Is Grant Hackett still making excuses over not qualifying for the Olympic games open water event?

Our friend Wendy from "Oz" sent us this, snippet from RTE: "...Men's Olympic 1,500 metres champion Grant Hackett tried to qualify at the same event and he appeared to be targeted by his rivals. Hackett was disqualified after he tried to get out of trouble by swimming over another competitor's legs.

'I saw a couple of times people hitting him and swimming over him and obviously hurt him quite badly, and he just didn't have enough in the end,' said compatriot Ky Hurst. ..." [Link]

I don't buy it. I think open water swimming at that level is all about calculated retaliation.

As seen on TV: Grant Hackett's 48 hour diet!

Wendy of off-the-deep-end sent me this article from The Age in response to that photo I posted of Grant Hackett's plushy belly. Here is what he had to say: "...Do I look like I'm really that overweight? I don't really think I am," said Hackett, who was publicly praised in March for his best performances in years at the Olympic swim trials.

"At the end of the day you carbo load, you have 3.5 kilograms of fluid before you start the race . . . (and) there were a whole set of circumstances and (that was) just an absolutely unflattering shot. ..." [Link]

FINA's side of the Grant Hackett DQ

FINA is having none of the "they targeted Grant Hackett" excuse. Here is what they had to say: "... In the upset of the day, Hackett finished not only outside the top-ten who qualified for Beijing (he finished fifteenth), but was also disqualified based on the FINA Open Water Swimming Rule 6.3.1, which prohibits any one swimmer from interfering with another swimmer by making intentional contact. Hackett’s first infringement (yellow flag) came at 1hr27mins into the race, while the second was within the last 300m, when swimmers desperately scrambled to find the quickest path to the finish. The Australian team subsequently filed a protest, which was followed by meetings with the head referee Mr. Ronnie Wong, but the protest was not accepted, as both the infringements were confirmed by two other referees. “It’s unfortunate that any swimmer should be disqualified,” Mr. Stephen Cassidy, President of the Technical OWS Committee said about the issue, “but I have no doubt it was warranted and that the referees made the correct decision.” [Link]

Grant Hackett just 81 days away from Beijing

Alex Murdock quoting Ian Pope in The Herald Sun: "... He's in great shape. He hasn't missed a beat," Pope said in Melbourne yesterday.

"I'm only guessing here, because I haven't seen those photos, but after a distance race they do puff up a bit. He certainly wouldn't get pudgy unless he's had a lot of food while he was away and he's normally really good about those kinds of things."

Pope said he believed it was probably Hackett's choice of swimwear that had helped make his figure appear more rotund, giving him the dreaded muffin-top look. ..." [Link]

He looks strong & overweight to me.

2008 FINA World Open Water Championships: Warkentin is going to Beijing, Grant Hackett got hammered and DQed!

The qualifying process for the Beijing open water races is awkward. For instance, according to the Steven Munatone's article at Lane 9 News, Chip Peterson did not finish in the top 10. He came close by placing 13th but that did not guarantee him a spot in Beijing. However, Saleh Mohammed, of Syria who placed 23rd will get to go; (rightfully so), since he has rated as the Asian continent's best finisher.

If Chip Peterson is going to go, he needs to race again on June 1st in Beijing in another qualifier race. If Chip does not qualify there, then the selection will be up to USA Swimming.

Here is a snippet from Steven Munatone's Lane 9 News article: "... SEVILLE, Spain, May 4. SIMILAR to the women's 10K championship yesterday, a British Olympic pool swimmer led the entire way until a savvy Russian surged at the end to claim the gold at the 2008 FINA World Open Water Championships. David Davies dragged the entire lead pack of over 40 men around four loops of the 10K course in Seville. Swimming consistently at 41-43 strokes per minutes, Davies lifted up his head every 20-50 strokes as he led the field. ..." [Link]

Above is how close the Open Water race was: David Davies got out touched by Russia's Vladimir Dyatchin by by an arm length. Photo from the BBC. [Link]

In this article by the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian teammate, Ky Hurst, said: "... A lot of the Europeans were rumoured to have said they would target Grant and they unfortunately did, ..."

"Two things came into play with Grant's swim, one he did not have the experience and two he is Grant Hackett and he was targeted big time. ..."

"They swam over him, bumped into the side of him, Grant has a large stroke and bumping into him every time is going to shorten his stroke up and going to hurt him and they were swimming over his legs,"

"That is what they do here, it is not the easiest sport in the world and unfortunately experience comes into play." [Link]

This article from the International Herald Tribune quotes Grant Hackett as to why is was disqualified: "... There were times when there were bodies everywhere — it was that kind of race," Hackett said. "I'm the first to admit that it was never going to be easy and, with 150 metres to go, another swimmer swam over the top of me and pulled me back and I swam over his legs and that's what I was supposedly disqualified for." [Link]

Grant Hacket is 'amped up' for the Sunday's 10km Open Water Championships in Seville, Spain!

I think these are the most enthusiastic quotes from Hackett that I have read regarding an upcoming race. Last Olympics it was all about his "partially collapsed lung" but today it's phrases like:

"I think this is more my forte than some of the events I have had success in before."

"People have seen me swim 200m but this is an opportunity for people like me to show our aerobic capacity

"There are a lot of other competitors who know this event a lot better than me but I have been working with Ky on a strategy," Hackett said. [Link]

Here is an article from last December talking up how well he can do in this event: [Link]

I will honestly be more impressed with Grant Hackett than I am with Ian Thorpe if Hackett can win in both the 1500 and the open water races. I would find it summarily acceptable for anyone to use the names Michael Phelps, Grant Hackett and Mark Spitz in the same sentence when discussing the best male freestyle swimmers to ever swim on this earth.

Steven Munatones talks up his open water picks

Steven Munatones in this About.com article picks his top ten men and woman for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Seville, Spain on May 3rd.

He is favoring Grant Hackett over Vladimir Dyatchin and Thomas Lurz and he also provides his reasons why. He was very generous with his US woman's picks and though I hope he is right, I suspect that Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands will do much better than 9th place; especially if her goggles don't get torn off her face like they did last time. I'm thinking 3rd for her.

Micha Burden should do better than 5th if she doesn't piss anybody off and get another rib broken. (These girls think they are playing hockey or something. It reminds me of a Rodney Dangerfield joke: I went to a boxing match and hockey game broke out!) [Link]

2008 Australian Olympic Trials - Men's 400 LCM Freestyle

Lot's of underwater viewing time of Grant Hackett's stroke. Note how his hands never pull near his center line but rather catch directly in front of his shoulders and he pulls water from there. He looks good!

For better viewing clarity, goto "You Tube" and type &fmt=18 after the URL and then reload. Or, you can click this link where I have all ready included the extension: [Link]

Ian Thorpe front view as compared to Grant Hackett and Larsen Jensen

I see Ian Thorpe's catch and pull closer to his body than say Grant Hackett as seen below. Larsen Jensen's is more to the side. Larsen comes in at the center line, appears to skull out to the front of his shoulder and then pulls towards the side. I actually find Jensen's the most symmetrical stroke.

Grant Hackett tells Elka Graham to name the swimmer who tried to seduce her into taking PEDs

Elka Graham is Australian swimmer/Olympian who silver medaled in the Sydney Olympics in the 4x200 free relay. She was accomplished enough to swim in the Athens Olympics as well.

Elka Graham is quite a personality down under appearing in such TV fair as "Dancing with the Stars," and a TV show called "Glass House" among others.

Graham recently wrote an article stating that she was offered performance enhancing drugs by a teammate while training for the Athens Olympics but that she refuses to name this person. Grant Hackett has subsequently made a statement that she should name this person and Ian Thorpe suggest the same thing as well. Australian Swimming is now talking about launching a probe into her allegations and wants that name. Elka is remaining silent.

It was an ill advised or a plain stupid accusation for Graham to make and she has no recourse but to remain silent for anyone she implicates will simply deny the allegation; (if the doping offer even took place), and with no proof whatsoever other than her own word, she will be placed in a lawsuit she can't win. This allegation should have been made in 2004 ONLY!

The Age [Link], Bloomberg Australia [Link], Herald Sun [Link], USA Today, [Link]

New record in the 800scm freestyle

I got a Swimming World News alert that a new world record was set in the 800 SCM relay. here is a snippet from it :

"...THE Australian foursome of Grant Hackett, Kirk Palmer, Grant Brits and Kenrick Monk took down the short course meter 800 freestyle world record at the Telstra Australian Short Course Championships held in Melbourne on August 31

The quartet clocked a time off 6:52.66 that destroyed the previous record of 6:56.41 set by compatriots Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim, William Kirby and Hackett in 2001. ..."

From Hansen Media in Australia, here is a link with more results of the Telstra Australian Short Course Swimming Championships at the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre. [Link]

Erik Vendt turned and burned and went hydro-ballistic in the 1500m

Erik Vendt stormed the 1500m breaking the 15-minute barrier in a time of 14:57.o1. (Did you know that when you break the 15 minute barrier in the 1500m free a very large bubble pops in your wake and nothing but super-heated, hydrogen steam busts out as the oxygen atoms separate from the H2? It's true! I kid you not! Go ask Erik, Larsen or Grant Hackett.

Erik's splits were SICK! his first 50m was a 27+ and he held 30 seconds for each 50 the whole way. The splits were tighter and more precise than Kate Ziegler's. Here is a link to them: [Link]

This swim was a personal best for Erik, thus violating his last personal best set 7 years ago. (For a swimmer, that is like waiting in dog-years!)

Anyway, Larsen Jensen placed second just two seconds later breaking 15 minutes as well.

I think Grant Hackett is potentially in trouble here.

Here is a detailed writeup at Lane 9 News: [Link]

Mare Nostrum tour Monte Carlo: 40-year-old Dara Torres wins the 50 free in 25 flat

Dara Torres: The four-time Olympian who wants to make it five scored heavy in Monte Carlo!

Erik Hochstein once told Bill and I; (Erik and Bill can be seen swimming in the UCLA Bruins Masters Swim Meet movie), that if Dara Torres makes it to the finals at Olympic trials, and she gets up on those blocks, and she hears the crowd, and she knows it could be her last 50... And then he started cracking up! Well, she swam faster last week but today she swam like it was her last 50 and beat two notable simmers.

In the Mare Nostrum at Monte Carlo, Dara handed everybody their bum in the 50 free in a time of 25:00 flat! Victims include Jodie Henry and Alice Mills. Can she get even faster?

Peter Vanderkaay felled Hackett in the 400 free in a time of 3:48.02

Natalie Coughlin was there too. grabbed a third in the 100 fly. Swimming World Link: [Link]

Hackett versus Vendt in the 1500m at Mare Nostrum: This went completely under my radar!

Grant Hackett and Erik Vendt went toe-to-toe in the 1500m at the Mare Nostrum meet yesterday with both of them nearly swimming under the 15:00 barrier. When all was said and done, less than a second separated Grant Hackett's victory over Vendt.

"...Hackett came out on top in 15:00.58 with Vendt not far behind in 15:01.54. ..." [Link]

Erik has to be stoked since he not only held the Olympic champion to less than a second but that he could be swimming faster than Larsen Jensen; (Larsen Jensen swam an 8:12 for an 800m yesterday at the TYR Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo. Vendt swam nearly twice as far at a faster pace.)

Mare Nostrum Swim Tour: Dara Torres is swimming fast, Super Fast!

Dara Torres is 40-years-old and this weekend she swam a 100m free at the Mare Nostum tour in Canet, France in a time of 54.61 which is is .19 off her Olympic Bronze in Sydney at age 33.

Contrast this to Amanda Weir's 100m free winning time of 56.13 at the Charlotte Ultra Swim; (results), and the fact that Amanda Weir is little more than half-her-age makes the accomplishment even more extraordinary. Here is a Swim News article about the Mare Nostrum event: [Link]

Here is an Yahoo/Eurosport recap on the event that spends the first couple of paragraphs discussing Grant Hackett 400m win; (He is still off his best times), above: [Link]

Grant Hackett swims 40 - 45 miles per week!

What Grant Hackett swims in a week, I swim his low end figure in a month. Hackett will be racing in Europe at the Mare Nostrum series this month so as to put the FINA World Championships behind him, get some confidence and do some race practice. From the article:

"For me, it's important to get up on the blocks and be competing and racing and get that type of fitness back but, at the same time, to not drop off the training too much," Hackett said.

"I'll still be doing 65-70-kilometre weeks while I'm over there, which will be quite intense. The results aren't what I'm looking at at this stage, it's really just stepping stones towards getting myself back to the fitness I need to be competitive and in the mix next year for Beijing." [Link]

Kates Ziegler breaks water

Kate Ziegler will be both the new Laure Manadou and Grant Hackett in Beijing. I think she is unbeatable in the 1500, and the 400. I don't know what her third event is; the 800?

I found out today after asking a coach who knew Janet Evans as to how much yardage she put in. He replied 10k a workout. Then he clarified that she did doubles. That's right, 20k a day. Laure was asked to do 15 to 17 a day and she felt that was to much. (I do too.)

Phelps inspired by Beijing's 'Water Cube"

I really do not like the architectural design for this aquatics facility. It's called the Water Cube and this will be the venue for all things aquatic for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Phelps and Katie Hoff gush:

• We went and saw it yesterday and it's definitely pretty cool," Phelps said during a visit to Shanghai on Thursday. "I think it's going to paint a picture for Katie and me in our my minds too, to really help us prepare for next year and get us more and more excited," he said. Covered in futuristic bubble wrap, the box-like National Aquatics Center, or "Water Cube," is one of the most striking of the venues going up for the Summer Games, at which Phelps is expected to dominate the swimming competition. [Link]
  

What mystifies me is that Katie Hoff is there, Michael Phelps, and Grant Hackett too with all of the above talent "pimping" the Water Cube, and Chinese swimmers. Why are they doing this? Why is there such a marketing effort as part of this aquatics facility build?

Here is a article that I feel might explain why. This paper is written in India; a country some believe has a national rivalry with China, so the article could be biased. [Link]

Here is an article that touts how marvelous the transparent plastic used to build this aquatics facility is. [Link]

Is it me or do sirens go off in your head about this pool when you read words like: semi-transparent plastic, chlorine, and direct sunlight. It sounds to me like it could become a mold and petrochemical nightmare.

Here is a link to the pool they should have emulated: The Munich Olympic Pool [Link]

Grant Hackett in Slow Motion

Note that he only kicks when he is about to breathe. I do that and I hate myself for it. I feel I should always be kicking in some symmetrical fashion. I am going to try and implement a Laure Manaudou two-beat kick instead of my current "tom-tom shuffle".

I found this video on a swimming blog called SwimmingScience. There is a critique therein of Grant's stroke.

Timing of the Arm Stroke in Freestyle Swimming

I linked to this site a day or two ago with a movie they featured of Grant Hackett and Ian Thorpe swimming side by side. Well, I couldn't get enough so I started clicking through the site and I found this page: "Timing of Arm-Stroke in Freestyle Swimming."

Therein are movies of Inge de Bruijn solo, Grant Hackett & Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim & Ian Thorpe, and Alexandre Popov & Gennadi Touretski all swimming against each other.

There are illustrations and photo illustrations of the freestyle arm timing and a critique discussing the difference between a sprint pull versus a distance one. I think this site is vital for triathletes or those experimenting with style. The site is in both Swiss/German and English. [Link]