I woke up to this email message: "listen live to a world record open water swimming attempt by Ryan Lochte, Ian Crocker and Neil Walker!"

Steve Munatones dropped me a line this morning regarding the The Flowers Sea Swim which takes place in the Cayman Islands.

Per his post at 10KSimmer: "...Ryan Lochte and other Olympics gold medalists) are attempting to break the men's and women's world record for a one-mile open water swim, but the event is also giving away US$30,000 if the record is broken. ..."

You will be able to listen to the race via live radio coverage as well. Here are the details: [Link]

And speaking of nuclear fission, Michael Phelps owes the dolphin kick to nuclear physicist, Volney C. Wilson!

Amy Shipley from the Washington Post explores the history of the dolphin kick which ultimately transformed the freestyle into a hybrid event. Here is a snippet:

"... The underwater dolphin kick attracted the interest of swimming innovators as early as the 1930s. The late Volney C. Wilson explored its possibilities before diving into later work on nuclear fission and the atomic bomb, according to David Schrader, a research professor at Marquette University who is Wilson's biographer.

Schrader said Wilson, an alternate on the 1932 Olympic water polo team who studied fish propulsion at a Chicago aquarium, claimed to have shown the kick to Johnny Weissmuller, a training mate at the Illinois Athletic Club. ..."

I think Weissmuller would have been way more receptive to it if the flip-turn was part of a swimmer's lexicon.

There are so many gems in this article regarding swimmers Misty Hyman; Neil Walker; local boy, Lenny Krayzelburg; Michael Phelps; and they even bring in propeller heads from the Navy into George Washinton University to study its effectiveness. It is a total must read: [Link]

Thanks for sending this ;-)

FINA World Swimming Championship: Back half of of the 4x100 Relay featuring Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak

I found a YouTube video of the 4x100 relay. Unfortunately it only shows the swims of, Cullen Jones, and a blazing fast, Jason Lezak. We missed the two great swims from Michael Phelps and Neil Walker. (Jason Lezak had the fastest American time of the four.)

Is there a new super-hero or two in town?

Mark called me on the phone today telling me about this kid at Auburn who stormed the NCAA Championships. He referred me to a Lane 9 news story from Swim World that stated the following: "... In one day of competition, Auburn's Cesar Cielo posted four of the fastest 50 free times ever. ..." [Link]

Then it got even better:

"... In an incredibly fast heat, Auburn's Cesar Cielo swept the sprint freestyle events with an NCAA and U.S. Open record of 41.17 in the 100 free. That time surpassed the 41.49 previously held by Duje Draganja of California since 2005. ..."

Then it got even more existential with this swim and comment:

"... Albert Subirats posted the fastest 100 butterfly time ever with a clocking of 44.57 to crush the NCAA and U.S. Open record of 44.72 set by Ian Crocker in 2004. ..." [Link]

The gravity of these swims will rock the swimming world in the months to come and may even end career dynasties. Cielo's hometown is originally Brazil, Subirats is from Venezuela, but are they Americans now? These two swimmers mentioned above are as fast, or most likely faster, than Ian Crocker, Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones. Also, what will this do to the careers of Jason Lezak, Gary Hall and Neil Walker if they are?

Come Olympic trials Ian Crocker may not make it to the Olympics in the 100 free, or the 100 fly. Michael Phelps may be beaten by Ian Crocker and Albert Subirats in the 100 fly thus making him unable to compete in all the events he wants. Next year at Olympic trials, those trials will be more amazing than the Olympics themselves.

USA 4 x 100 freestyle relay WR at Pan Pacific Championships - Cullen Jones just storms it!

The cleanest video yet illustrating Cullen Jones' powerful stroke and flawless technique. Those swimming, Michael Phelps, Neil Walker, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak.