Hideaki Akaiwa is the most "bad ass" open water swimmer of all!

Hideaki Akaiwa of Japan was at work on a lazy afternoon somewhere within the Miyagi Prefecture when both the earthquake and Tsunami struck. Hideaki terrified that his wife was in danger leaves work to go find her but as he exits the building, he finds the city quickly submerging into 10-feet of water while cars, benches, building fragments and anything else that is not tied down is floating by.

He calls home; no answer!

Rescue workers appear on the scene and they tell Hideaki nothing can be done! NOTHING CAN BE DONE! As badass of the week points out way more articulately than I can, most men would have crumpled and either given up or cried but Hideaki decided to get busy.

In what badass correctly calls his neighborhood a post Apocalyptic wasteland, Hideaki, in full "Road Warrior mode" somehow gets a hold of a wetsuit, a scuba rebreather system, fins, knife, (every hero needs a knife), and dumps them into his car and drives to his former neighborhood. Once there and with no scuba experience whatsoever, he summarily dives into ten-foot-deep polluted mess hoping to find both his house and wife intact.

From "bad ass of the week:

"... Hideaki maintained his composure and navigated his way through the submerged city, finally tracking down his old house. He quickly swam through to find his totally-freaked-out wife, alone and stranded on the upper level of their house, barely keeping her head above water. He grabbed her tight, and presumably sharing his rebreather with her, dragged her out of the wreckage to safety. She survived.

But Hideaki Akaiwa still wasn't done yet. ..."

[Link]

Hideaki Akaiwa is a "samurai!" Go to the link above and see what other heroics he accomplished that day.

Swimmer, pop-star, local 'grrrl' from the OC donates $1-million to the victims of the Japan earthquake/tsunami!

From one of the CNN blogs:

"... Besides giving her own generous donation to Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund, Stefani is also letting fans get in on the act.

Next week, she'll announce a charity auction in which the public can bid on a chance to join her at an L.A. fundraiser, and she'll sell a limited-edition Harajuku Lovers T-shirt of her own design on NoDoubt.com. One hundred percent of the tee's proceeds will go toward helping Japan...."

[Link]

For more details regarding the auction and how you can participate online: [Link]

Oh... her name: Gwen Stefani!

The Splash of Truth website is down!

UPDATE: The Splash of Truth website is down. The site definitely looked like it was a work in progress when it was live and all the content they had up thus far proved none of the allegations in their two previous letters.

So what are we left with? My take is this: We must presume their allegations as untrue until documentation can support their original claims.

Tony

Coach Todd Sousa will be arraigned Friday in Newport Beach on 13-counts of lewd acts upon a child!

If this guy is guilty, he deserves a severe sentence. I hope the alleged victim can get through her teen years safely and constructively. As for the friend who confided in her parents that this occurred; (if indeed this event did occur), know that you did a huge favor to your community and swimming at large! Never feel any regret whatsoever. You rock!

From the Laguna Nigel patch:

"... On Feb. 18, Sousa is accused of picking up Jane Doe and her friend from the Irvine Spectrum and driving them to the Swim Ventures office. He is accused of providing alcohol to the young women before taking Jane Doe into another room to have sex with her while her friend waited outside.

Jane Doe's parents learned of Sousa's alleged sexual relationship with their daughter from the parents of one of her friends and contacted law enforcement, authorities said.

Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is asked to call investigator Lou Gutierrez at (714) 347-8794. ..."

[Link]

A 'Splash of Truth' has launched a website!

[ UPDATE: The Splash of Truth website is down. The site definitely looked like it was a work in progress when it was live and all the content they had up thus far proved none of the allegations in their two previous letters.

So what are we left with? My take is this: We must presume their allegations as untrue until documentation can support their original claims.

Tony ]

A Splash of Truth has a website! - "Put up or shut up," that is what we said! Well, we wanted the proof and now we can see if the Splash of Truth has delivered?

So, dig in and validate and/or verify before posting any comments. Also, it is VITAL that we validate, verify and spread the word if it is true or if it is false; especially if false: [Link]

That is a painting of Guy Fawkes to the left. He was a British conspirator in a Catholic plot to blow up the King of England at the House of Lords during the state opening of the English Parliament in 1605. He has become a pop-culture icon for all things anonymous. See the movie "V for Vendetta."

He was caught guarding 36-kegs of dynamite, then hanged, drawn and quartered!

The Guardian Blog perfectly encapsulates Michael Phelps' last 2-1/2 years in one paragraph!

The blog Post by Lawrence Donegan is entitled "Which Michael Phelps will turn up to the 2012 Olympics" succinctly states what has gone right for Michael Phelps and what went wrong in just a single paragraph. The blog post also covers where Michael Phelps might be swimming in London.

Snippet from The Guardian:

What does a man do after winning eight gold medals at one Olympic games? He parties, he turns up on the front page of the News of the World, he loses sponsorship, he rails against the "unfair" advances wrought by technology, he loses his form, he finds it again, he wins five world championship gold medals, he loses his form again, he turns in the worst performances of his career and, finally, he is apparently re-born as the untouchable athlete he was before all of the above took place.

[Link]

Heart wrenching story in the 'New York Times' about a complete swim team and their coach lost to the tsunami.

When you hear that 15,000 died in an earthquake/tsunami the gravity of that number simply reduces down to an incomprehensible statistic. When you dig down deeper into the "numbers" and view the names, photos or the circumstances of what befell these victims, the event becomes even more overwhelming.

The New York Times has chronicled some of the situations and the human faces of these individuals and one of them involves a complete swim team:

From the New York Times:

RIKUZENTAKATA, Japan — On the afternoon of Friday, March 11, the Takata High School swim team walked a half-mile to practice at the city’s nearly new natatorium, overlooking the broad sand beach of Hirota Bay.

That was the last anyone saw of them. But that is not unusual: in this town of 23,000, more than one in 10 people is either dead or has not been seen since that afternoon, now 10 days ago, when a tsunami flattened three-quarters of the city in minutes. ..."

[Link]

Toki from northern California sent me this this story and this is what he had to say:

[... My name is Toki Burke. I'm a former competitive swimmer from Northern California and now I teach English at elementary and junior high school in Okinawa, Japan. I'm also a frequent reader of your blog; enjoy it a lot. Anyway you've posted some stuff on the tsunami waves hitting California and I was hoping you could post a link to this article from the New York Times about a group of swimmers and their coach who are missing and are presumably dead after the tsunami wiped out their town. I can't imagine what they went through, but I can't stop thinking about the all meets I went to at pools like Belmont Plaza and having something like that happen.

[...]

Japan is a first world country and one of the biggest donors of foreign aid, but they really need help with the unimaginable consequences and devastation from an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident. Yahoo has a great page up that offers some links to groups individuals can donate to. When you get a chance please take a moment to read the article. It'd mean a lot if you could re-post it on your site along with the page for ways people can donate to help Japan. [...]

The Belmont Plaza mentioned in the letter above is an indoor pool built right on ocean front property in Long Beach California; a complete soft target for a tsunami hence the emotion in Toki's last sentence.

A charity I donated $100 too is not listed in the links page but is run through the United Nations. It is called the World Food Program and their website is located here. Several Japanese friends of mine have endorsed it: [Link]

FINA & USA Swimming under seige!

Here is my uneducated assessment regarding the two governing body attacks:

USA Swimming, "wounded" from an antitrust lawsuit with TYR, pending sexual abuse lawsuits, two critical news documentaries, and a national coach dismissal is now having to defend itself from an anonymous group calling itself A Splash of Truth.

This anonymous individual or group who I believe posted to this blog first in the comments section of a blog post I wrote has allegedly disseminated two emails so far to thousand of parents, swimmers and coaches. These emails contain detailed accusations regarding USA Swimming management, unacceptable coaching incidents, deposition details, attorney malfeasance, and more with only a promise to back these accusations with absolute documentation once they release their website.

As for a Splash of Truth: I take this individual or group quite seriously. If their accusations are summarily lies then the integrity of the USA Swimming management will continue on and suffer little, or more likely, no consequence. However, if all of their accusations are true and the information can be double confirmed with police reports, depositions, court filings, specific rulings, then I presume there be more lawsuits, bad press and/or calls for audits, investigations and dismissals by both swimmers and parents.

Regarding the attack on FINA: Next up we have FINA who is going to have to confront a populist campaign to boycott all FINA events and in it's place establish a "new swimming world order." All of this suggested by an organization called the World Swimming Association (WSA). An open letter by a guy name George Block signed his named to poorly written manifesto which can be read over at Swim News.

Where George Block wants to replace a complete governing body, the "Splash of Truth seems more intent on replacing USA Swimming management. If USA Swimming is clean, they should do nothing. If they are dirty, start purging people now and augment or follow existing rules! - I took their emails seriously which leads me to George Block and the World Swimming Association...

My take on George Block's proposed WSA power grab is just that... A power grab! Instead of sending your money to FINA, send it to good ol' George and allow his organization to make up the rules and leverage our talent for both rule control and perhaps money. In his letter he offered nothing that is more, better, or different for the swimmers or swimming at large. I am so unimpressed.

FINA will immediately ban this guy and any swimmer who tries to swim for another organization if he dare calls it a governing body. I do not believe that Block or the WSA has the means to produce a international governing body for the only way it could happen is if he actually paid the swimmers to swim enough money to make it worth foregoing an Olympic career. That is going to take a lot of money - he may have to consider tech suits?

So, you have two battles: one to reform a governing body, the other to replace one. Maybe the swimming governing bodies at large should realize: SWIMMERS AND COACHES ARE PISSED!

UPDATE: I just found out from a reader who politely informed me that the World Swimming Association under George Block is connected to the World Swim Coaches Association (WSCA). Apparently, according to my reader, this organization is affiliated with the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) which run by John Leonard!

to wit: If this is true, we have a sanctioned USA Swimming certification body; (ASCA), connected to a coaching body calling for the replacement and/or destruction of FINA! Is anybody home at USA Swimming?

It is time for USA Swimming to turn to junior colleges, colleges and universities to create varying degree types to certify coaches rather than allowing a singular non-profit who may be affiliated with a group, the World Swimming Association, calling for a FINA "mutiny" to train USA Swimming coaches.

Mutinies should not be tolerated especially when coaches and swim teams are sending money directly to those suggesting a mutiny!

Ian Thorpe is the James Bond of Swimming!

Six reasons why Ian Thorpe is the James Bond of swimming:

1. Thorpe works undercover - he was forced to swim in eight undisclosed locations while pondering a comeback

2. Has an international coaching team - currently training in Switzerland with a Russian ninja

3. Is a snappy dresser and has worn a tuxedo more than any other swimmer

4. James Bond drove an Audi A6 in Quantum of Solace - Thorpe drives a kick ass Audi RS4

5. Like his Bond counterpart he is a confirmed bachelor

6. Like his Bond counterpart he wears an Omega Seamaster timepiece.

7. His "bucket list" even contains a goal in it whereas he would like to portray to play James Bond on screen - I am told in James Bond's bucket list, he would like to portray Ian Thorpe

The Marine Times: Critics say Corps’ new swim quals are too easy

The Marine Times headline: Critics say [Marine] Corps’ new swim quals are too easy! My witty retort: ...and the statistics think so too:

From the Marine Times:

Gunnery Sgt. Joshua Turner, an experienced instructor-trainer and safety swimmer, said he has found considerable problems with the new quals, calling them “ridiculously easy” and suggesting the program fails to ensure that Marines will learn enough to survive a life-threatening situation on the water. Since 2001, more than 70 Marines have died as a result of waterborne mishaps, according to Navy statistics. Five died last year alone.

[...]

“In combat, you are not going to take off your boots,” said Staff Sgt. Jacob Howard, an instructor-trainer and special projects team leader at the San Diego recruit depot pool. Howard, an amphibious assault vehicle crewman by training, said he likes the new rules and noted that, during the Iraq war, Marines died in rivers “because they didn’t know how to properly execute gear shed.”

[Link]

Here is something I learn if I ever fall off a boat and I wearing shoes:

"... Bare feet no more. Every Marine and recruit must jump into the pool wearing his boots and utility uniform. This, instructors say, will be a mental obstacle initially. They’ll have to use bicycle kicks — rather than egg-beater movements — to better tread water with all the extra bulk. ..."

Tsunami animation from NOAA

What a lousy day to hold an open water race. For a bigger window, Fastcodesign has one as well as some infrared images: [Link]

You Tube: Japanese Earthquake Tsunami Wave arrives in Emeryville CA

The Tsunami that hit Japan also hit California, see it above rolling into the San Francisco Bay towards Emeryville in the You Tube above. Though much smaller in proportions and diminished strength. This should be looked upon as a de facto warning. Though I am pro-nuclear power as a way of cleaning up both our air and water, I question whether California has any idea what risks the San Onofre nuclear power plant and the El Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant pose? Both practically reside on ocean front property and both are located near earthquake faults.

Though the nuclear explosion in Japan will not by any means be comparable to the Chernobyl accident; (I can provide links as to why), this "black swan" event could easily be duplicated in California and that concerns me.

Tsunami wave height model from NOAA illustrates the tremedous ferocity of what happened in northern Japan!

Measured in centimeters the wave heights are still pretty sick.

When a tidal wave surges, it is not the height but the momentum as well. A three foot tidal wave with enough surge can take out a pier or a harbor.

Here is a link to the NOAA animation of the beast:

This animation shows the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research's wave height estimation for the March 11, 2011 tsunami that started off the coast of Japan and has placed the entire Pacific basin on alert.

[Link]

Originally found at NOAA

Allegedly on a dare, a student during a field trip leaps off the Golden Gate Bridge but survives!

Though he did not jump at the apex of the bridge, which is 250-feet-high, he was still was 220-feet up or 22-stories. When he landed surfers who were surfing off of Fort Point rescued him. They were told he did it on a dare but students stated it was his idea. I find this perplexing since if they knew it was "his idea," why didn't they shout for help?

The student is 17-years-old, he was able to walk out of the water with a torn lung and bruising but described how he felt as bruised and a sore.

Here is a link to NBC Bay Area which has the news: [Link]

Photo taken by Rich Niewiroski Jr.

Photos of one of the largest underwater caves known - the Ordinskaya Cave located in Russia!

To put some "WOW" into your day, the Ordinskaya Cave is located in Russia and looks both formidable and spectacular at the same time: [Link]

Here is some background on the cave:

Ordinskaya Cave is located near the southwest edge of the village of Orda in the Perm Region of Russia. The opening to the cave is located in the Kazakovskaya Mountain Massif, which overlooks the Kungur River. Karst sinkholes dot the surface of the massif and large springs bubble out of ferocious sand boils in the river below. The linear direction of flow from the cave is unloading its forces towards Arsenovskiy Spring approximately 2000 feet east of the cave entrance. This spring discharges significant volumes (300 l/sec.) of water but has not been connected through exploration at this juncture.

[Link] - [More...Link]

Between 2,000-and-10,000 shipping containers fall into the ocean each year - One has been found in the Monterey Bay marine sanctuary!

On February 4th 2004, the merchant vessel Med Taipei set sail from San Francisco heading due south to the port of Los Angeles. A terrible winter storm was raging that day delivering swells up to 21-to-27-meters in height which for the crew must have felt like they were sailing a "cork" through a "flushing toilet." Consequently they lost some freight; 14 containers in all and now one of those containers has been found in the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary.

Two years after the incident a $3.25-million settlement was paid by the shipping company to the US government agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to settle all claims. Some of that money is going towards locating all 14-containers. An ambitious task since containers will float for a period of time before sinking so GPS coordinates as to where an accident happened may not be accurate but the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has taken up the quest.

After some heavy duty ocean reconnaissance, the MBARI found a container. After tracing numbers on the side of the upside down container, they were able to connect the contents to a US customs manifest stating if is filled with over 1,159 steel-belted radials. Other containers lost that day had similar "inert" contents such as metal fencing, mattress pads, and other urban junk that is essentially not so harmful when the contents are compared to 55-gallon drums of acetone, benzene, or powered bleach.

From the MBARI site:

The merchant vessel Med Taipei left San Francisco on February 25, 2004, in the middle of a winter storm. As the ship steamed south toward the Port of Los Angeles, it began rolling violently in seven- to nine-meter (23- to 30-foot) swells. In a rush to get his goods to port, the captain continued southward at high speed, despite the rolls. Unbeknownst to the captain and crew, the containers on their ship had been stacked incorrectly, with massive, heavy containers perched on top of lighter ones.

[Link]

Imagine you are the Captain or a crew member and you find out that your container ship could have capsized that day! Nonetheless, according to National Geographic Between 2,000 and 10,000 containers are lost at sea each year and that is a lot of stuff!

From National Geographic:

"... Every year, more than 10,000 containers fall overboard and spill their cargo into the ocean. Storms are often to blame.

An 8-foot by 40-foot container (2.4-meter by 12.2-meter), which can carry up to 58,000 pounds (26,000 kilograms) of cargo, might hold 10,000 shoes, 17,000 hockey gloves, or a million pieces of Lego. ..."

[Link]

So, why don't we hear about this? Because they is no law that says container dumps such as the Med Taipai have to be reported hence only the customs agents know. Hence, one has to wonder if this is a possible smuggling tactic?

The inspiration for this article was originally from a tweet written by Joe Rojas-Burke.

Federica Pellegrin busts the four minute mark in the 400-meter free short course at the Italian "Coppa Brema" meet!

Federica Pellegrini easily breaks four-minutes in the 400-meter free (short course) and she is stoked:

From the FINA website:

The two-time World champion scored an impressive 3:57.59 in the 400m freestyle (25m), breaking a national record and establishing the seventh best all-time performance (and the year's second best). "I am very happy", said Pellegrini. "It is an unexpected result given the amount of work that I am bearing. More than the record, it is important to register the confirmation of the training's beneficial effect. I managed to race in negative-split because I knew I did not have much speed. I go back to Paris with further confirmation and a great enthusiasm," she continued.

[Link]

Translation From Corriere dello Sport.it

"... The performance creates great confidence: quiet in the first 200 meters (1.59.60) but irresistible in the second half, swimming in a 1.57.99: "I am very happy - Federica Said - It is an unexpected result given the amount of work I am advocating. The record is important, it confirms how good the training has been. I managed to negative split the race because I am conscious that I don't have a lot of speed. I'll be back in Paris with further confirmation and great Enthusiasm. "

[Link]

The womens 400-free is filled with so much talent!

Jason Lezak still remains the fastest American this year in the 50-meter free!

The photo above is an exterior shot of the Shanghai swimming stadium that will be used in July for the 2011 FINA World Championships. (Sort of looks like a pair of sharpened dentures.)

At 35-years old Jason Lezak is still in the game with a 22.57 he set back in January and a 22.59 just this past weekend in Indiana.

While going over the top times in the 50/100/200-meter free, of course Michael Phelps' stands out as the number one swimmer in the 100/200-free but quite frankly the Australians and the French are the dominating flags in all three of those events.

In one event, the 100 free, the French own four positions while the Australians own five positions in the top-10! Only one American flag exists in that top-10 list and his name is the Michael Phelps.

In the 50-free again it is all about Australia and France who control six positions in the the top-10 while Jason Lezak carries the flag for America at number-9

We are still early in the year but the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai are coming up in a mere 4-months-and-one week. Will we get spanked in those three events cumulatively? - [Link]

Famous author and blogger Cory Doctorow reviews swimming MP3 players!

Cory Doctorow has quite a resume; wiki him and you can read it. From civil liberty defense with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a blogger at BoingBoing.net, a journalist for Wired and the author of several books, he has written a review on what he has found to be the best MP3 player for swimming:

Look what he had to say about the Speedo Aquabeat From [deleted]

However, buying an underwater MP3 player has been more complex than I'd thought. I started with a Speedo Aquabeat, which is about the worst-designed piece of consumer electronics I've ever owned. Not only does it crash every single time I use it, it also requires some kind of proprietary Windows crapware to create custom playlists if you want to do something really complicated, like listening to all the numbered tracks of an audiobook in order. After the Aquabeat crashed with seemingly terminal finality, I tried something else. ...

Guess which MP3 player won?

Phelps takes five wins in Indiana - posts fastest times of the year!

I am extraordinarily impressed with how Michael Phelps can jump into a pool and within 6-months 6-weeks or less can suddenly reclaim the fact that he is still the best swimmer in the world.

Let's assume that this will be the program he swims for the London 2012 games. It is entirely possible; but not a given, that he actually can win seven more gold medals. Even if he only wins two or three; (only two or three? what a concept when winning jut one gold is an overwhelmingly significant accomplishment), he would still remain in perpetuity the greatest Olympian ever but seven more gold medals would make him the greatest athlete ever produced.

It also nice not hearing any more excuses for being out of shape, unprepared, or his proverbial, "wake-up call," and actually see him roll out of bed on time and give the fans the inspiration they paid to see. :-P

The mighty, mighty, Megalodon: Could swallow a great white shark whole without even having to take a bite!

So "mighty" I had to say it twice! Biggest jaw fossil ever found to be auctioned off: Asking price $625,000.

[Link]

British diver Tom Daley stars in a new London 2012 Olympic mascot film!

After being bullied at school for wearing a racing brief for his "day job," Tom Daley became quite a celebrity for bringing the subject of school bullying to the publics attention:

"... From age 11 to 14 Daley attended Eggbuckland Community College. At 13 he became a celebrity supporter of ChildLine, a children's helpline run by the NSPCC, and at that time it was revealed that he had been bullied eighteen months earlier. In April 2009 Daley alleged to Plymouth's main local newspaper The Herald that he had been regularly bullied at school since the Olympics, and his father told the BBC that he had temporarily withdrawn him from Eggbuckland because its response to the problem had been ineffective..." -- Wiki

Eggbuckland? What a name for school! Sounds like trouble on many levels to me.

Later Daley got to hang with Kate Moss and even convinced her to pose for him for a photo recreation of a David Hockney original portrait. He even went swimming with her since Moss believe it or not is a synchro-swimmer.

Daley has become a British celebrity for both his accomplishments in the pool and his charity involvement hence he was perfect actor to be an attraction in the London 2012 Mascot film titled "Out of the Rainbow" with the "cyclops" London 2012 mascot:

Here is a link to the film: [Link]

Missing open water swimmer busted in Yuma Arizona!

Over the weekend a swimmer named, Jim Repetto, 54, was reported missing after going for a swim off of La Jolla Shores, CA. Soon after the L.A. Times mentioned this guy apparently was in a spot of trouble after being accused of stealing $1,00,000 in a fraud scheme at an Ocean Spray plant where he was a manager. He was about to be sentenced but ended up missing after going for a 2-mile swim.

From NBC San Diego:

"... Repetto, from Sandwich, Mass., was reported missing at about 6 p.m. Saturday after being over an hour overdue when attempting to swim from the Scripps Pier to the La Jolla shores lifeguard tower.

The 53-year-old was in San Diego on business, according to his wife. Police say he was having lunch with a friend in La Jolla on Saturday. The last time she saw him, he was heading into the water, wearing a wetsuit. ..."

[Link]

Thanks, Mike for sending me this.

Phelps to swim five events in Indy: Will this be his program at both FINA World Championships and the London 2012 Games?

His mom said it best, this is most likely his farewell tour. This could be the last time Indiana ever sees Michael Phelps again. Get tickets!

From USA Today:

"I have some times that I want to hit in mind," he said. "This is a chance to see where I stand for worlds. That's the biggest thing, is trying to get as prepared as I can and hit all my marks before world championships. If I do that, then I can set up my Olympic trials."

"...My mom brought up the point that this could be the last time I swim in these pools, and the last time that she travels to these cities," he said. "It's hard to think about, but we've been able to have a great career in every pool."

[Link]

Photography by Mark Savage at Pan Pacific championships - All rights reserved

Federica Pellegrini quietly training with Philippe Lucas and soon with the Italian National team in the United States!

Federica Pellegrini is quietly training with Philippe Lucas in Paris; the coach who made Laure Manaudou may now remake Pellegrini into something better. Will her technique change? Will she dominate in even more events outside her signature races?

Also, Bummer for the Italians that their US training camps are not not located in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and New York but rather: "...Fort Lauderdale, Flagstaff and Coral Springs in the United States and the open water swimmers in Perth, Australia. ..."

From a FINA news release:

"[Pellegrini] ... Next week-end she will be in Rome for the “coppa Brema”, a competition which awards the national title per club. After this Italian stop, she will be back in Paris before taking part in the Italian Championships in Riccione from April 13-17, a very important test in sight of the FINA World Championships in Shanghai next July: there, Pellegrini will be at the start of the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle.

[Link]

IOC Gambling Update: Rogge tells governments to tighten gambling restrictions but send them a cut.

This is absolutely pathetic. In the world of Governing bodies there is a "royalty bubble"- pay us some money and we will believe in you even if you are a gambling service and/or licensing our governing bodies so as to be a marketing arm for your products. (Read as the TYR/Speedo anti trust suit.)

Look what Jacques Rogge is quoted as saying in The Guardian:

Ahead of an anti-corruption summit on Tuesday, the president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, called for urgent measures and the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, said Britain was prepared to lead the way in co-ordinating international action on illegal gambling and match fixing.

More controversially, Rogge also called on governments to legislate to ensure that a proportion of betting revenues flowed back into sport, partly to help fund the fight against match fixing.

"Specifically we are in favour of a system where betting operators have to be licensed by the government," said Rogge, adding this would help monitor irregular betting patterns and also the companies' finances.

"Sports organisers, national federations and international federations would have a fair return for all their efforts for organising the sport. They should be recognised with a return from financial income."

[Link]

I am shocked by this sentence: "...Sports organisers, national federations and international federations would have a fair return for all their efforts for organising the sport. ..."

Fair return for what?

Athletes will see none of this money but I bet the execs at the governing bodies will in the way of salaries.