I thought Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler were going to be unstoppable!

Well, that shows me! Though Hoff's bronze and silver are impressive; (despite that "don't break a nail" touch at the wall" in the 400m), both swam about 1.5% slower than their personal bests in the 800, an event I thought they both would own. What happened?

From the L.A. Times: "...Katie Hoff, and Kate Ziegler to a lesser extent, found out the long hard way on Thursday night, both failing to qualify for the final of the 800-meter freestyle. Hoff looked utterly spent in her final race at the Olympics, wearily pulling herself out of the pool after the third heat of the event at the Water Cube.

Hoff may not have been last to touch -- having been third in her heat -- but she was last to clamber out after a startling 8-minute, 27.78-second performance. Her winning time at the U.S. Olympic trials a little more than a month ago in Omaha was 8:20.81. ..."

I question her motives and her perception of taste!

Amanda Beard poses nude again just in time to grab all the attention away from Katie Hoff, Kate Ziegler, Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, Kara Lyn Joyce, etc. etc. etc. and become the de facto showgirl for women's swimming.

The Powerade nudity I posted earlier rules for it's all about celebrating the human body in motion. This PSA for PETA has Amanda Beard posing sexy and nude and though it is an anti-fur ad, it apparently is all about Amanda Beard, her nationality and her sexuality.

I was just starting to like her again too. She worked incredibly hard to make the Olympic team which illustrated an incredible work ethic when you compare her times from a year ago. She did a PSA for shark protection awareness and now this silly PSA for a political organization with a spotty record of their own in regards to animals rights abuse. PETA has even been known to use physical intimidation and battery against those that wear or write about fur. [Link] -- (Though this linked site is hyperbolic, it links to source references.)

Another pop-culture, attention-grab by the "Paris Hilton" of Swimming. If you want to read her; what I believe to be a faked quote regarding fur, it's here in the L.A. Times: [Link]

Disgruntled winner! - Michael Phelps fuming after the 400 IM

Isn't that a lovely photo? What good sports they all are. I hope Cate Campbell enjoyed her stay.

So, Michael Phelps is mad! I think this is a good sign! When Phelps gets mad, he is like Michael Jordon sticking out his tongue just before going an airborne at the free-throw line to make an aggressive dunk. Michael will now go back to the "factory" and get busy and I can't wait to see what he does!

Here is a snippet from the Washington Post: SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 16 -- It was difficult to tell who won the gold medals here Friday. American Michael Phelps, the top male swimmer at the 2004 Summer Games, stalked around, fuming at himself and thoroughly, completely, utterly disgusted with his result -- which, by the way, was an easy victory by more than a second and a half in his specialty, the 400-meter individual medley.

U.S. teammate Natalie Coughlin, meantime, the top female swimmer at the 2004 Summer Games, proclaimed herself surprised and pleased with her performance in the women's 100 final -- a race she lost for the first time here in eight years. She broke her own American record despite finishing second to a shocked 15-year-old Australian by the name of Cate Campbell who has never competed at a major international meet.

Lots of stuff in there about Ziegler too: [Link]

Camelia Potec beautifully filmed with a surprise ending as well!

Featured above is Camelia Potec. She is the Romanian swimmer that soundly defeated Laure Manaudou in the 400 meter free at French Nationals last month. Manaudou was so devastated by this loss that she later capitulated in the 200 meter free and will not swim the event in 2008.

Like an ass, I thought Potec was a French swimmer and I had to be corrected by two readers. I should have looked her up immediately after that correction and I would have found this video.

She may even be the favorite to beat Kate Ziegler in this event at Beijing. Put her on your radar.

Michael Phelps swims without his new 'Speedo Lazr' at the 'Missouri Grand Prix'

Michael Phelps swims a 1:55.26 in the 200 fly at the Missouri Grand Prix sans a Speedo Lazr. I wonder if the other swimmers like Dara Torres, Katie Hoff, Kate Ziegler swam without the Lazr as well. You would think that they would have worn one since Speedo has been showboating it all over creation.

Here is a Baltimore Sun article about the Michael Phelps and the Missouri Grand Prix: [Link]

Laure Manaudo has had three coaches in 2007 now she may switch once more!

Laure Manadou has proven that she can swim fast no matter who coaches her. Heck, I could even coach her and she would still win. (Hey Laure, I'm available, call me!)

Lane 9 News reports that Manaudou is: "... in negotiations with the Mulhouse club according to France's Laurent Horter." ... "This newest move would put her under the tutelage of Lionel Horter, who coached Roxana Maracineanu to a world title in the 200 back in 1998. ..." [Link]

APF says: "... The triple world champion was attracted by being able to train regularly in a 50-metre pool alongside top-level swimmers, including Stasiulis, Amaury Leveaux and Aurore Mongel. ..." The inset photo is from AFP of Manaudou and her new boyfriend, Benjamin Stasiulis. (French backstroke swimmer.) [Link]

I think the 400m free in Beijing will be close one between her and Kate Ziegler. I am not convince that Ziegler will lose either. As for the 1500m,800m free; Zeigler will so own that race. (I have made that mistake 3 times - I think in 2012 they will have a 1500m for the women) At FINA Worlds last year Manaudou ultimately conceded it to her; could that happen again?

Kate Ziegler in the 400 SCM in Essen, Germany

Her stroke count per lap is nineteen. Watching her swim is like watching a Swiss clock tick.

Kate Ziegler's 2nd World Record in the 1500 SCM

Kate Ziegler is the new Ian Thorpe.

Kate Ziegler's World Record swim in the 800scm

Everything about this swim is great, the dive, the turns and look at her kick.

Laure Manadou won't swim next month in the FINA World Cup in Sydney

Laure Manaudou will not be swimming in next month's Fina World Cup in Sydney. The Daily Telegraph states that last Saturday she pulled out with no immediate explanation provided. [Link]

My favorite Manaudou source, Maly, who has ocassionally postec on this blog said this on a Timed Finals message board: "... I read yesterday in L’Equipe that Kate Zeigler had [fired] her up, I think that is good for her because Laure likes swimming against something or someone , it motivates her more. ..."

The photo to the right can be seen at guyomedw photo stream at Flickr.com. Here is a direct link to the photo: [Link]

Could Kate Ziegler be the new Ian Thorpe

She broke her record again in the 800 SCM lowering her time from 8:09 to 8:08. (I guess the first record was just a warm up. ;-)

With all of the drama surrounding Laure Manadou, who or who isn't coaching her, the lawsuits, the acrimony, I would have to say that Kate Ziegler now has to be the favorite for the gold medal in both the 800 and 400m free.

I find it astonishing that a women's 1500m free event does not yet exist in the Olympics. If it did, Kate Ziegler would be crowned the new "Ian Thorpe" for I think she would dominate the 400, the 800 and the 1500 meter events.

Article roundup: [Swimming World Link], [USA Today Link], [International Herald Tribune Link],

Here are the split times from Swimming World:

1. Kate Ziegler 1988 The Fish/USA 08:08,00 1051 WR

50m: 00:28,72 (00:28,72) 100m: 00:59,22 (00:30,50)
150m: 01:29,78 (00:30,56) 200m: 02:00,48 (00:30,70)
250m: 02:31,15 (00:30,67) 300m: 03:01,96 (00:30,81)
350m: 03:32,75 (00:30,79) 400m: 04:03,73 (00:30,98)
450m: 04:34,65 (00:30,92) 500m: 05:05,46 (00:30,81)
550m: 05:36,35 (00:30,89) 600m: 06:07,13 (00:30,78)
650m: 06:37,84 (00:30,71) 700m: 07:08,48 (00:30,64)
750m: 07:39,30 (00:30,82) 800m: 08:08,00 (00:28,70 )

Kate Ziegler photo and caption is homage to LOL Cats: [Link]

Email Alert from 'Swimming World': Kate Ziegler sets new WRs?

Kate Ziegler may have set a new world record in both the 800 and the 1500 SCM whose records were was previously held by Laure Manaudou if this news report is correct.

Here is a link to the news report at Lane 9 News: [Link]

I would have included a photo of Kate Ziegler but no photographer at Flickr.com will allow it, consequently, enjoy the loss of brand equity and facial recognition, Kate!

I have posted a photo of Laure Manaudou instead who is seen above smiling and wearing my favorite swim brand. This pleasant photo was taken from guyomedw's photostream at Flickr.com. Here is a direct link to the photo: [Link]

From Swimming World news alert:

Kate Ziegler Breaks 800, 1500 Free Short Course Meter World Records in Germany
ESSEN, Germany, October 12. ACCORDING to a post on the SG Essen web site, Kate Ziegler added to her world record total with a pair of short course meter global standards at the Alex Athletics Challenge in Essen, Germany.

Ziegler clocked a time of 8:09.68 in the 800 free to lower the previous standard of 8:11.25 set by Laure Manaudou of France in Trieste, Italy on Dec. 9, 2005.

Ziegler also captured the 1500 free world record with a time of 15:32.90 to demolish the previous record of 15:42.39 set by Manaudou in La Roche-sur-Yon, France on Nov. 20, 2004.

There is a new Sheriff in town and her name is Kate Ziegler?

Laure Manaudou and Kate Ziegler have become the new Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps rivalry. Like Ian Thorpe, who was appearing to be on the ropes a year before he retired, Laure Manaudou is looking a bit beat up as well. Despite that Kate Ziegler owns both the 800m and the 1500m world records, Manaudou still gets top billing in that rivalry and apparently Kate Ziegler does not want to wait till Beijing to change that.

Kate Ziegler is now in Europe, (if the website Swim News is accurate), to challenge Manaudou's SCM records at the "... Essen International next week with her sights set on the global standards achieved by her French rival. ..." If she does that, then there is a new sheriff in town and her name is Kate Ziegler. [Link]

Above is a YouTube of Kate Ziegler racing Laure Manaudou at Worlds.

Here is a list of sixty-two video sharing sites!

UPDATE: Bad Link has been fixed!

Above is the greatest swim fan video of all time. I believe it may be the only film of Kate Ziegler breaking Janet Evans' 19-year-old world record at a TYR Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo.

If you have a swim video that you would like to upload, of course there is YouTube, Daily Motion, Google, and my favorite, BrightCove, but these sites frequently receive take down notices despite the fact that the person or persons claiming copyright infringement do not have the right to do so.

If this sort of nonsense ever happens to you, here is a list of sixty-two video sharing sites that will host your swimming videos. [Link]

I am looking into fair use laws regarding the filming of games or events of any sort. It is hard for me to believe that the NFL or MLB would take someone to court for bringing a camera to a ballgame and filming a minute or two.

Clay Evans just sent me this - It puts Kate Ziegler's swim in perspective

[Don] Schollander averaged only 1:04.1 to win the 1964, 400m in a 4:12+.

Burton averaged only 106.5 to win the 1968, 1500m with Kinsella averaging 107.8 for the silver.

They seemed like Gods to me back then but so slow now. I think in my prime with some more distance free I could have done those times? I think I made 7 out of a set of 10 x 100 @ 1:10 meters in 1980 and that was in a workout when I was going for only the 100 fly. Strange.

Kate Ziegler would kill them all. As a matter of fact she would "LAP" Burton and Kinsella in a 100 meter pool if we threw her back to the 1968 Olympics 1500m free. Think about that! WOW! Girl laps men and wins by over 100m. Looking at Masters, 45 year old Masters swimmer gets silver to Burton circa '68 by only 4 seconds in 1500m. 40-year-old men win gold by 10 seconds in 68. How is it possible? McConica is close to Burton's times now. Wasn't he almost there in '68?

It seems that the1972 Olympics is about like an elite 35 or 40-year Masters Swimming Age Group record.

I wonder about the girls?

I don't know why I didn't figure this out before.

I guess it was to obvious. If you go to flickr.com/search, type in your favorite swimmers, you will see photos taken of these individuals from different perspectives. Here is are link to just a few swimmers:

Kate Ziegler
Laure Manaudou
Michael Phelps
Ian Crocker
Filippo Magnini
Natalie Coughlin - Check out her start dives

The above photo is of our patron saint, Natalie Coughlin, who isn't afraid to race in a bikini! (Loving that floral print.) This photo uploaded to Flickr by guyomedw who as an amazing set worth looking at.

High altitude is becoming trendy with swimmers.

From Lane 9 News: "... To look at what can happen shortly after altitude training, one just has to look at Kate Ziegler's world record in the 1500 free set just days after coming down from Colorado. ..."

Nineteen Japanese swimmers were in Flagstaff, Ariz., training for the Japan International Grand Prix meet in August. Two of the top swimmers in attendance were Tomomi Morita, who won a pair of bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Hanae Ito, who won the women's 100 back at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships. ..." [Link]

If you click on the link there is an interview with the coach of the Japanese team as well. Here is where they will be training I believe: [Link]

The above photo was taken by Erik_found. His image is hosted by Flickr. Ibelieve the Japaanese willl be swimming there.

The results are mixed that high altitude training works yet the Japanese team, the French team and even Kate Ziegler who broke the great grandmother of all swimming records had just finished training at high altitude before setting the new world record in the 1500m.

All right, so how do I know the results are mixed? In the 1993 Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports; (Volume 3 - Issue 4 Page 256-262 - December 1993), found that High-altitude training does not increase maximal oxygen uptake or work capacity at sea level in rowers. An abstract of the article with numbers and figures is here: [Link]

In 1998 A.Baker & W.G. Hopkins, Altitude training for sea-level competition In: Sportscience Training & Technology. did a study stating it was best to live up high but train down low. Here is a snippet:

"...Training near sea level while living at an altitude of 2500m (8000 ft) for a month enhances subsequent endurance performance, probably by increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood through an increase in production of red blood cells. A small proportion of athletes shows no improvement or even reduced performance with this "live-high train-low" strategy, but the enhancement for the average athlete is 2-3%."

The difference between the live high, train low versus the live high and train high goes as follows:

"...The difference in performance between these two groups after altitude training averaged 2.5%. But it's important to note that the altitude group showed only a marginal improvement in performance, and only at three weeks after the return from altitude. In contrast, the control group performed worse and had not recovered fully by the end of the study. ..." [Link]

I think it's high altitude training is questionable. The increase in ability appears to be barely barely measurable unless you live at 7,500 feet and train at sea level

Laure Manaudou, Kate Zeigler side by side

My first art teacher told me that when you go to a art museum, go there with a particular premise in mind or a particular problem you need to solve. For instance, if you are having problems with line, study how each artist delivered his line. If it is color, note the artists' color palette. Same with tone, composition, or meaning.

Olympian, Erik Hochstein, said my hips and legs sink when I get tired so I am looking at other swimmers whose legs don't sink when they get tired for inspiration. Enter, Laure Manaudou, and Kate Ziegler. There are no better distance models to look at than Laure Manaudou or Kate Ziegler. (Okay, there is Grant Hackett, Ian Thorpe, Larsen Jensen, Erik Vendt, but Ziegler and Manaudou are easier to look at.)

Note how high Kate Ziegler's hips ride in the water on the last 100m a scompared to Manaudou. She dominates the last 100m with better technique and a strong kick, a kick she only used on her flip turns to retain momentum and to add momentum during the last 100m to beat Manaudou, the only swimmer who has at that level.

'Pacing' by Clay Evans

[Pacing is apparently the paradigm for spectacular swimming. We are seeing it with Michael Phelps and Kate Zeigler as well. Clay Evans wrote an article for SCAQ members regarding pacing.]

PACE PACE PACE! For those of you who are ocean swimmers and don't think pacing is important, take a look at Kate Ziegler who just broke Janet Evan's 19-year-old World Record in the 1500, the oldest record on the books. She broke the World Record by 11 seconds holding nearly precision timing pacing. See her splits below for her world record:

15:42.54:
29.23 31.26
31.60 31.37
31.71 31.57
31.60 31.53
31.54 31.60
31.79 31.68
31.59 31.56
31.43 31.51
31.34 31.51
31.65 31.67
31.44 31.51
31.72 31.75
31.38 31.99
31.59 31.72
31.42 29.27

You can bet she did this over and over in workout until it felt second nature to her. She was definitely in a groove. This applies in the ocean as well. If you know your pace and are in a groove when you swim you will finish stronger and without dying at the end of the race. Everyone has an optimal pacing speed. You need to spend some time in the pool going back and forth and working with the clock, to know what that pace is for you personally. This comes from clockwork, during warm-up, main
sets, kick sets and warm down.

You can be sure that in the open rough water you will need to return to your pace. Something will interrupt you or throw you off pace and you need to be able to find your pace again and return to it. Pacing not only means finding your racing speed and sticking to it, but also means holding back a little. If you go out, or begin, a race too fast you will struggle with fatigue at some point in the race. Fatigue will result in poor technique, which will in turn slow you down. If Kate Ziegler had started her race too fast she could never have held another 14 100's at that pace. She knew what she was doing. She had practiced it over and over.

If you have no kick and no hope of ever getting one then this is how you want to swim

The rotation of her turnover is amazingly symmetrical and maintains momentum so well. If you look at Ziegler or Manaudou you will see a similar stroke.