds," Trickett told the Daily Telegraph.

"He's got to face up to the responsibilities that come with being a role model and this is simply unacceptable behaviour from someone with his stature and profile in sport.

"Hopefully, he can learn from the mistake and it's a pretty big fall from grace after what he achieved in Beijing" at the 2008 Olympics, where the American won an unprecedented eight gold medals.

"It takes some of the shine off his spectacular performances in Beijing and this behaviour simply isn't okay."

[Link]

If I could I would like to ask Libby these questions: Can a Playboy Bunny be a role model to age-group swimmers, and which is a bigger moral transgression, posing naked for a soft-porn magazine with great articles in it; (read that as Playboy), or harming yourself with illegal drugs?

Note, Amanda Beard publicized the event whereas Phelps certainly did not want it publicized.

Be careful! He knows Swim Fu!

Last Parish ( Dade Orgeron ) directed four station ID’s for a network called Voom. the promos are for a Kung-Fu HD channel.

I originally found these at NotCot.org, who directed me to flylyf.com where you can see a higher rez version. Since I wanted to share this with you here, I found this copy at YouTube. Enjoy!

Geoff Huegill: From obeseness to sleekness and he is racing this Saturday!

I love comebacks, I hope he spanks both Phelps and Cavic at World Championships in Rome! From the Courier Mail:

The former Olympian, who has stripped 30kg from his giant frame, will on Saturday endeavour to once again make a splash in Australian swimming.

The 29-year-old has embraced his new healthy lifestyle with aplomb since announcing a comeback to competitive swimming on November 12.

[Link]

Michael Phelps and the wheels of South Carolina justice.

Richland County Sheriff, Leon Lott, has stated via a spokesman that he intends to prosecute Michael Phelps for marijuana possession: “The bottom line is, if he broke the law, and he did it in Richland County, he’s going to be charged,” Cowan said. “And there’s no difference between Michael Phelps and several other people that we arrest for the same type of a charge every day.”

According to MSNBC, The penalties for possession of pot in South Carolina is a $200 fine and perhaps a 30-day stay in jail for a first offense.

So, with that in mind I had the following questions: What is South Carolina like both politically and judicially? How aggressive are they in enforcing the laws of the land and protecting their citizens from harm?

Shamefully, it is not pretty. From Wikipedia:

On May 16, 2007, at about 3:45 am, Kennedy was leaving a local bar in Greenville when a car pulled up beside him, a young man got out of the car, came around and approached Kennedy, called him a faggot and then punched him hard enough that his facial bones were broken, he then fell and hit the asphalt. This resulted in his brain separating from his brain stem and ricocheting in his skull. He was left lying there and a little while later, one of Kennedy's friends received a voice-mail that said, "You tell your faggot friend when he wakes up, he owes me five hundred dollars for my broken hand."

[Kennedy] later died of his injuries. Stephen Andrew Moller, (age 18) was charged with Kennedy's murder. The warrant stated that the act was "a result of the defendant (Moller) not liking the sexual identity of the victim."

The case was turned over for investigation by the Greenville County Sheriff to the FBI for investigation as a hate crime, but the state of South Carolina does not currently have hate crime legislation.

Stephen Andrew Moeller, appeared at a plea hearing -no jury trial- where he received a five year sentence, suspended to three years, and he got credit for the time he served [at home] before he was released on bond - 199 days. In summary this means he will only have to serve an additional 10 months in prison, and then he will be eligible for parole. If he gets that he will be on probation for 3 years. He was also ordered to take anger management classes, 30 day community service and to have regular alcohol/drug testing and counseling.

[Link]

But the history of prejudice apparently has roots to the founding of this country. From CounterPunch.org:

"... On July 2, 1776, the "anti-slavery clause" was removed from the Declaration of Independence at the insistence of Edward Rutledge, delegate from South Carolina. Rutledge threatened that South Carolina would fight for King George against her sister colonies. ...

"... it is a matter of pride to many South Carolinians that their state was the first to secede from the Union and that Citadel cadets fired the first shot of the Civil War. ...

[Link]

From Talking Points Central:

Arthur Ravenel, a former U.S. Congressman and state senator, has his own controversial history. A supporter of flying the Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds, Ravenel referred to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as the “National Association for Retarded People” at a flag rally in 2000, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.

Arthur Ravenel later said he inadvertently mixed up his words and apologized to mentally handicapped people for comparing them to members of the NAACP, according to the newspaper.

[Link]

Michael Phelps fallout: The bong was for sale on eBay for $100,000 - Arrests may have been made!

Update: Details are still sketchy Los Angeles Times: [Link]

Rob from Robaquatics just sent this in and boy my mouth just dropped! Not only was the infamous piece of evidence selling on eBay for $100,000, the sheriff in the town has made eight arrests. I suspect the identity of the person who took the photo will be made available and they might even be one of the people who were arrested.

From WISTV:

"... Sources say the owner of the bong was trying to sell it on eBay for as much as $100,000.

The owner, who wasn't even at the party, is one of the eight now charged.

Phelps is not one of those charged at this point, but the sheriff's department has strong evidence that matches the photo to the house on Blossom Street.

That house is in the city, but the Columbia Police Department decided not to initiate or take an active role in the investigation.

Governor Mark Sanford is also weighing in on the sheriff's actions.

On the FOX News Channel Sunday night, Geraldo Rivera asked Sanford whether Phelps should be prosecuted.

"I don't see what it gets at this point," said Sanford.

His spokesman told us Monday night Sanford is letting that quote stand.

[Link]

I bet the person who took this photo is stressed beyond belief and is probably barely functional in their daily life! Not only has Phelps and his family been humiliated but 8 other families have been included and this person provided most of the evidence via the photo. It does not justify their actions or Phelps' actions but it does illustrate consequences reach far and wide and was that $5,000 worth it?

Go Swim Video: Starts - Clean up the feet

Starts - Clean Up the Feet from Glenn Mills on Vimeo.

If an octopus with his eight legs/arms can streamline there is no reason why I can't either.

Saturday Night Live: Really?!? - Seth shares his thoughts on Michael Phelps.

This is the best satire that has come out of Saturday Night Live in a long time. I love the call out to the person who snapped the photo.

Bloomberg: Sports marketing professionals weigh in on how Phelps can turn this around!

First and foremost he is told to STFU! and get back into the pool. (I personally would suggest a therapist or a mentor but what do I know?)

From Bloomberg:

Even though Phelps has shown poor judgment twice, he still has time to recover, said Steve Rosner, co-founder of sports marketing firm 16W in Rutherford, New Jersey. It may affect him more in the next six months. Rosner said.

“With longer-term deals, there is time to put this behind him,” he said.

Time to Recover

Rosner said Phelps can recover.

“I would advise him to do a mea culpa, and then lay low and see if it passes,” Rosner said. “The next thing to do is get him back in the pool, because that’s where his head would be straight. Then once he’s able to perform at the highest level, show the public the kid had a setback, but he’s back on track.”

In August, Spitz said Phelps was going to learn how hard it is to be the best in history.

“Let him carry the burden of responsibility of the highest of expectations for the next 20, 30, 50 years or for the rest of his life,” Spitz said in an interview. “And let me tell you, it’s a hard life.”

[Link]

I must say that I am impressed with the Mark Spitz quote. I always wondered how Janet Evans felt about being the best for nearly two decades. She was the best and remained the best longer than any other swimmer in history.

On that very subject, here is a Wikipedia link to my very favorite Twilight Zone episode starring Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters who did an amazing 20-minute teleplay on what it means to: "...live that hard life." Ironically enough, it was titled "A Game of Pool"

[Link]

Here is an webcam of the 2012 London Aquatics Center!

Either bookmark this post and you will be able to keep up with the construction of the London Aquatics center for the 2012 Olympics or just go to the site and bookmark it.

Found this originally here at about.com who links to London2012.com.

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]

The identity of the "photographer" who shot Phelps with a bong is inching closer!

Anonymous sent this to us - we have a witness in regards to the person who took the Phelps bong photo. From Freep.com:

"... One female South Carolina student, who said she has hung out with Phelps in Columbia several times, said it was another young woman who took the photo in question.

“She took her iPhone out of her pocket” and took the picture, she said. “I just thought, that’s (messed) up."..."

[Link]

Tara Kirk retires but her lawsuit against 'USA Swimming' moves forward!

Ron Judd of The Seattle Times outlines what led to Tara Kirk's retirement decision and explains thoroughly and accurately how awful USA Swimming management practices truly are, namely their handling of USA Olympic Swim Trials.

In the past year or so we have seen two lawsuits hit USA Swimming: One of them from TYR who accused USA Swimming and Coach Schubert for covertly trying to set up Speedo as the "house brand" (A preliminary ruling was handed down in the case and it wasn't pretty for USA Swimming), and the second from Tara Kirk who was denied a spot on the USA Olympic team after Jessica Hardy tested positive for Clenbuterol.

"...In most other Olympic sports, alternates are named to squads for an Olympics or world championships, just to deal with injury or this sort of eventuality. But not by USA Swimming, which made no effort to even contact Kirk, who was overseas at the time the drug test became public.

Kirk learned of the test on her own, and quickly contacted swim federation officials to ask about being named to the squad. She says both head coach Mark Schubert and Chuck Wielgus, executive director of USA Swimming, assured her they would "fix" the problem.

Only later did she discover what that meant.

"They lawyered up immediately," she says. Fixing the problem, in their eyes, apparently meant covering their own butts legally, which they did. And continue to attempt to do. ..."

According to The Seattle Times, Jessica Hardy has never fully explained how she accidentally or inadvertently ingested Clenbuterol yet not only was she allowed an incomprehensible amount of time to do so. What really troubles me is that Travis Tygart of USADA and will not return any calls to the Seattle Times to clarify. Talk about flying low and avoiding the radar:

"... In the nearly six months since the Beijing Games, Kirk has seen the organization do everything it could to distance her from her sport, and essentially brand her as a sore loser. Wielgus famously penned a snippy letter to USA Swimming staff, referring to Kirk's (apparently, in his eyes, outrageous) "demands" and once again defending USA Swimming policy as inerrant. The letter's public release set off a furor in the swimming community, much of which believes Kirk -- and other swimmers who stood to be named as replacements -- were wronged by the bungled test affair. USA Swimming even went after Kirk for its own legal fees.

[Link]

Swimming in the United States has grown by leaps and bounds and it has nothing to do with USA Swimming's management but rather it is all about Michael Phelps and perhaps even Amanda Beard. It has certainly not about Chuck Wielgus or Coach Schubert who in less than 10-months have picked up two lawsuits against the organization with a preliminary ruling in one of them that is definitely not very flattering as to how USA Swimming does business.

FINA is requesting 8 new events for the 2012 Olymics!

FINA is requesting 8 new events for 2012. Two which would include adding an 800m free for men and then a 1500m free for woman. However, the Times Online accuses an "American led lobby" of wanting to screw that up and drop the 800m free altogether and just add a 1500m free for the women.

Personally, I think they should let NBC decide and I am sure they would want as much swimming as they could film. Heck, they are paying for it.

The Times Online article is not very fleshed out but this would certainly effect Rebecca Adlington who is quoted in the article.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering a request by FINA, swimming’s governing body, to add eight new events in time for 2012. They include a 1500m freestyle race for women and an 800m race for men.

Sources say the IOC, which is keen to limit expansion, is unlikely to grant such a request and could instead opt for a compromise favoured by the American-led equality lobby that would see Adlington’s strongest event dropped and allow women to step up to 1500m for the first time. The IOC’s executive board will decide on the matter later this year.

[Link]

France, Britain and Russia to swim against the USA but why not include Germany, Italy, and the rest of Europe?

A meet between USA Swimming and the Ligue Europeenne de Natation (European League of Swimming) will take place next December yet the majority of Europe won't attend. Also what seems rather "pithy" is the comment that Italy is not invited.

Well, there goes a chance to see Federica Pellegrini swim against Katie Hoff or perhaps Dara Torres against Britta Steffen since Germany too is not on the list.

From Swim News:

President of French swimming, Francis Luyce, is reported in Gazzetta dello Sport as saying that the combined forces of France, Britain and Russia will take on the USA at a "dual" meet in the third week in December, immediately after what may be the last European s/c championships held in that month. Italy, the paper notes, is not invited.

[Link]

Jennifer Figge swims accross the Atlantic Ocean in 24 days!

I can understand why someone would have an intense need to swim across the English channel, or on a micro level, to swim from Alcatraz to the mainland.

I can wrap my mind around why someone would want to swim at the North Pole or even swim in a January 1st, Polar Bear Swim, but I don't get why somebody would feel an internal need to swim across an ocean in multiple stages, day-after-day, like a postal swim with the USMS?

Anyway Jennifer Figge swam across the Atlantic in just 24-days. From the BBC:

A 56-year-old American athlete has become the first woman on record to swim the Atlantic.

Jennifer Figge took 24 days to swim from the Cape Verde islands off Africa to Trinidad. The exact distance she covered has yet to be computed.

[Link]

The swim was done wearing a wetsuit from what I can make out in the photos and though I race in a wetsuit when I swim Alcatraz, I think important swims such as the English Channel should be attempted without; but these are just my morals

Stefanie Rice wants to to be the new Michael Phelps

I wish it was an American woman that was this ambitious but since one hasn't stepped up, I am elated to see Stephanie Rice try.

From the Australian Olympic Committee website:

"... There will be no Olympic hangover for Australian golden girl Stephanie Rice with the triple gold medallist to contest seven individual events over six days of the world championship trials in March.

The Olympic 200m and 400m individual medley champion will contest both her pet events at the Sydney trials along with the 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle...."

[Link]

In this Reuters photo above, Stephanie Rice celebrates setting a world record in the 400m individual medley at the Australian Olympic swim trials. [Link]

"Congratulations to Coach Chad and the Rose Bowl Masters!" - Coach Ahelee of NOVA Aquatics

Ahelee of NOVA Aquatics sent this in as a comment but I want it to make it post instead. I am very impressed with Coach Ahelee of NOVA Aquatics and I take anything she says as "AAA-bond."

The first few hours were a downpour of rain, but everything continued moving forward.

Extra Rose Bowl EZups were launched and the hot tub was roaring and hot. There was even Starbucks coffee, fresh oranges, and krispy donuts to be had where Trish was manning the front table.

The meet began with 5 heats of the 500 FREE!! Who would have thought so many masters would show up on a rainy winter day for an outdoor distance meet?

But they did - and swam great.
Some funny strories were:

86 year old Maurine Kornfield came rushing out for her 200 free heat, which she missed because she had trouble getting her fastskin swim suit on fast enough. Good officials found a lane for her in the next heat.

An elderly male masters swimmer with an entry time of 8:00+ in the 200 Back, swam an EXTRA 50 at the end of his race. No one stopped him because all were stunned he turned and wanted to keep swimming!

The Rose Bowl is a fun and legendary place to race. They even have their own swim shop in the lobby of the complex! Pasadena is a cool old town to visit. Beautiful neighborhoods with old homes and lots of good spots to eat.

Hope next year, we can organize a nice social attached to the event to attend after the meet ends.

This was a great meet that should turn into a tradition in the future. The race announcer was trying to come up with a name for the event, but I think between now and next year, they can create something better!

With more notice, the organizers should be able to split the meets on different weekends and everyone can swim and not be forced to choose between two meets on one weekend.

HOWEVER - I did hear many swimmers talking about being in Irvine for the sprint meet tomorrow!

See you at UC Irvine bright and early!

(I wonder if UCI has a hot tub?)

thank you Ahelee for the report. I missed the meet and will miss the one tomorrow due to this silly flu.

Michael Phelps was not "dropped" from Kellogg - His contract had simply expired!

Amanda sent this in regards to the real reasons why Phelps lost his contract. From Gawker.com:

"... Thank you for contacting us regarding Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps and our decision not to extend his contract.

We regret that the intent of our message was not clear. The contract was set to expire the end of February and with Michael's obligations to us met, our decision not to extend the contract was for business reasons and in no way diminishes Michael's status as an athlete. We believe Michael has set a tremendous example through his work ethic and his accomplishments and are proud to have been associated with him.

The timing of this unfortunate incident and the end of the contract is purely coincidental. Again, thank you for the opportunity to share the facts of this situation.

Sincerely,
Kathi Eckler
Director, Consumer Affairs ...

[Link]

The person who sold the Phelps photo may have received less than $5,000 for it!

A photographer who works those worlds between red carpet photography and editorial photography contacted me this morning regarding the Phelps photographer. I was told that the scoundrel who took the photo has NOT syndicated it thus denying themselves thousands-of-dollars in profits.

The "photographer" was smart enough to realize that the police or perhaps a good lawyer would subpoena the identity since syndication is a business not a journalistic endeavor and thus protections from revealing a source do not exist.

He estimated that the Photographer made less than $5,000.

Can you imagine that? Destroying somebody for $5,000! Why not just give the phone to Phelps and tell him, "I could have sold for it for $5,000, instead keep the phone as a reminder of how stupid you should not be. Oh, and you owe me a new phone."

Instead the person is probably feeling horrible that they may be found out

Yet another Phelps twist: Michael Phelps considers retirement!

Obviously displaying some clear signs of depression over this fiasco, Michael Phelps, may be done with swimming.

From UPI:

U.S. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps, dismayed by controversy over a photo of him apparently smoking pot, says he may bow out of the 2012 London Games.

"It's definitely not what I wanted, and it's clearly not what my mom wanted," Phelps told the Baltimore Sun after a picture showing him apparently smoking marijuana was published in Britain's News of the World.

Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, said that he "clearly made a mistake" and that the past week has been both embarrassing and uncomfortable for him.

[Link]

Whoever was in that silly dorm room when Phelps was photographed with the pipe, please come forward and "out" the person who snapped that photo! In fact, take a photo of them smoking pot and send it in to me.

If Phelps has to go through all of this drama, then I think the person who profited from it should suffer some publicity too. Somebody "out" them so we can ask them hard questions as well such as: Was it your pipe, your pot, your idea? How much did you make off selling the photo. Did you plan to profit from that night?

'L.A. Times' - Phelps suspended for three months - No more 'Kellogs' sponsorship!

Randy sent us this L.A. Times article stating that Michael Phelps has been suspended by USA Swimming for three months:

"This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero," the Colorado-based federation said in a statement.

"Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust."

[Link]

Phelps also loses Kellogs which has got to be humiliating. From an L.A. Times Blog:

"... The company claims that Phelps's behavior — caught on camera and published last Sunday in Britain's News of the World — was "not consistent with the image of [Kellogg's]."

The company has already put Phelps' picture on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes. ..."

[Link]

I think everybody agrees that a "pound of flesh" has now been rendered from Michael Phelps!

'Got Milk' Olympic Athlete Poster with detached fingers on swimmer, Maritza Correia shoulder!

I am just seeing this 'Got Milk' poster for the first time some six-months after Beijing. The guy on the far left is obviously Ryan Lochte but you know what is really creepy? If you click on the poster to see the enlargement, the athlete in the middle of the photo, swimmer Maritza Correia, has three fingers on her shoulder and there is no hand connected them!

That sort of killed it for me.

Mistake originally discovered by Photoshop Disasters: [Link]

'Swimming World Magazine' wrestles the 'Swimming World' domain name away from cybersquatters!

From Wikipedia: Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting): according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.

Swimming World Magazine went toe-to-toe with one of these jerks and now if you type in SwimmingWorld.com, guess where it goes?

How much does a cloud weigh and how much water is in it?

I got to lighten this blog up, the posts lately lack optimism and are overly grumpy! I suspect it is all due to this flu I got which is keeping me out of the pool and out of a meet next weekend.

So here goes: Above is an enormous cloud mass that a National Geographic photographer took in Texas. This cloud mass probably has a "fancy-schmancy" scientific name such as, Start running away in the opposite direction or else, but it got me to thinking about how much water could possibly be in a cloud that big?

The cloud above is nicknamed the "Texas Mother" by the photographer, Peter Carsten. The structure is perhaps tens-of-miles wide and certainly miles-upon-miles tall.

With that in mind, I looked up that a simple, lazy, cloud that is a kilometer-wide and a kilometer-tall has enough water content to weigh: 2.2 billion pounds.

Since a gallon of water weighs roughly 8.35 pounds, eight of these kilometer, sized, cubes would have enough water content to fill a cubic-mile or fulfill the amount of water that Los Angeles requires in a single year.

Yep, that's a trillion gallons! It's literally a "flying sea"


Cloud weight reference: [Link]

Gallon weight reference: [Link]

Los Angeles water usage reference [Link]

Okay, I am sick of the Michael Phelps stories: Here is a video of a really bad swim-cord drill!

Okay, let's cheer this place up. By the way, Look at the second count it took him to do one lap.

Either "great minds" think a like or John Feinstein of the 'Washington Post' reads the SCAQ blog!

John Feinstein of the Washington Post

"... an employee of Octagon -- the firm that represents Phelps -- attempted to bribe the newspaper into not running the photo.

The paper, The News of the World, reported that Octagon's Clifford Boxham offered the paper Phelps's services as a columnist for the next three years and as a host at events on behalf of the newspaper and also offered to get some of Phelps's sponsors to buy advertising in the newspaper.

[Link]

I asked a 'swanky' Marketing Director about Michael Phelps!

This person has quite a resume for they have worked in fashion, film and publishing. When I got her on the phone, here are the questions I asked: If you were a Marketing Director for these three companies: Kellogs, Dolce & Gabbana, McDonalds what would you do with Michael Phelps if he was a paid endorser? (Note this is his second substance abuse issue during two Olympic periods.)

These are her answers:

Kellogs: "Everything would be on hold for awhile and I would be sweating the whole time."

Dolce & Gabbana: I would rush and have a double-truck spread created; (two page ad), with Phelps laying down in a bed of gigantic pot leaves after a night of partying" [in a Dolce & Gabbana tuxcedo]

McDonalds: "McDonalds is so W**** T**** I wouldn't sweat it at all."

Makes you wonder who is more screwed up, Michael Phelps or the marketing director. ;-)

If the satirical photo above offends anybody, I will take it down; just call or write me.

Speedo and Omega immediatelty stand behind Phelps

From the International Herald Tribune:

"... Luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega termed Phelps' actions a private matter and "nonissue." Swim wear manufacturer Speedo called the 23-year-old American a "valued member of the Speedo team. ..."

[Link]

The consensus is that Phelps will come out of this unscathed though summarily embarrassed but I take a contrary point of view: I suspect those outrageously paid marketing director's at the multi-billion-dollar 'conglomos' who took Phelps on as the face of their company are evaluating whose job is at risk here, his job or their jobs! Especially at companies like McDonalds, Kellogs, and Visa.

Phelps confirms "bong shot" is indeed real and admits bad judgement!

From Yahoo News: "...TAMPA, Fla. – Olympic great Michael Phelps has acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper showed him smoking marijuana..."

[Link]