Rijeka: 2008 European Short Course Meters Championships - New WR for Amaury Leveaux in the 50-meter free!

This was posted on You Tube an hour ago. Amaury Leveaux in a semi-final swims a 20.63! 20.48!

1 LEVEAUX Amaury FRA 20.48 NEW WR
2 BOUSQUET Frederick FRA 20.69
3 DRAGANJA Duje CRO 21.15
3 LAGUNOV Evgeny RUS 21.15
5 ORSI Marco ITA 21.32
6 FESIKOV Sergey RUS 21.42
7 NALESSO Mattia ITA 21.46
8 MURPHY Barry IRL 21.62

Two long standing world records fell this weekend and I confirmed that one of the WRs was set while wearing the Speedo Lazr

I got a Swimming World News Alert today regarding Kristy Coventry from Zimbabwe who set a world record in the 200 LCM backstroke at the Missouri Grand Prix in a time of 2:06.39. The previous world record set by Krisztina Egerszegi stood for 17-years but she bested it by 0.23 seconds. I wrote Jason M. at Swimming World asking if she was wearing the new $500 Speedo Lazr at the time and he confirmed that she was.

Eamon Sullivan from Australia set a world record in the 50 LCM free at the New South Wales Swimming Championships in a time of 21.64 besting the previous record by 0.08. I don't know if he was wearing a Speedo Lazr at the time but he is a Speedo sponsored athlete.

Here is a Wiki-link of the 50 LCM world record progression which includes the names, dates, the times and the nationality of those who have held the world record in the 50 LCM: [Link]

The photo above came from a Stuff.Co.NZ article which includes four more photos of Australian swimmers wearing the Speedo Lazr and their positive comments regarding it. [Link]

I am still critical of how the suit looks; (sci-fi, a video-game-like uniform), but producing one world record or possibly two if Eamon Sullivan was wearing the suit is delivering.

Libby Lenton jokingly "trash talks" Michael Phelps before racing him and then sets a world record in the 100 free

They have these races called "Duel in the Pool" whereas Australia and the United States send their best racers to compete. In this case Libby Lenton the female Australian swimmer who I liken to Michael Phelps, got to race against Phelps in the 4x100 relay. Therein she set a world record for the 100 freestyle in 52.99 seconds which will stand since she was the lead-off swimmer and there was no rolling start. [Link]

• "I was trash talking ... asking what he has got and telling him if he is going to bring it tonight,'' Lenton said, joking. ``I think deep down he was really scared of me.

• "Before the race he said good luck. He is a good competitor to race against and I will remember that for the rest of my life, that I raced against Michael Phelps.'' [Link]

2 World Records in the IM: Phelps and Hoff

Look at Phelps' Sternomastoid muscle bulging in his neck as he strains to look at the clock. Boy, you know he wanted that record.

Michael Phelps has now won more medals in a FINA World Swimming Championship than Ian Thorpe and he now matches Mark Spitz. Last night Phelps made it 7 gold medals by breaking his own world record in the 400 IM by over 2 seconds in a time of 4:06.22.

There hasn't been a swimmer this inspired since Mark Spitz or Ian Thorpe.

I joke with friends that I am not convinced that Katie Hoff is a land dwelling animal. Her butterfly is dolphin-like, the pull on her backstroke defies physics, and her freestyle seems effortless after swimming the 3 events before. Katie set broke a seven year old world record in the 400 IM in a time of 4:32.89.

This USA team is the strongest in history. If it maintains this momentum you will be seeing phrases next year at Beijing stating that the US is a "world swimming superpower" and they won't be read as hyperbolic either but rather accepted as a fact.

Michael Phelps should have been disqualified in the 200 meter free?

UPDATE: After reading the rules it appears the black markers are most likely placed at the 13 meter mark.

RULE: "... The color of the floats extending from the walls the distance of 5 meters for long course and 15 feet for short course shall be distinct from the rest of the floats. Distinctive colored floats, or markers extending around the full circumference of the floats, shall be placed at 15-meters (49' 21/2") from each end wall in both short course and long course pools. Additionally, in long course pools, a distinctive warning line or lane markers may be placed at a distance of 13 meters from each end wall.

It appears that on the third turn of the 200 free, Michael Phelps', head inadvertently emerges well past the 15 meter marker. A swimmer is not allowed to swim underwater on a turn for more than 15 meters or 16.4 yards. In the photo above Phelps' head and arms are well past the 15 meter mark and he hasn't even emerged.

I want to stress that this is seemingly inadvertent and not intentional. Nonetheless, he should have been DQed and the gold given to Pieter Van Den Hoogenband.

You Tube Video of the 200 meter free: [Link]

USMS Rules with FINA reference: [Link]
USA Swimming - Officiating Championship Swimming PDF: [Link]

Libby Lenton is movitaved

So far Libby Lenton has won two gold medals: One in the 100 butterfly and another in the 4x100 relay. She has a silver and bronze too. She is the favorite in three individual events coming up and then swims another two events after that. Here are the remaining events: The 100m freestyle, 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly and two relays.

Though Libby is motivated, really motivated, she still has obstacles. One of those obstacles is the Australian press who is suggesting that she could win 7 gold medals and the Australian press is no fun if you lose even if they use the word "could" because the word "could" in Australian means "She will win or else we will write what a lazy bones she was in training."

Now, add Natalie Coughlin who has actually trained in Australia and swam an Australian meet last year to prepare. Natalie is hungry and she wants to win as bad as Lenton and with Natalie setting a World Record in the 100 backstroke that can be pretty inspiring if you are going to swim against Libby Lenton.

If Lenton can win 3 golds out of the 5 to me that will be a Michael-Phelps-like accomplishment, an accomplishment the Australians need due to the disarray the men's team seems to be suffering. A feat as amazing as Michael Phelps or Ian Thorpe and she should be recognized if she pulls it off.

The Herald Sun: [Link]
Sky News Australia: [Link]
The Australian: [Link]

"I have a secret, I see slow Australians and they don't even know they are slow..."

Meet Kate Ziegler; the new Janet Evans. Sure Laure Manaudou has been swimming faster than Janet Evans did but so has Kate Ziegler.


From Wikipedia:

• Her most recent records were set at the 2006 Tom Dolan Invitational, there she broke both of Janet Evans' distance records (SCY). With her time of 15:37.17, she broke Janet Evans’ former record of 15:39.14, set on March 17, 1990 in Austin, Texas. Her time of 9:21.57 in the 1000y free shattered the previous mark of 9:24.80, which Ziegler set last year at this same meet. Her times was also a U.S. open records and the 17-18 age group records. Ziegler now owns all three of the distance records (SCY)previously held by Evans.

• In February 2005, at the FINA World Cup stop in New York, Ziegler won the 800m in 8:16.32, breaking Sippy Woodhead's 25-year-old American Record in that event, which at the time was the oldest American record on the books. (Sippy Woodhead swam with SCAQ)
  

At the American Short Course Yards Championships she clocked a 4.39:54 for a 500-yard-free and a a 1:46 flat in the 200-yard-free so this girl is doing her hydro-ballistic ballet to astonishing results. Kate is going to formidable against the Australians.

Michael Phelps breaks his own world record in the 200 LCM butterfly at the Missouri Grand Prix

The world record now stands at 1:53.71. The previous world record he set, a 1:53.80, was at the Pan Pacific Championship on August 17th.

Hopefully he shaves that mustache for World Championships in March because right now he looks like a refugee from a really bad episode of COPS.