'New York Times' article from 1913: Senior class member from Columbia University could not swim so he got no degree upon graduation!

In 1913 for a student to obtain his B.A. he had a final requirement to demonstrate that he could swim. if a student could not swim, the student received no degree. Here is a link the NYT which provides access to a PDF file: [Link]

'New York Times' - Masters Swimmers are getting FASTER!

But we all knew that, didn't we? Dara Torres has really put the spotlight on our sport.

See that 60-year-old looking guy to the right? Well he is not 60-years-old; He's 75-years-old and he is a masters swimmer named Stanley Shechter out of New York. Recently he swam a 100 free SCY in a 1:12.57. Keep in mind that the average life expectancy for a male born today is something like 76-years-old but Stanley apparently is going to last a heck of a lot longer than that.

Snippet from the New York Times: "...Chief among the reasons that Masters swimmers are becoming faster, say coaches, researchers and swimmers themselves, are improved stroke mechanics and new training methods emphasizing intensity over distance. This is good news both for those who like to race, and for those taking to the water for fitness at any age.

As people age, they lose muscle mass and cardiovascular capacity, which declines at a rate of 1 to 1.5 percent annually. But for those who exercise regularly, the rate of decline is slower, researchers say.

“Before, it was thought that athletes peak at 25,” said Scott Trappe, the director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University. “But now this whole paradigm is getting shifted. People are paying attention to their own fitness and nutrition.” ..." [Link]

I know I have said this quote a least two or three dozen times now from Mike Freshly but this article inspires me to say it again: "Show me a runner who is 70-years old and he looks like 90! Show me a swimmer who is 70-years-old and he likes like he is 50." The above photo illustrates that nicely.

Chris B. sent us this article and it was very appreciated.

The 'New York Times': How The USA won the 4 x 100 relay!

Jason Lezak - "Most valuable player" on the United States Olympic Swim Team!

From the New York Times: “...I think it had a lot to do with why we did so good,” Walters said Tuesday night after the Americans broke an Olympic record in the relay preliminaries, delivering Lane 4 to Phelps and Company for Wednesday’s final. “That really was the race of the century.”

It was as if the American men’s upset victory over France — and Lezak’s blistering anchor leg of the freestyle relay that made sure it happened — started an outbreak of endorphins on the United States team.

“We gained a lot of momentum,” Natalie Coughlin said after winning her second consecutive gold medal in the women’s 100 backstroke. “It was probably the most amazing swim I’ve ever seen. It got a lot of us pumped up for the rest of the meet.”

Matt Grevers, who placed second behind his teammate Aaron Peirsol in the 100 backstroke, said, “The way Lezak finished that race, it really moved me. ...” [Link]

"Bird nest" stadium review with photo gallery!

I think the reviewer opinions here are pompous, but then again so are mine. For instance The reviewer slams the 1936 Olympic stadium as a symbol of fascism which in my opinion the stadium was more an art deco structure rather than a political statement.

If the Chinese Olympic Stadium or the "Bird nest" is a political statement it would probably be that of "globalization is good" since every venue structure they have was outsourced to western firms whereas most countries who host an Olympics use their own designers and architects.

What makes a country great are it's ideas and contributions. All these ideas were outsourced hence the "globaliztion" theme.

Snipet from the New York Times: "...During sports events, it glows with energy: the hue of its translucent skin shifts from game to game with the colors of the teams. Inside, the steep pitch of the seats creates the impression that the 70,000 spectators are coiled tightly around the field. It’s a masterly way to choreograph the focused hysteria of a soccer match.

But in Beijing, the architects were clearly striving for something more heroic. The centerpiece of a vast Olympic park in the northern reaches of Beijing, the stadium is raised on a mound of earth to give it a more monumental presence. Its matrix of crisscrossing columns and beams was conceived as a gargantuan work of public sculpture.

Viewed from a distance, the contrast between its bent steel columns and its bulging elliptical form gives the stadium a surreal, moody appearance, as if it were straining to contain the forces that are pushing and pulling it this way and that. Philosophically, it suggests the tensions just beneath the surface of a society in constant turmoil. ..." [Link]

LOL - Wow! that shows me!!! What do I know about architecture? (Also, you may have to login for this article.)

Cyndi Gallagher knew what it took to get Amanda Beard to her fourth consecutive Olympics!

Remember when I was trash-talking Amanda Beard last year about how slow she was? I predicted she wouldn't make the team; (Remember, I am always wrong too.) She rarely finished in the top two but at trials, she certainly found a way and she credits her coach, Cyndi Gallagher!

A profile on the contributions of female swim coaches in the New York Times: "... Gallagher is nurturing, but without her nudging, Beard is convinced she would not have qualified for her fourth consecutive Olympics. “Cyndi is the whole reason I’m on the team,” said Beard, who placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke at the United States trials in Omaha on July 4. “She’s just a stud.” ..." [Link]

Here is her coaching profile over at UCLA: [Link]

Open water swim vacations article in the 'New York Times'

The article has a 'swim vacation' slant to it discussing how swimmers are centering their vacations around open water swimming. (I'm thinking about it.)

"...In London, SwimTrek bills itself as the world’s only swimming vacation operator. Its most popular destinations are the Greek Islands and Croatia. The latest addition is a series of two-day swims along the Thames in June, July and August. Beginning in the village of Lechlade, in the Cotswolds, participants swim a little over four miles a day downriver, cruising from pub to pub (giving new meaning to the term “pub crawl”). The finish line is the Trout Inn near Oxford, where the stone Tadpole Bridge crosses the Thames. Most tourists to the area drive, walk, bike or boat along the country waterway. But who wants to join the masses? With a swim, the reward is a sense of place that’s uniquely memorable. ..."

Four links to various swim vaction sites are provided.

"O2 Doping?" Just breathe pure oxygen; (empahsis on pure), then hold your breath for 16-minutes-nine seconds!

Clay Evans just sent me an article from the New York Times about the street magician, David Blaine, who has just nearly set a world record for holding his breath underwater for a full 16 minutes!

It appears that we have a shared reflex with dolphins: "...In his current training, he said, he does exercises every morning in which he breathes for no more than 12 minutes over the course of an hour, and he sleeps in a hypoxic tent in his Manhattan apartment that simulates the thin air at 15,000 feet above sea level. [...]

When Mr. Blaine began his breath-hold in the pool, his heart rate during the first minute fell to 46 from 81, a drop that was not entirely his own doing. Immersing the face in water produces a protective action in humans similar to that in dolphins, seals, otters and whales. Called the mammalian diving reflex, it quickly lowers the heart rate and then constricts blood vessels in the limbs so that blood is reserved for the heart and the brain.

By exploiting that reflex, free divers can remain active underwater for more than four minutes, and much longer if they remain still. The world-record holders have exceeded nine minutes after filling their lungs with ordinary air, and more than 16 minutes after inhaling pure oxygen. ..." [Link]

Could or would swimmers do this for the 100 or the 200 fly?

Why do muscles get sore and tired? - "The New York Times" found out!

This article was sent to me by a fellow SCAQ swimmer after reading about the lactic acid sets that Olympian/NCAA Champ, Rada Owen, and Olympian/bronze medalist Erik Hockstein conduct every Sunday for SCAQ Swimmers.

Here is some astonishing info regarding what really causes muscle fatigue and it has nothing to do with lactic acid. From the New York Times: "... For decades, muscle fatigue had been largely ignored or misunderstood. Leading physiology textbooks did not even try to offer a mechanism, said Dr. Andrew Marks, principal investigator of the new study. A popular theory, that muscles become tired because they release lactic acid, was discredited not long ago.

In a report published Monday in an early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Marks says the problem is calcium flow inside muscle cells. Ordinarily, ebbs and flows of calcium in cells control muscle contractions. But when muscles grow tired, the investigators report, tiny channels in them start leaking calcium, and that weakens contractions. At the same time, the leaked calcium stimulates an enzyme that eats into muscle fibers, contributing to the muscle exhaustion. ..."

This study has implications for those with heart issues too. Please take careful note of the last paragraph. [Link]

The New York Times - Remedies: Swimmer's Ear Easily Fixed With Right Treatment

New York Times says that you should not use antibiotics to treat ear infections: "...In fact, oral antibiotics are often ineffective and should not be used unless the infection extends beyond the ear canal, the recommendations say.

The guidelines, based on a review of the medical literature, were called the first comprehensive, evidence-based recommendations for doctors treating swimmer's ear, once known as acute otitis externa.

Among the highlights, the guidelines say, the condition should be treated with topical antiseptic and antibiotic drops, which tend to be more effective than oral antibiotics and are not as likely to produce antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [Link]

The "illo" to the right comes from the American Family Physician website. Therein are more treatment options as well. [Link]