'Speedo' to release a new version of their 'Fastskin' model - teaser photo included!

Speedo invited me to an event in New York which will introduce their new Fastskin model for the Olympics. It's called the Fastskin³ or if you are a math geek, the "Fastskin-cubed." [Link leads to basic math page.]

The invitation was kind of cool looking and I will post it once the event is over so as to share the images. For now the teaser shot above possibly features the new Fastskin³

From Speedo PR:

SPEEDO GAINS FINA APPROVAL FOR FASTSKIN³ TM

World’s Leading Swimwear Brand set to Unleash its Newest, Pioneering Swimwear Innovation

LOS ANGELES (November 25, 2011) – Speedo is set to unleash its newest pioneering swimwear innovation after gaining FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) approval for a concept which is a world first for the sport of swimming – the Speedo FASTSKIN3.

The ground-breaking new development will be unveiled globally on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 and will be worn by Team Speedo USA superstars Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte, Dana Vollmer, Tyler Clary, Katie Hoff, Jessica Hardy, Christine Magnuson, Peter Vanderkaay, Kate Ziegler, Kara Lynn Joyce and Garrett Weber-Gale, and Speedo-sponsored international stars Rebecca Adlington (GBR) and James Magnussen (AUS), and many more, throughout the coming year.

Developed in Speedo’s top-secret global research and development unit, Aqualab, the brand has collaborated with world leaders in sports technology and science along with a number of the world’s leading swimmers to produce what is by far Speedo’s most advanced swimwear design since the introduction of new FINA regulations in January 2010.

The name FASTSKIN is known within the sport of swimming as being synonymous with Speedo’s reputation for pioneering new swim technologies, and FASTSKIN3 sees the famous name underpin an entirely new swimwear innovation.

Swimming phenomenon Ryan Lochte has led the early acclaim for FASTSKIN3, saying: “I’m like a single force, now I’m unstoppable.”

Speedo International President David Robinson said: “We are set to unveil an innovation that will inspire our swimmers and revolutionize the world of swimming once more. Everything comes together on Nov. 30 and we can’t wait to unveil the results.”

The new Speedo competitive swimwear range for 2012 will be available in December 2011, along with the 2012 Team Speedo Collection, a new line of deck wear and team apparel inspired by Speedo’s top stars, which will also debut at the Nov. 30 event in New York City. The event will also showcase products from Speedo’s 2012 Active Recreation and Swim Fitness lines.

I can't go due to work commitments but I am going to try and get an interview with their designer.

A swimmer named Mercedes Gleitz helped make 'Rolex' what it is today in the marketplace!

I bumped into this while searching for reasons why Rolex would sign up Tiger Woods as a brand ambassador after being dropped by Tag Heur. The answer to that question is in the article and it is not as obvious as you think.

I post the article to show how high the pedestal for swimming once sat. So high in fact that that a female swimmer had the credentials to change how Rolex marketed itself for the rest of the century and beyond thereby contributing to the creation of a $5.5-billion company.

How Rolex became "Rolex" in the marketplace - From Slate Magazine:

"... The final secret of the brand: sports marketing. Rolex essentially invented the practice, according to Thompson. When a swimmer named Mercedes Gleitz crossed the English Channel in 1927, wearing a waterproof Rolex, Hans Wildorf marketed the bejesus out of the fact that the watch had survived intact. Rolex now sponsors countless golfers, tennis players, yachters, and adventurers. The longtime Rolex slogan is “A crown for every achievement”—meant to conjure feats of athletic prowess, exploration, and, yes, gray flannel corporate advancement. ..."

[Link]

Wait, isn't ASCA suppose to be the "watchdog" to ensure coaches are credible and safe to be around?

Here is a thought I shared with a friend:

Hello XXXXX,

[...]

I got to get to that ASCA post! - My premise is that they are the certifying body that USA Swimming outsourced the job of certifying coaches to. If anyone should be the "watchdog" making sure USA Swimming coaches maintain respectability it was suppose to be ASCA.

Tony

Since those who read this blog are more educated and better versed into the black arts of the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA), I ask you to ponder these question and if you like tell me what you think privately or in the "Replies" section:

1. Is ASCA equally responsible or primarily responsible for ensuring a coach is credible and safe to be coaching kids?

2. Should ASCA have been the doing background checks instead of USA Swimming?

3. ASCA is paid to be the professionals that ensure the best coaches possible for USA Swimming - Are they?

4. If you were the USA Swimming CEO: would you find a better certifying organization, take the job in-house, or would you try and fix them?

The photo above? That was a 13-year-old age-grouper who grew up to be quite a swimmer. Her name: Dara Torres!

Major NASA discovery: A great lake exists on a moon of Jupiter!

A water related story from NASA. If Jupiter has water, it could feature some sort or organic life.

Personally I think the odds of life in the universe are quite high; however, I think the possibility of intelligent life or an advanced civilization like ours is highly unlikely. Just think how many animal, fish, reptile, bird, fungi, and bacteria phyla have existed? It has to be in the trillions-and-trillions yet only was one form of life out of all of them was intelligent. That is just a snippet of the odds against a planet having intelligent life.

Now how is that for an argument starter?

Bring it!

French coach in China: “When you’ve got a gold medal here, you’re somebody. When you have a silver, you’re not.”

One company is actually paid big bucks to predict the medal count of each nation. When discussing their business to the New York Times, snippets about Australia's and China's abject desire to win sneak in.

From the New York Times:

"...But Infostrada is not always the bearer of glad tidings. The Australians, to cite another example, have been losing medal-table momentum since staging the smash-hit Summer Games in Sydney in 2000.

“They have decreased step by step every Olympics in overall medals, and we are seeing that line is going further down,” Timmermans said.

The Australians won 58 medals, 16 of them gold, in Sydney and were fourth in the overall medal table. They were fourth again in Athens in 2004 with 49 medals and fifth in Beijing in 2008 with 46.

Australians continue to make sport a local and national priority, and from their small population base of about 20 million, they produce a remarkable number of top-flight athletes in a variety of sports. ..."

[Link]

The Olympics features nothing but recreational sports yet the desire for a country to use those sports as a public relations activity to brand their country as "superior" or "so very boss" ultimately classifies the Olympics as a commercial.

I think there is something very powerful here. On face value all this is absurd and yet the countries carry on like it is a battle - a nation is great not by the athletes it creates but by it's ideas.

Take Japan for an example: Their GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is nearly twice that of Russia and is more economically successful than any nation in the European Union. It has few resources than India or Russia but it has turned it's ideas and innovation into gold!

Ideas are a better investment than athletics.

Michael Phelps signs two-year shampoo deal with Procter & Gamble

Michael Phelps signs a presumed seven-figure deal to be the spokesperson for Procter & Gamble's, Head & Shoulders shampoo. P&G is stoked!

However, It reminds me of that Kurt Vonnegut quote when the United States had landed a man on the moon: “For that kind of money... the least [NASA] can do is discover God.”

In other words, for a seven-figure sum USA Swimming could have bundled the whole mens national swim team in a licensing deal and paid them 5-digits each to be the spokespeople. (Except for Lochte and Phelps since their rates are too high.)

Australia Swimming does that kind of stuff. (I have seen the contract.)

"...Michael Phelps is a three-time Olympian and one of the most iconic global athletes of our time," Belen Carazo, the director of global communications for Head & Shoulders told Reuters ahead of the announcement.

"We feel that Michael Phelps is a great ambassador for confidence -- when performing at the highest level of sport, there is simply no room for doubt."

P&G said the contract with Phelps would run for two years, until 2013. The company would not reveal the financial terms of the deal although industry experts said the swimmer's fee would almost certainly be a seven-figure sum. ..."

[Link]

I bet we see Michael Phelps in 2016 in Brazil - What else can he do for a second act? A million-reasons that all contain the name George Washington in them can be rather compelling so I am not buying Octagon's rhetoric as written in the article.

So, if I was USA Swimming, I would be hitting up health clubs, airlines, supermarkets, and finally shampoo and cosmetic companies.

Bangor Daily News: Does panic cause death in triathlete swimmers?

Panic is an overly harsh emotion to say the least. Panic is synonymous with either "life or death moments" or in it's milder forms: "Employed or fired." Thus, no swimmer or triathlete has any business trying to emulate a prepared athlete on race day if there is a potential for panic. Nerves are one thing, abject panic is another.

The writer investigates the cause of triathlon deaths. Should this person have ever been racing in the first place? - From The Bangor Daily News

"... In my first triathlon about 15 years ago, I was in a huddle of wet-suited men about to wade into a lake in Maryland when an acquaintance next to me offered a singularly useful piece of information.

He said it was common for people to have panic attacks in the swim leg of triathlons, which are races that consist of swimming, cycling and running various distances, in that order. He’d done a few. We knew each other from training three mornings a week in a bright, clear Olympic-size pool.

“You’ll see. Within the first hundred yards or so, a couple people will swim right to the shore. They’ll be freaked out. The race will be over for them.”

In a minute, we were standing in water so dark you couldn’t see anything a foot below the surface. The bottom was squishy underfoot. It was not yet 8 o’clock in the morning. The wet suit, which I’d put on only a few times before, was tight around my chest and cold as the water seeped in.

The starting horn screeched.

Fifty or 60 of us, all wearing identical swim caps whose color denoted the age and sex of our starting group, began to swim. We collided and had our faces bumped and kicked as we made our way into open water. Within a few minutes my heart was racing, I was breathing fast and I was scared to death, although I wasn’t exactly sure why.

I rolled onto my back to calm down and let the pack move on. As I sculled slowly, I looked to the shore. Two men were climbing out on all fours.

I think of that day each time I hear that someone has died in a triathlon. ..."

[Link]

If the first time you ever swim in the ocean or a lake is on race day; you are not properly prepared. Racing add lots of random issues that you can't practice for like colliding bodies, choppy water from all the thrashing, and of course race day adrenaline. To add complete inexperience to the mix is a recipe for a very bad day.

Some Tips: Try being a moderately strong pool swimmer which means being able to swim a mile in under 35-minutes while holding a 2-minutes-per-100-yard pace or better. If that is hard, you may be over your head - join a masters swimming team and get swim-technique instruction. I do not endorse those "swim fast plans" that suggest by just doing swim drills alone you will be a great swimmer. Drills are tools for practice but you need to swim laps with good coaching.

Swim at least 6-times in the ocean or a lake as a "dress rehearsal" weeks before your race. Even do a warm-up swim on race day to prepare yourself for the cold water and reduce the nervous feelings you may have. It really helps. (Yes, I do that sometimes and it reduces nervousness by 50% - your experience may vary.)

When I do the Alcatraz Sharkfest, I swim a day or two before at Aquatic Park to get acclimatized so to speak. When I jump off the boat into the water on race day, I am prepared for how much it is going to hurt. I also know how long it will take for the pain to go away and for my body to get use to the water. This includes hyperventilating and/or a fast heartbeat. (I try to be one of the first people in so when the race starts, I am nearly use to the water.

If you are slow, go towards the back. Trust me, it is easier to follow than to lead.

Every great athlete knows when to quit. Failing only makes you better. Why suffer a lifelong injury or death when you can learn by just avoiding it. Even the great Julie Moss took herself out the 1983 Ironman mere miles from the finish to protect her body. Use that "failure" to inspire you to train better.

If any friend or athlete encourages you not to wear a wetsuit by insulting you for wearing one, remember that this is a recreation and don't let anyone bully you into how you should participate in it. Those people have the compensation issues not you. I myself will only swim in an open water race without a wetsuit if the water temp is over 65-degrees and the sun will be out. I am there to have fun not to prove anything.

The Alcatraz Sharkfest swim has about 800-competitors who swim the race each year. 120-swimmers choose not to wear a wetsuit. Without the wetsuit division and with only 120-swimmers able to compete, the race would be too expensive to put on and most likely would be canceled. Wetsuits are good for swimming and allow for lots of open water races to occur. Don't be ashamed to wear one.

Caveat: I am not a coach nor am I a champion - all of the above advice comes from personal experience alone. These tips are simply bits of information I have learned throughout the years.

Available for Download - David Berkoff evidentiary emails in the Jane Doe versus USA Swimming/Indiana Swimming lawsuit!

I have a time- stamped lawsuit complaint filed November 10, 2011 with the Marion County Superior Court Civil Division, signed by the clerk Elizabeth L. White that I promised to make available for download but I have a problem...

At the bottom of the document is some email-related evidence to validate statements made in the complaint by Jane Doe's attorney. This includes reference emails between David Berkoff, to Mike Saltzstein, Ken Stopkotte, and others. One email even includes Mr. Berkoff requesting "scuttlebutt" on two or more blacked-out names or situations. Who or what was he asking about and why was he asking? Where do his loyalties really lie and would you trust him if you were part of the USA Swimming management? Another question: Why would he say such things to these people with so much commitment and emotions?

I have no problem posting a public document but I do have a problem revealing email addresses and phone numbers. I promised to make the document public and I actually uploaded it for download but I am having second thoughts in regards to the privacy of those concerned. Hence, I am going to post the David Berkoff evidentiary portions of the brief above but black out the email addresses and phone numbers myself.

Click on the images above to read them.

I have received the Jane Doe versus USA Swimmig lawsuit brief filed in Indiana!

I have read the lawsuit brief from cover-to-cover but there is a caveat - a large caveat: The brief I received is not time-stamped by the court meaning it may not be current, it may not the original submission, or in an extreme circumstance it may be fabricated. I suspect that this alleged brief is real. I also want to note that it removes the unverified and presumed accusation that USA Swimming had received a complaint directly from the victims and did nothing. In other words this brief may be considered more favorable to them than the press has been.

With that in mind, this brief is still an extraordinarily hostile document towards the offending litigants and is a serious indictment on USA Swimming, John Leonard's American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) and the culture therein. These organizations have summarily been indicted for not just dragging their feet but purposely stonewalling background checks among other rules that would have prevented a lot of travail and suffering.

The accusations below are made by a current USA Swimming Board Member quoted within the brief:

Pages 13-through-15 of the alleged brief:

Jane Doe, by her Father and next friend,

Plaintiff

vs.

United States Swimming, Inc.
Indiana Swimming,
Metropolitan School District of Lawrence
Township,
Christopher Wheat,
John Diercks, and
Amanda Juntunen Cox,
Defendants.

[...]

Line 88: [...] USA Swimming Knew Its Coaches Were Sexually Abusing USA Swimming Young Girls, But Consciously And Recklessly Refused To Adopt Any Athlete Protection Policies, And Even Enabled Predator Coaches And Covered-Up Their Crimes By Refusing To Timely Investigate Molestation Complaints And Moving Sexual Predator Coaches To Another City

88 Continued: At various points since at least the early 1990’s well intentioned athletes and volunteers inside USA Swimming attempted to address the rampant sexual abuse in the sport. In the early 1990’s, then USA Swimming Board of Director David Berkoff (a former gold metal Olympic winner and now attorney in Montana who has regained a position on the USA Swimming Board) headed a “sexual abuse subcommittee” for child protection, principally a thorough background screening program on coaches. The subcommittee’s recommendations were staunchly opposed by the swim coaches lobby called the American Swim Coach Association (“ASCA”) and its Executive Director John Leonard. Mr. Berkoff stated:

“The issue of sex abuse of swimmers was something that I raised to the (USS) BOD in 1990 or 1991. I suggested background checks and a formal code of conduct. That was shot down by coaches as unfeasible and intrusive. As you all know, it took 7 years from the date that we formed an abuse subcommittee in 1992 to get a code of conduct in place [in 1999] and 13 years to get background checks implemented [in 2006]. A few of you have mentioned that you made similar recommendations to USAS and that these requests fell on deaf ears.”

USA Swimming Knew Its Coaches Were Sexually Abusing USA Swimming Young Girls, But Consciously And Recklessly Refused To Adopt Any Athlete Protection Policies, And Even Enabled Predator Coaches And Covered-Up Their Crimes By Refusing To Timely Investigate Molestation Complaints And Moving Sexual Predator Coaches To Another City

88. At various points since at least the early 1990’s well intentioned athletes and volunteers inside USA Swimming attempted to address the rampant sexual abuse in the sport.

“I am also a former swimmer and swim coach who has witnessed the very slow reaction of USA Swimming to sexual abuse problems.....The problem as I saw it at the time [when serving on the USS Board of Directors in the early 1990’s] was that there was a paralysis of action. No one wanted to report it because they feared either political repercussions or a slander law suit. Perhaps this fear was understandable since there were no rules, no guidelines, no code of conduct and no discussion until relatively recently. I co-chaired a USA Swimming co-committee in 1992 or 1993 when I was an athlete representative on the BOD. We discussed the issue of abuse and what to do. All on the subcommittee were very concerned. John Leonard, the now President of ASCA [American Swimming Coaches Association], was on the subcommittee and he was pretty critical in moving the issue to the forefront. Our committee did compose the initial abuse guidelines. One of the ideas that I had at the time was to require background checks. I recall that it was not feasible because of technology and cost. I resigned from the BOD in 1994 for other reasons.” (emphasis added).

89. In yet another email, Mr. Berkoff is critical of both USS Executive Director Chuck Weilgus and the manner in which USS has failed to investigate sex abuse claims against its member coaches (see Exhibits A and B). States Mr. Berkoff:

“There is no way that I can support Chuck Wielgus being in charge of the decision to investigate a charge of abuse or not. That decision must be made by an independent entity. Any claim should be investigated as is the law in Title VII sexual harassment claims.”

Let it be known that I had endorsed David Berkoff to be elected back onto the USA Swimming board but once elected, it was as if all of the above rhetoric was seemingly forgotten. [Backpedal insult involving jumping into a speeding car moving in the opposite direction at very great speed deleted...]

There has not been a public peep out of Mr. Berkoff in regards to any of the above accusations since taking on his new position other than to endorse USA Swimming policies and it's CEO. Now his words are being used against USA Swimming and he is going to have to clarify, retract, or endorse his accusations. I personally think it will be a reasonable question to ask Mr. Berkoff how he feels now or what has possibly changed since being elected.

As for the American Swimming Coaches Association or (ASCA) - if the accusations below are true, how can this guy actually look at himself in the mirror each morning? Now here is why I say that:

"... Line 101: When the official Code of Conduct was enacted in 2009, the language relating to mandatory reporting changed, again at the urging of Mr. Leonard and the American Swim Coaches Association (“ASCA”), to when a coach is “convicted” of a crime as opposed to being “under investigation” by a police agency. ..."

Convicted? I am all for the presumption of innocence but I am also inclined to believe in "safety first" especially when a potential witness is in close proximity to alleged predator. There is this concept called a "suspension." However, I am more inclined to believe that John Leonard; (the same guy who threatened to sue me), cared more for the coaches than he did for those being coached. Why is it that the idea of suspending a coach under police investigation was seemingly out of the question for this guy? The kids being coached should always be the focus. Why wasn't it the focus in 2009 for ASCA and USA Swimming?

Now, here is the conclusion - Perhaps if both organizations put the kids first instead of spending inordinate amount of resources via lawyers trying to figure out how to pass the buck and not get sued, perhaps they would never have to worry about getting sued, or passing the buck in the first place?

We seemingly have two organizations here that are more concerned with profits rather than protection and that is the sort of culture that got USA Swimming into this mess in the first place.

When I get a brief that is time stamped I will provide a link for download.

I put together a timeline based off the USA Today article regarding the Christopher Wheat/USA Swimming molestation lawsuit in Indiana!

2001: It is alleged that swimmers - note the plural tense - told two assistant coaches at Lawrence North about Christopher Wheat's sexually inappropriate behavior. These allegations were then forwarded to, John Diercks, the head coach at the Lawrence swim club who is alleged to have never bothered to contact law enforcement officials about these allegations. That same year Christopher Wheat resigns.

2003: Christopher Wheat is hired back at Lawrence North club by John Diercks. It is further alleged by the victim's attorney, Jonathan Little, that Wheat was hired back despite that USA Swimming, the Lawrence school district and even Indiana Swimming knew of these allegations and allegations made by parents as well.

2009: Text messages to Christopher Wheat and a coach named, Amanda Cox, the McCutcheon High School swim coach and head of the youth team Maverick Aquatics, strongly suggest if not prove that Coach Cox also had knowledge of his behavior:

The text messages in question referenced from USA Today:

Wheat, in the messages, admits to having a relationship with a young girl. He describes her as the "blonde one" and names her friends.

Cox says "OK! That's was imy (sic) first thought."

Wheat describes being depressed and tells Cox the girl's mother had chaperoned a sleepover at the new pool the previous day -- and both Wheat and the girl were there.

[Wheat]: "Her mom kept asking me what's wrong … I wanted to say well I have been making out and the like with ur daughter … and well she called it quits earlier today" and "now I have 4 years with her … ugh … who knows where this one goes …

[Cox]: "D`amn"

[Wheat] "what"

[Cox] "Age"

[Cox] "But good catch … now put her back in the lake and chalk it up as an experience, smile about it occationally (sic), and upgrade to college … Or a vacation w/ boys."

[Link]

Upgrade to college? Vacation with boys? It sounds as if they are talking about "sky miles" or "travel options." How absolutely pathetic and degrading!

The victim's attorney as quoted by USA Today categorically states that swimmers and parents knew of Wheat's sexually abusive behavior and even forwarded these allegations in some way to the USA Swimming organization, The Lawrence School District, and Indiana Swimming. This is a bold statement and it sounds like there is a minimum of four witnesses here and it is alleged that nobody called the police, nobody advised that the police be called in so as to investigate and nobody bothered to ban the coaches.

These allegations will be easy to prove or disprove: Were there emails, stamped letters, phone records to any of the above organizations? If so will the memberships or these organizations still remain apathetic and not ask for a regime change?

Unfortunately, I think they will.

USA Swimming releases a statement regarding the recent sex abuse lawsuit filed against them in Indiana!

To the left of this post is the pedophile that sexually abused a swimmer in Indiana. His name is Christopher Wheat and he subsequently pleaded guilty to his crime and is now serving time.

The text messages he sent admitting guilt were severely creepy on many levels - the primary content that really disturbed me is that he definitely knew that what he was doing was not only illegal but that he seemingly could not control it. The link below has some snippets of the conversation.

Below is the complete statement as quoted by WTHR.com from USA Swimming in regards to new lawsuit:

"We have received several press inquiries related to a press conference given by an Indiana attorney announcing the filing of a lawsuit against USA Swimming and Indiana Swimming. At this time, USA Swimming has not been served with a suit so we are not in a position to comment on these claims. However, to the extent that the attorney has claimed that USA Swimming has a culture of protecting pedophiles, that is categorically untrue. There is nothing more important to USA Swimming than the safety and well-being of its 300,000 members. For that reason, the organization has developed one of the most comprehensive Athlete Protection Programs among Olympic Sports.

"In addition, the attorney's allegation that USA Swimming had been warned of sexual abuse by Chris Wheat is also untrue. The first instance that USA Swimming learned about abuse by Chris Wheat was when we were notified of his arrest in September 2009. Upon learning of the arrest, USA Swimming immediately implemented the process to expel and permanently ban Chris Wheat from USA Swimming which was accomplished shortly thereafter in December 2009."

[Link]

I cannot fine the lawsuit brief - The crux of the USA Swimming statement and the allegations therein are summarily the old Watergate cliche: what did USA Swimming know and when did they know it. If the answer is as that say, September 2009, as firmly stated above, then the allegations are a non-issue and people like me should acknowledge their integrity.

If a complaint was sent well before the arrest which the accusers state was in 2008, then this is pretty serious.

Sexual Abuse lawsuit filed against USA Swimming alleging no action taken after a child abuse claim was made.

This one is from ESPN: I personally don't think the article was written very well; (I should talk, right?), but it does seem balanced towards each side.

There was a coach in Indiana; (why does Indiana keep coming up in these lawsuits?), and his name was Christopher Wheat who coached for the Lawrence Swim Club there. He eventually pleaded guilty last year to two counts of felony sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of felony child solicitation.

Apparently it is being alleged that USA Swimming officials didn't take action after complaints of inappropriate sexual behavior by Christopher Wheat took place. USA Swimming denies it but if there is another "This matter should be kept confidential by both you and us Chuck Wielgus email" out there stating much the same thing then the organization must take responsibility for it.

From ESPN:

"... USA Swimming, in a statement released Thursday night, said it has not received a lawsuit but denied the claims made by Little. [The child's attorney]

"To the extent that the attorney has claimed that USA Swimming has a culture of protecting pedophiles, that is categorically untrue," the statement said. "There is nothing more important to USA Swimming than the safety and well-being of its 300,000 members. For that reason, the organization has developed one of the most comprehensive athlete protection programs among Olympic Sports."

According to the lawsuit, the girl's mother called Tony Young, the sports development director for Indiana Swimming, in 2008 to complain of abusive training methods and sexually inappropriate behavior by Wheat with a separate female swimmer. Young allegedly ignored the complaints instead of reporting the incident as required by Indiana law.

"In addition, the attorney's allegation that USA Swimming had been warned of sexual abuse by Chris Wheat is also untrue," the statement said. "The first instance that USA Swimming learned about abuse by Chris Wheat was when we were notified of his arrest in October 2009." ..."

[Link]

More details and a "mugshot" at the IndyStar : [Link]

Surfer with a Jetski assist "catches" a 90ft wave! - He actually called it surfing!

Using a Jetski to catch a wave and calling it surfing is like using a "Ecureuil/AStar" helicopter to land you on top of Mount Everest and then after walking down from the mountain stating you climbed it in record time!

Surfing is not water-skiing onto a behemoth wave while standing up in a fixed position with a surfboard attached to you feet and/or ankles. How can you call it surfing when a Jetski Chauffeurs you around like a rich old lady into the wave at 25mph so as to remove all the athleticism, dexterity and both gravity and momentum concerns? (Yea, yea, yea, water-skiing takes skill but it is not surfing.)

What would Olympian Duke Kahanamoku; (3-gold medals, 2-silvers), the founder of modern surfing think of being towed into a wave by a machine that spills oil and gas into the sea?

Riding the "biggest wave in the world"with a Jetski assist is nothing short of "vanity surfing" and definitely illustrates some serious personal compensation issues therein. Ken Bradshaw was the first to display his "peacock feathers," now it is some guy named Garrett McNamara is apparently a bigger "peacock" now.

From the Mail Online: [Link]

Chad Le Clos on Michael Phelps

From Xinhua:

"...The 19-year-old said the success of American phenom Michael Phelps showed it was possible to compete in multiple events, though his foremost strength was still in the butterfly races.

"So I am just trying to maximize my potential. You know, just to see how many events I can swim. It is not easy swimming a lot of events back to back. I am preparing myself for the future," he said. ..."

[Link]

I beleive in GOSwim.TV - There is no better coaching resource!

I should have asked first before posting this but how good would this blog be if I measured my words?

I got some screen grabs from some of the Go Swim videos and I making a few banner ads for them pro bono. Here is just one of them featuring Brendan Hansen.

People learn with the eyes and by practicing. Watching a Go Swim technique video before a workout meets 50% of that requirement. TRY IT! A great coaching resource to say the least.

Go Swim videography has produced the best instructional technique videos ever bar none - [Link]

Therese Alshammar loves walls - she also loves winning!

You do your fastest swimming either in the air on off the wall. Alshammar glows at both! Therese Alshammar once again dominates in Short Course Meters racing in Singapore!

To say that Ian Thorpe "Fizzled" is both ignorant and biased!

This is Ian Thorpe's first race in 5-years. Per his own words he said he had forgotten how to swim whenhe returned to the pool yet he was very glad to be back. In other words, he missed the pool rather than his "golf game" or next casino ground breaking!

Though he is swimming through this meet, he finaled, his turns looked magnificent and it was great to see him race.

Swimming World should be more measured when qualifying a great as they did using the hyperbolic adjective, "Fizzled," to describe his 7th place result in a final. We never see such adjectives when Phelps bombs a race but we do get to hear his excuses.

Here is a guy who has gone for zero to a FINA final in less than a year place three seconds behind the world record holder in the event, Chad le Clos! Libby Tricket placed 5th in her return to swimming, Did she "fizzle" too? What outrageous rhetoric!

SKY News has a much more measured response to his race than Swimming World. Has quotes too:

Thorpe, returning to competitive racing for the first time in five years, took plenty of positives from his result in the 100m individual medley final on Friday night, saying it was a great starting point in his return.

The five-time Olympic gold medalist improved on his heat swim to clock 56.33 seconds in the final, and was particularly pleased with the butterfly and backstroke legs of the swim.

And the 29-year-old was far from pleading for patience after the performance, saying he hoped and expected to improve quickly as he aims to win a spot on Australia's team for next year's London games.

'I don't expect patience.. you know, people want to see me do well and see me do well quickly ... I'd prefer to do that and I'd prefer not to wait,' Thorpe said.

'It is what it is... I haven't swum for a long time and I've got to take stock of where I was 12 months ago to where i am now.

'I'm in a final, swimming, reasonably well.. I'm happy and I've made improvement.'

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More to come...

Who would win in a fight: Ian Thorpe, Eamon Sullivan or James Magnussen? We will find out next week!

Thorpe will be swimming the 100-free - I hope he "storms it" or puts in a time on par with his best. It's funny how an athlete can not only be an underdog but barely a dog at all and still be the focal point of a sport within the Common Wealth Commonwealth. (Google search trends validates that statement.)

As for Ian Thorpe: For the Common Wealth Commonwealth countries, Ian Thorpe is their swimmer. He hangs with both royalty and indigenous Australians. He is liked from the the upper class and down through to the struggling underclasses. He will be racing Eamon Sullivan next week:

From the Herald Sun:

Thorpe officially starts his comeback in a World Cup meet in Singapore tomorrow by competing in the 100m individual medley.

Sullivan may also race Thorpe in the 100m freestyle in the final World Cup leg in Tokyo next week.

"I had not even thought about it," Sullivan said, with a laugh. "I did not even know he was doing it (freestyle). I thought he was just doing IMs and all weird events."

"Look, I am looking forward to it but at this point of the preparation it isn't about competitors at all. It is about how I am racing and the stuff I am doing. It is more about practice than thinking about beating people.

"It is a completely different ball game than when you are coming up to Olympic trials. Especially where I am at at the moment it is not in my mindset to worry about other people."

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UPDATE: Who is more ripped: Thorpe or Lochte? - A video interview with Thorpe with an amazing silhouette of his physique.

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This is a factual headline: "...Athletes Seek Out Stem Cell Therapy!"

So I am cruising around checking out stem cells stocks between doing some design work for Virgin Mobile US and and a presentation for WEN shampoo. Lo' and behold the most eye-opening headline I have read this year from the website called Seeking Alpha: Read. Decide. Invest. pops onto my radar

The article needs this preface: Using stem cells gathered from a patients' own fat - a procedure that yields more stem cells than from a person's own bone marrow, a super healing product may have been created.

"Good Sign For Cytori Therapeutics: Athletes Seek Out Stem Cell Therapy!

Based on Hedrick’s research, Cytori Therapeutics has invested over $200,0000,000 to develop and patent its Celution® technology platform, a technology that quickly and efficiently extracts rich concentrations of ADRCs from small portions of fat, and to develop supporting disposable instruments that are used to treat various human maladies. This is the big bet that has yet to pay off for shareholders, but the ground work is certainly being laid. Adipose has a distinct advantage as a source of regenerative cells in that it contains 300-500 more stem cells than bone marrow, is easier on the patient to extract and does not come with the moral baggage associated with embryonic stem cells. ..."

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I am not an investor in Cytori Therapeutics, nor was I paid or directed to post this article for any sort of exchange or quid pro quo deal. I do own a stem cell stock which I won't mention and I own it because their work is addressing a field which could have positive effects for someone I hold very dear. I post this report because it is weird on many philosophical levels. Are we at a point where rich people can heal faster than poor people? I think so - it has probably always been that way. How much would you pay or go in deep in to debt to alleviate a chronic pain, a failing body part, perhaps correct your vision or fix your hearing? For real, answer in the comments section.