Omega has built a new starting block that has received FINA approval

I first heard about this starting block at Timed Finals. Timed Finals gives a link to the source of the info as well; a Reuters story out of Australia: [Link]

An individual commenting on the post links to photos of the new starting block at the Race Club website. Go there and look: [Link]

"Texas Swimming" blog spanks 'Timed Finals'

My dad started out as a used car salesman and eventually became an editor of some sort for the Hollywood Reporter. Every morning before school he would get me up at 5:30 A.M., throw some clothes at me, and we would drive from newsstand to newsstand to see which one had gotten the Hollywood Reporter or the Daily Variety first. He would hand me 50 cents so I could buy them for him and then we would return home for breakfast.

At the kitchen table he would underline sentences from the Army Archerd column in The Daily Variety, and then do the same thing to the guy who wrote the gossip column for The Hollywood Reporter.

One morning, I got fed up with getting up so early so at breakfast I asked "what are you doing, you underline these sentences every morning?" He replied back, "I am writing my column." And I said, "No you not, you're copying, you're cheating!" It didn't go over well at the kitchen table but ultimately my dad plagiarized his way into entertainment journalism.

Well, that is what Scott Goldblatt, the editor of Timed Finals, is being accused of doing by the swim blog, Texas Swimming. I have accused him of it too and I understand that a particular writer for the Australian press is getting wind of this sort of nonsense as well.

All Scott has to do to alleviate this criticism is to ensure he credits his sources. If he doesn't, he and the parent company of Timed Finals, the Wasserman Media Group, are going to become irrelevant to swimming.

My dad shamefully got away with it circa the 1960's, but in the age of the internet whereas everything is databased, that isn't going to happen.

Here is a link to the Texas Blog spanking. The photo to the right is the Texas swimmer himself: [Link]

'Sportsnet' took 'Timed Finals' off their link list!

I went to Sportnet.com to see if I could find some swim videos; I found some here: Link, which I cannot embed them. However, something odd happened when I visited the site this morning versus when I visited the site tonight.

Here is some background: The Wasserman Group owns Sportnet, they are also the same people that have a marketing deal with USA swimming. This is what surprised me: Lo and behold, this morning they listed TF or Timed Finals as one of their properties; meaning they own them. However, now it is gone!

What also is a bit weird is that they list USA Swimming as one of their properties but how can USA Swimming be a property of a corporation when it is suppose to be a non-profit or non-governmental body? Freudian slip or bad grammar.

I cannot provide a photo because I am afraid they will send legal ninjas after me like they did to the people that posted that YouTube video that got removed. Reference: [Link]

You have heard of 'Timed Finals' - Now here is 'Timed Prelims'

I have nothing to do with this satire site making fun of Timed Finals: [Link]

UPDATE: THE TEXT MESSAGES ARE ACTUALLY REAL

Always, Always, Always credit your source. If you don't, then you stole it.

UPDATE: I got a report that Lane 9 News posted 30-45 minutes before Timed Finals.

I was plagiarize once and it hurt. The guy actually got my rhetoric about Ian Crocker's butterfly linked to by an Arizona newspaper as well. I nearly spit at my monitor when I saw it! Well, I am seeing it happen to someone else now.

Here is a writeup about a sectional in Oxford, Ohio

This quote from Lane 9 News: "...Colleen Schweitzer of Ohio State knocked off Sheila Carson of Club Wolverine ..." [Link]

This quote from Timed Finals: "...Colleen Schweitzer of Ohio State knocked off Sheila Carson of Club Wolverine ..." [Link]

Coincidence? Well, I think not!

The meet was held in Oxford, Ohio, not Dayton, Ohio, but both publications called it the Dayton Sections thereby making the same error on the same day. Timed Finals making the error in the headline and Lane 9 News in the body. (I think I know who published first.)

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark -- William Shakespeare's, Hamlet: [Link]

Something is fishy in Denmark -- Inspector Clouseau -- Some Pink Panther movie: [Link]

This just in: Michael Phelps pulls out of 'Mare Nostrum'

Breaking! Look at me, I can be just like the Drudge Report too. You know, write the word "BREAKING" in red-number-10 and take credit for somebody else's story!

Nahh, I won't do that, but I will credit Timed Finals with an amazing "scoop" noting that Michael Phelps is pulling out of Mare Nostrum to focus on US Nationals! [Link]

Very smart idea! If Michael Phelps wants his weight in gold medals he needs to win every event he swims. Going to Mare Nostrumto to face the world would probably be easier than facing Ian Crocker and teammate Davis Tarwater so consequently the eye on the prize at US Nationals is a very sound decision.

Timed Finals has re-entered the building and it's news feed is back in the right-hand links column

Olympian Erik Hochstein's observations while watching FINA World Championships

Timed Finals has a wonderful article by bronze medalist, Erik Hochstein, regarding what swim technique variations he noticed at World Championships. A must read! Especially his comments about Laure Manadou and the amount of strokes she takes to get across a pool.

A side note, at an afternoon workout at Santa Monica College. I once saw Erik do a 1:46 for a 200 free. Everybody in the pool was lapped except for me. I was double lapped.

Here is his article: [Link]

Race Training For Swimming Sprints from Timed Finals

Timed Finals posted a great article on swim sprints. A reader wrote in with a question and one of the answers given was rather clever:

• Colin M. answers: For what it’s worth, in swimming 50s with my TI stroke, I focus on getting more out of each pull, instead of turning the arms over faster. I make sure I complete the entire stroke, and also focus on the front quadrant swimming part. If I want to increase my speed, I do so by letting my hips set the pace. Since focusing on this TI stuff, I actually swim faster by taking fewer strokes, and making those count.

The article can be read here: [link]

Don't forget to RSVP for the SCAQ lactic workouts with Bonnie and Erik at LMU this weekend.

Timed finals is creating a "fantasy swim game" for World Swimming Championships; pass it on!

Athens Gold medalist, Scott Goldblatt; [His name is now spelled correctly and the correct medal placing as well], has created a really nice swimming related blog called Timed Finals. It is so current and topical that even Google News links to it. (That's a photo of Scott chilling with Michael Phelps.)

As the headline states, they are expanding the blog by adding a FREE fantasy swim game called FantaSwim. I copy pasted this promo for it from Timed Finals. I am going write a review once I am allowed in.

• Timed Finals announces the imminent launch of FantaSwim, the first ever chance for swimming fans to compete interactively with each other across the globe in a Fantasy Swim League for the World Championships in Melbourne at the end of the month. This will provide swimming fans the opportunity to be even more involved in what’s happening down under.
• FantaSwim will not just be limited to the World Championships. Timed Finals will be running FantaSwim for most major competitions, but our first event will be the World Champs.
• In typical Timed Finals fashion, FantaSwim will be 100% free for our readers. Check back soon to enter the game for the World Champs.

"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.

Injured dolphin gets a monfin from Bridgestone so she can swim again!

Finally I scooped Timed Finals: A dolphin by the name of Fuji had her tail-fin attacked by a mystery disease and four years ago two thirds of her tail fin had to be amputated. Well, a couple vets and the Bridgestone tire company totally hooked her up with a new monofin. You can read the story and even see a video of her swimming with it: [Link]

There is a new Speedo in town and half the Australians racing this March will be wearing it. Introducing the Fastskin FS Pro

Of course Timed Finals beat me by 8 hours with this news and they even have a photo of it before anybody else; that is why I have a news feed to them in the right-hand-navigation of this blog. Click to read about it here: Link

The Fastskin FS-Pro, launched last night, weighs less than half the previous Fastskin II but is 15 per cent stronger to provide greater muscle compression.

The comments posted at Timed Finals are almost better than the article itself.

I have now included a news-feed from Scott Golblatt's Timed Finals.

Scott Goldblatt has participated in two Olympics: Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. He even brought home a couple of souvenirs; that's right, both a silver from Sydney and a gold medal from Athens. Each was well earned in the 4x200 Freestyle relay.

Timed Finals is my favorite swim related website. If you look at the archives you can see that I have a linked to several articles from the site. In fact, even Google News links to Scott Goldblatt's site because he is so in the loop. Hence, I have included his topical news feed.

Not only does Scott have a big site, he has a big heart too. this from the USOC website [link]:

"...While in Athens, Goldblatt organized an Olympic Team memorabilia charity auction to benefit the Melanoma Research Foundation. He asked Team USA athletes to donate unique items to benefit the Melanoma Research Foundation. In May of 1997, Goldblatt lost his mother, Linda Goldblatt, to this disease. "I have seen what this disease can do, and together with your help, hope to educate others in the prevention of the disease," said Goldblatt. ..."

So, to add equity to this site I have included a news feed from Timed Finals in the left navigation. It's below the "links" section. Be sure to check out the headlines every day.

Luo Xuejuan, Chinese breaststroke swimmer is in the hospital for suspicious heart ailments. [Read as steroid abuse].

Timed Finals once again gives me something to talk about.

The Chinese have a spotted past when it comes to swim doping. Well, actually it is not spotted, it's more checkered. Well, maybe that's a bit to nuanced. It's not spotted nor checkered it is actually opaque and red-handed. Over 40 Chinese swimmers since 1990 have failed drug tests. That's triple the amount of any other swimming country during the same period of time. [link]

Now, Luo Xuejuan, is in a hospital with a heart ailment.

From Eurosport:

Luo ... omitted from the Chinese national team for the Doha Games due to ill health, but then fainted during training in November caused by what doctors at the time thought was lack of rest [or] low blood pressure.

Swim News stated she has passed out several times during training. That is not good for a girl as young as she. The Chinese government always distances itself from doping scandals usually blaming the athlete. However, and my opinion is biased, there is enough circumstantial evidence to point a finger at the Chinese swim program due to past questionable tactics. Such as, sending secondary swimmers to swim and be drug tested for international meets while elite swimmers stay home and train in a bubble till just before internationally covered meets such as the Olympics or World Championships. Note, the USA is not exactly saintly either but the Chinese have some "splaining to do" due to such immense positive tests in the past and the fact that their athletes are subsidized.

So, why is steroids being suggested? Because her illness is a fishy as a tuna! I did a Google search on anabolic steroid use in regards to heart health. What I found were article-after-article about how steroid use can: Weaken heart valves, as witnessed with Governor Arnold's heart valve replacement; cause stroke issues and heart attacks due to decreased HDL or good cholesterol; and mess with your blood pressure as well as weaken your bones. [link]

This is sad for both Luo and her family but hopefully it warns other swimmers from thinking you can buy performance with no consequences.