It all started out so simply: I was shooting my mouth off like I usually do after I read an article in Swimming World which threw around the term "textile best" as if it were a FINA standard issue record. The post is located here: "Since when did FINA establish something called a textile best?"In the comments section I received a quick, well written, comment telling me I was patently wrong. Here is what was said:
Anonymous said:
I enjoy your blog, but as a professional swimmer, I can assure you tech suits were not the best thing to happen to us. My contract, and several others, were actually cut from our apparel company thanks to the amount of world record bonuses they were paying out to their American and worldwide athletes. It is much more stable for the "athletic economy" if 100 athletes can have apparel deals with base salaries rather than 10 making a killing on bonuses and the rest of us getting cut because they claim they can't afford us. If you ask any sports agent now they'll tell you that thanks to the tech suit debacle, most contracts are now geared toward bonuses rather than base, and that's not comfortable for athletes nor sustainable for very many.
Yes, I was impressed. I asked if this person if they could do a guest blog so as to truly educate all of us. I then stated that I could guarantee their anonymity if this person posted their article anonymously in the comments section to a long forgotten blog post I wrote. This person agreed.
I guaranteed their anonymity whereas even I do not know who they are. Consequently, I have no record of an email address, an IP address, a service provider, or even a city, or a state but when I read what they had to say, it is obvious that they are an insider.
When you read their perspective it is a pure insider view on how business is done with professional swimmers and tomorrow is part-one!
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