ASCA: The John Leonard Lawsuit Threat Revisited One Year Later!

This post is important today because of the potential tax implications for coaches who wrote-off any donations to the American Swim Coaches of America (ASCA) on their taxes.

About a year ago I linked to a blogpost that Sarah Gjerstad had written about a political fight she was having with a person named George Block. Block happens to be an associate of John Leonard and consequently John Leonard got dragged into her fight.

This political fight played out on this blog with John Leonard  regarding accusations that ASCA's corporate status was not in order. In fact it was classified as terminated  inactive in the corporation home state.

Here is the to the blog post that started it all: [Link] - For brevity here is a snippet of the allegation Sarah made:

"... As I look closer at this, I learn that a more ubiquitous name in swimming is John Leonard. Many organizations fall under the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA), with John Leonard as Executive Director, and George Block as an officer.

ASCA is listed as a foreign corporation in Florida. Foreign, in corporation lingo, means not incorporated in the state. I originally had images of a corporation concealing their finances in Grand Cayman. It turns out John Leonard and George Block have an even better deal. Their annual reports to Florida state they are incorporated in Iowa. I checked the Iowa department of state. John Leonard registered in Iowa in 1968 but was terminated labeled inactive in 1992 for failure to file reports.  [i.e Leonard let his corporation status lapse for many years and it was declared dead]

ASCA is not a legitimate corporation so there is no government oversight into their finances. It is not registered as an assumed name in Bexar County, and it is unlikely to be registered in any county.

This is a fictitious entity.

I confirmed ASCA status on Iowa's website and verbally with the Iowa department of state. ASCA, SwimAmerica, WSA, and possibly several other business entities seem to be doing business fraudulently. ..."

John Leonard was livid over this post and sent poorly typed and numerous threats to both Sarah and myself that quickly degraded into cursing and lawsuit threats. When I was originally threatened I asked him what specifically was the error he felt I made. This just enraged him further See the full exchange here which includes a detailed a synopsis, his infamous emails, links, screenshots and quotes illustrating Sarah's evidence: [Link]

Here is a snippet of how he wanted to resolve this with us:

No, i told you what i want. Period.

No bullshit, no lengthy diatrides, [sic] no dancing. You are dead wrong, you slandered the ASCA and myself among others, and there are ZERO issues with ASCA or SwimAmerica and the IRS or State of Florida, or anyone other entity.

YOU PUBLISHED SLANDER. Get that through your head. We don't owe you explanations or answers. You owe US an apology and acknowledgement as i indicated previously. IF you don't, i will take this to court and you can tell the judge how you shouted foul first and THEN decided you didn't know what you were doing. Good luck with that.

by 6 PM today. No more communications from me to you.

John Leonard

Now, let's move forward to February, 2012. John Leonard finds himself in a video deposition
regarding a sex abuse lawsuit that USA Swimming is fighting. He is asked directly about Sarah  Gjerstad's allegation regarding sloppy corporate administration and he is forced, by virtue of being under oath, to admit that Sarah was correct all along.

Here is the transcript of his exchange regarding if ASCA as a legitimate corporation or non-profit:

Q. Okay. Let me show you a final set of documents that we'll mark as Exhibit 272.

(The document was marked Plaintiff's Exhibit Number 272 for identification.)

John Leonard: I have read this.

Q. Does this refresh your memory as to the exchange you had with Sarah? It's spelledG-j-e-r-s-t-a-d.

John Leonard: It does.

Question: Would you please turn to the third page of this exhibit. Line Item 3 states, quote, "The ASCA is a 501-C6 corporation originally incorporated in Iowa and now duly registered for many years" --

John Leonard: I'm sorry. I'm on the wrong page.

Q. Sure. It's my fault because I said third page. I meant fourth. Let's try this again. Would you please turn to Page 4 of this exhibit.

John Leonard: Yeah.

Q. The third line item, quote, "The ASCA is a 501-C6 corporation originally incorporated in Iowa and now duly registered for many years with the Florida Department of Corporations with all reports and status active and complete," end quote. Do you see that?

John Leonard: Yes.

Q. Was it an accurate statement?

John Leonard: At the time, yes.

Q. Was as of that time ASCA duly registered for many years with the Florida Department of Corporations?

John Leonard: Yes.

Q. At, I'm sorry. Earlier I thought we talked talk about the fact that you realized at some point in time that the non-profit status of ASCA as incorporated in Iowa was suspended. Is that accurate?

John Leonard: That's not what I said.

Q. What did you say earlier, sir?

John Leonard: I said that what I discovered through Ms. Gjerstad's comments was, Ms. Gjerstad had a complete misconnection of SwimAmerica, ASCA. She didn't know that something called the Council existed. Okay? And she had all this jumbled up in a complete mess. The thing she had correct -- and she is the only one who did -- was the fact that our original incorporation in Iowa had been suspended. And I did not know that until I went back stimulated by Ms. Gjerstad to discover that there was the problem, and then I went back through the State of Iowa to find out that notices had been sent to Mr. Helmick's office, and then we went ahead about correcting that problem.

[NOTE: It was not suspended, it was labeled inactive see the links above. If you read his answer he rambles through the first three sentences till he finally gives up the exact answer after being asked roughly three times or so. Sarah Gjerstad's accusations that John Leonard's corporate filings were not in order was absolutely correct.

Q. So as of the time you wrote this, which was May 26, 2011, is it true that ASCA, American Swim Coaches Association, was a 501(c)6 corporation duly registered for many years?

[MR. SHEPPARD: God bless you. ... [Someone must have sneezed T.A]

Q. Is it true as of the time you wrote this document, May 26, 2011, that the American Swim Coaches Association was a 501(c)6 corporation duly registered for many years with the Florida Department of Corporations?

John Leonard:  Well, you probably know more about this in terms of legalities than I do. We filed all our reports as required by the State of Florida for many years. My understanding when I took the job was that's what we had to do, was file with the State of Florida. I knew nothing about this Iowa thing. The whole Iowa thing is, was beyond me. I did not know that's where we incorporated or we had any obligation to the State of Iowa at that point until Ms. Gjerstad pointed out that that was where we were originally incorporated, et cetera. And then I had to go back to the State of Iowa and have ourselves reinstated.

Q. Did you ever issue an apology to Ms. Gjerstad for threatening her with malicious slander? 

John Leonard: No. Because she was essentially totally incorrect on every other aspect of what she had to say about us. 

Q. What was driving Ms. Gjerstad to look into the issue, if you know? 

John Leonard: You would have to ask Ms. Gjerstad.

So why is this blogpost important? - If the ASCA corporation filings were labeled terminated inactive isn't it a reasonable question to ask what the status of his non-profit is? I do have a copy of ASCA's Form 990 for 2009 and the IRS accepted it so they were definitely sold then but what about 2010 or moving through this current year? If I was sending in a donation along with a certification a check I would want to make sure his filings were in order but a bigger question is, does USA Swimming care?

In 2009 this non-profit grossed $840,086. The salaries paid out come in at $501,061 with John Leonard taking in $119,335 of that. Another $31,953 was paid out for occupancy which I assume is either rent or mortgage.  Another $66,646 going to office expenses and one must wonder why the American Swimming Coaches Association is spending 80%-plus of it's gross proceeds just to open it's doors. Wait till you see what they paid out in travel expenses

Here is a Link to their 2009 Form 990: [Link]

Open Water: Trent Grimsey has set a new record for an unassisted solo crossing of the English Channel crossing!

 

Swimming 19-miles-or-so in under 7-hours, Trent Grimsey may be the final record holder if channel crossings become disallowed.

[Reference Link]

From News.Com.AU

From the "Stoychev set the bar incredibly high, being the only person ever to swim the Channel in under seven hours, but having beaten him recently to become No.1 on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix Circuit, I knew he wasn't invincible and that this record could be beaten. 

[Link]

Dutch princess swims in Amsterdam canal in an open water tour.

The Daily Reporter provides two images with the second image in the set illustrating the water quality of the Amsterdam canals. I for one would not swim in them and the public there should insist on better.

The Netherlands' Princess Maxima has joined a thousand other swimmers braving a two-kilometer tour of Amsterdam's ancient canals to raise money for charity.  

[Link]

MAKE MAGAZINE: How Cindy made a pair of prescription goggles for $12.00

Make Prescription Swimming Goggles for $12 - Watch more amazing videos here

From Make Magazine:

Cindy came up with this simple and great idea to make her own prescription goggles for only $12 (the cost of the goggles), saving $$ compared to buying a pair from the optometrist or dive shop. If you have an old pair of prescription glasses, you can probably make a pair of these for cheap, and in only a few minutes.

[Link]

Open water swimming: A rule of thumb for the prevention of Hypothermia and Hyperthermia!

Open water swimming needs a "rule of thumb" or a temperature benchmark that can be easily remembered.

There are so many variables to determine what are safe open water conditions. So, to avoid either hypothermia and hypothermia, swimmers and event directors may want to consider a "one size fits all" approach. Thus, I am going to suggest benchmarks that can be easily remembered and I need guidance. ANy Science guys out there would could be greatly helpful.

I checked out several kayak forums, news groups and info sites regarding hypothermia and they have a "rule of thumb" measurement to determine what makes for safe kayaking.

From the New River Campground: 

"... One of the biggest risks of river rafting is hypothermia. For dealing with this the golden rule of air and water temperature was developed. The rule is simple, just add the air temperature and the water temperature to get the combined temperature. If the combined water plus air temperature is less than 120, wet or dry suits are recommended. If the combined temperatures are below 100 degrees, wet or dry suits should be required. Here at New River Campground Canoeing and Kayaking we believe in following this rule, and will require you to have a wet or dry suit if you wish to go on the river when the combined temps are below 100 degrees. .." 

[Link]

The "rule of thumb" above leaves the air-temp and humidity out of the equation but they seem pretty reliable as a benchmark from an anecdotal point of view.

There are benchmarks for air-temps too. For instance, today in a suburb of Los Angeles where I live the air temp today will be 93-degrees with 47% humidity. Per the chart above that is border line danger for the Heat Index tells us that it will feel like 103-degrees. Note, extreme caution per the chart above is when the Heat Index reaches 91-degrees.

When Fran Crippen died in Abu Dabai, Crippen told his coach, Richard Shoulberg, before the race that the air temp was 100-degrees and that the water temp was 87-degrees. [Link]

See the chart above, 100-degrees as an air-temp is bordering upon Extreme-Caution. Even the water temperature if converted to an air-temp with 0% humidity was nearing the Extreme Caution zone. Consequently, all the coaches on the beach and all the swimmers in the water that day had no idea what they doing to themselves. The trouble was that all of the data was available but all of the above were ignorant to the dangers.

Then, a year later a near sequel in Shanghai with near fatal consequences occurred...

From Swimming World:

FINA World Championships, Open Water: Petar Stoychev, Ana Marcela Cunha Win Controversy-Marred 25K Races 

"... This all takes place against the backdrop of the death of Fran Crippen at the UAE stop of the FINA Open Water 10K World Cup less than a year ago in October 2010. Calls for rules to enhance athlete safety were met with a slew of recommendations from two separate commissions (FINA, USA Swimming), which included a recommended maximum temperature of [88-degrees Fahrenheit.] Again, these recommendations have yet to be codified into the rule books. 

Throughout the men's race, 10 more swimmers did not finish the race including an open water veteran like Italy's Valerio Cleri. For the women, four more swimmers did not finish the course including USA's Claire Thompson. Thompson ignored USA Swimming's suggestion that the U.S. not participate in the event, and the team had to let her race due to the Amateur Sports Act. ..."

[Link]

What frustrates me is that the press nor I paid attention to the air temps at Shanghai. The average temps the time of year when the race was conducted is around 95-degrees. With one fatal race behind us and a second potentially fatal one in Shanghai, it's demonstrable that a combined air-and-water-temp over 185-degrees has proven both fatal and near-fatal.

SO where do we go with this and what number as a benchmark do we come up with? Here is what I suggest by taking the New River Campground quoted above and their benchmark as a possible ratio:

New River Campground kayaking Model:

1. Air-temp + Water-temp = 100  (Wetsuits or drysuits are mandatory)
2. Air-temp + Water-temp = 120  (Wetsuits or drysuits recommended)

Open water swimming suggested model:

1. Air-temp Heat Index + Water Temp = 100  (Wetsuits mandatory)
2. Air-temp Heat Index + Water Temp = 120  (Wetsuits recommended)
3. Air-temp Heat Index + Water Temp = 140  (Choice of swimming attire)
4. Air-temp Heat Index + Water Temp = 170  (DO NOT RACE)

To simplify even more: 100-degree to cold to swim, 170 to hot!

PHOTO: Courage and determination displayed as a Paralympian with no arms sets up for a backstroke start!

What courage, what determination!

Swimmer builds a LED readout timer for early morning swims.

A very resourceful swimmer named Doug built himself an LED readout timer since he can't read the old-school analog clock on the wall during his 6:00 AM workout. In fact he can't read read the clock for 6-months out of the year and that was indeed a problem.

So, what does he do? He builds his own timer and provides his schematics online for any other industrious swimmers; (or higher forms of life), that that can build such things. It is also water proof!

From DougDIY: 

I swim with a triathlete group in an outdoor pool at 6AM three days a week. For half the year I can see stars when I start swimming. What I can’t see in the dark is the analog clock to check my pace on 100 meter laps.

To solve this problem I designed and built a portable digital timer with LED display. The 4-digit 7-segment display is large enough to see from 10 feet away so I can read it without stopping. The timer is encased in a transparent and waterproof polycarbonate tube so that I don’t have to worry about it getting wet or falling in the pool.

[Link]

Doug, you engineer like a "boss" and you have made the "swimming universe" a better place. Though I am too incompetent to build something like this. Perhaps you could sell them?

Prince Harry visits Paralympic swimmers and raises money for them too !

Say what you like about the Prince but he apparently likes swimmers,  cares about the disabled and supports charities that assist them.

He is good with me now and he should be with you too once you read this...

From the Examiner:

In truth, the prince wore a shirt over jeans: “Metro UK” clarified that the swimming shirt was actually an adidas Front Line to Start Line shirt, sold to raise money for injured service personnel entering competitive sport. The goalball shirt was official kit.

The public will likely forget about Prince Harry's antics much sooner than the media. Metro UK's reporting was typical of British media that day, stating that Prince Harry was surrounded by women at a pool party.

[Link]

Go read it now and look at the slide show.

Thank you world for visiting the SCAQ blog in August!

Rebuttal to the Swimming World Magazine article: "Right or Wrong, Doping Questions about Ye Shiwen Need to Be Asked..."

[UPDATE:  Fixed some horrible grammatical errors and added a few more flourishes to resonate some points of view.]

The premise of the article is that the infamous leader of the American Swimming Coaches Association, John Leonard, was justified in questioning Ye Shiwen's gold medal  performance as "suspicious" and that it should be questioned because she is Chinese and that her times were so good.

Well, her performance shouldn't be questioned, and if it were to be questioned, it should be done by the professionals at the testing labs and not done rhetorically to a global news organization.

Here is how Mr. Rutemiller words it:

"... China has a long history of drug issues. More than 40 Chinese swimmers tested positive for steroids in the 1990s. It was all brought to light in 1998 when Australian customs in Sydney discovered human growth hormone (HGH) in the baggage of swimmer Yuan Yuan. Six days later at the World Championships in Perth, tests showed the presence of a banned diuretic masking agent called triamterene in the urine samples of four Chinese female swimmers.

In June of this year, China removed a 16-year-old swimmer from its team for having erythropoietin (EPO) in her system. EPO enhances both VO2 max (one's ability to intake oxygen) and helps the back half of a swimmer's race. ..." 

[Link]

After reading the article I did a little research on nations that dope and what surprised me was the sordid past that our very own USOC has in regards to covering up positive tests in American athletes.

Both John Leonard and Brent Rutemiller are obviously uninformed as to how bad doping continues to be within the United States. One could even point a finger at  Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones and Carl Lewis as evidence as to how bad it is.

Moving forward, the premise they both used to justify Ye Shiwen's performance could easily be turned on it's head and subsequently used to question every great performance by an American athlete for the past 30-years. From Mark Spitz to Michael Phelps from Dona De Varona to Missy Franklin. We have had over 100-positive test swept under the rug and that is despicable.

From SCOTT M. REID, WILLIAM HEISEL and TONY SAAVEDRA The Orange County Register:

"... The U.S. Olympic Committee and American sport federations for more than a decade allowed athletes who failed drug tests in qualifying events to compete in the Olympic Games and other world-class competitions.

The Orange County Register reviewed more than 10,000 pages of confidential documents from 1988 to 2000 that show for the first time how the U.S. Olympic movement failed to deal with its own doping issues and kept test results a secret while accusing other countries of failing to control drug use in athletics.

The documents reveal more than 100 cases in which athletes failed tests that would have disqualified them at the Olympics but were ruled "inadvertent use" by U.S. officials.

[Link]

Then I found this article from Scott Reid in 2009 at the OC Register:

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Olympic Committee, concerned about the potential embarrassment of a doping scandal involving American athletes at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, conducted an informal drug testing program in the months leading up to the Los Angeles Games that allowed Olympic-caliber athletes testing positive for banned substances to escape sanctions, according to documents obtained by The Orange County Register and interviews with three officials involved with the program. At least 34 U.S. track and field athletes either tested positive or had possible positive tests during six weeks of informal testing by USOC in the spring of 1984, according to confidential USOC memos. None of the athletes was sanctioned or lost eligibility, according to USOC documents and interviews.

[Link]

John Leonard as usual is "throwing stones" in his own "glass house."

Final note,Questioning swimming OUT LOUD instead of letting the grown-ups or the professionals in the lab-coats do so hurts the sport more than it helps it. It is called killing the category. The rhetorical questions Leonard put forth did nothing to encourage or enhance the Olympic games or the spirit therein but rather created strife, finger pointing, and accomplished nothing but ill will and acrimony!

Question: How does China receive their Olympians? - The same way the ancient Greeks did!

One could argue that western civilization which includes northern Africa or the Mediterranean basin as a whole was refined by the Greeks and solidified by the Romans. The cultural values regarding sports and achievement are still being practiced some 3,000 years later.

So how do the Chinese treat their Olympians?

From the Chicago Tribune:

Chinese swimmers Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen both received apartments worth 3 million yuan ($472,600) from a company in their hometown of Hangzhou, according to the China Daily.

Hangzhou also plans to build statues for the swimmers to honor their efforts at the Olympics.

Double gold medalist Sun, who broke the men's 1,500 meters world record, was named "Zhejiang Model Worker" and given 2.6 million yuan, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Ye, who also won two gold medals in London, received the same title as well as 1.8 million yuan.

[Link]

And how did the ancient Greeks treat their Olympians:

"... Successful contestants were commonly treated like heroes ever after the Olympics. They didn’t only get free meals, cash and tax breaks once they had returned to their home cities, but they were also considered leaders of local communities, memorialized in statues and victory odes. Along with most respectable citizens they could expect to be given special places in the theatre and invitations to different banquets..." 

[Link]

To my Chinese readers, I chose this Chinese Republic flag circa 1925 because of the fish which I found charming and quite reminiscent of what great swimmers your country is producing today.

Missy Franklin: Honorary Denver Broncos captain

...Gets to be the honorary captain and gets to see them flip the coin midfield before the start of the game.

Refreshing to see Olympic heros act like like icons rather than "bit-players" auditioning for "Jersey Shore."

[Link]

"What happens in Vegas stays..." on an iPhone, a blog, a Twitter feed, You Tube, Facebook, Perez Hilton....

I have been avoiding this story for a while now but the juxtaposition of two American Olympians both in their late 20's surrounded by girls sporting bottle-blonde hair and day-glo bikinis was way to surreal to pass up.

 The headline reads: "Ryan Lochte vs. Michael Phelps: How Do These Olympians' Vegas Parties Compare?

From E!:

Unlike Lochte, Phelps did not have a swimming competition with Prince Harry. And neither medalist was involved in a nude photo scandal with a certain redheaded royal. Instead, Phelps celebrated his retirement from competitive swimming with friends and Olympic gold medalist Allison Schmitt and poker star Phil Hellmuth on Saturday night at Surrender, raging alongside DJ Afrojack. Phelps took the mic and exclaimed, "This is my first night of retirement at Surrender!" He then threw back a shot of chilled Grey Goose vodka.

[Link]

From their gold medal performances to making plastic spectacles of themselves. Why can't these weenies be as well mannered and as classy as Ian Thorpe, Missy Franklin or Natalie Coughlin?

Britain's Got Talent: Synchronized Swimming in a aquarium!

I recommend that you start at the 2:30 mark. The previous stuff is the introductions, the life story, and finally the build-up. I am told that synchro is getting big in Britain and this was rather amusing watching it done primarily underwater.

A multi-hulled catamaran travels one-nautical-mile while holding a 43.2-miles-per-hour pace!

An amazing concept catamaran flying trimaran borders upon NASA-like engineering. Love the shot of Alcatraz in the background as the vessel "beasts" that one-nautical-mile run.

Gene doping: "The candle that burns twice as bright, lasts half as long..."

Reuters has a disturbing article on "gene doping" which is defined as modifying one's genes to produce or enhance a specific ability so as to boost athletic performance. Theoretically gene doping would be undetectable since the modified gene would be a permanent fixture of your very own DNA.

Two things seriously disturbed me in this article: the first was how very, very, wrong gene doping can go. (See the paragraphs on the EPO producing gene that created eventual sludge for blood and then no red blood cells at all), and finally this depressing "gem"...

From Reuters:

"... A frequently-cited survey in the world of sport gives a bleak picture. In it, Chicago-based Bob Goldman, a doctor and founder of the U.S. National Academy of Sports Medicine, asked elite athletes in the 1980s whether they would take an enhancement which guaranteed them gold medals but would also kill them within five years. More than half said yes.

"I was shocked to see that out of 198 world-class athletes, 52 percent would be willing to give up their life for five years of an undefeated run of wins," Goldman told Reuters during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

He repeated the survey every two years for the next decade and the results were always the same - around half of the athletes polled were ready to die for gold. "Some of the athletes are only 16-years-old," Goldman said. "To be willing to die at 21 is a serious psychological mindset." 

[Link]

The quote in the blogpost title is borrowed from the Ridley Scott movie, Blade Runner, a movie all about gene doping before the concept of gene doping was ever thought possible.

Hansen blames FINA, not Van der Burgh, for cheating

Imagine after a swim race waiting a couple of minutes after the event is completed to determine the actual results. That is the way it is in horse racing and Brendan Hanson is recommending it be that way for swimming. i.e That officials validate breaststroke turns and otherwise with video review.

The breaststroke, in my opinion, is becoming a farce. The stroke undergoes constant rule changes, the rules are impossible to enforce, and the athletes that do abide by the honor system are losing out. (Read as Brendan Hansen; TWICE!)

Though I like the idea of video, it's impractical at the local level and it reminds us how many people like to cheat in that event. Perhaps it should get replaced with the combat stroke?

Yes, it should!

From the Statesman:

"... He did it to call out FINA to say, ‘I'm getting away with this, and you guys aren't doing anything about it,' " Hansen said. "Amongst the breaststrokers, it was a big joke. Everybody was just like, how much can I get away with? The rules need to be changed, and FINA needs to realize they need to step it up and bring in video surveillance."

With the dolphin kick, swimmers whip their legs in tandem underwater much like how an aquatic animal might use a tail. It has proved to be a very effective method of propulsion. In the butterfly and backstroke, swimmers are allowed to dolphin kick away as long as they rise to the pool's surface within 15 meters. ..."

[Link]

Open Water Racing: 'Traversée de Paris a la Nage' races cancelled today!

The painting above was painted by Claude Monet in 1897. It's titled Arm of the Seine near Giverny in the Fog.


When the painting was created it was painted during the peak of what is known as the second Industrial Revolution or the Technological Revolution. This was a period when mass production took the manufacturing process to the next level. Consequently, the rivers in France became cesspools of manufacturing waste and dross much like parts of China are today.


When Monet sat on the banks of Giverny and painted, this river was a foul smelling cesspool with ugly things floating by. He painted what was beautiful and left out the ugly. Sort of like making "chicken poop into chicken soup."

Today the Traversée de Paris a la Nage races, a 2.5k and a a 10k swim were cancelled due to "...of manifestly insufficient quality for swimming" [despite] "significant improvements in recent years.."

Some 3,300 swimmers were left in the lurch but it would have been a grand site to see to watch 3,300 swim through France. I would love to do that race but I fear that it would again get cancelled next year due to fickle conditions.

The management of water resources is very difficult - If it were easy Australia today would be a world power most likely feeding all of Asia with agricultural products with grand cities dotting the outback from east to west. It a shame that they don't take some truly bold initiatives to do some thing about it but "terraforming" Australia to make it habitable is for another blogger.

From News.Sky.com:

But the Parisian authorities now say the race cannot go ahead because the river water is "of manifestly insufficient quality for swimming" despite "significant improvements in recent years".

The Préfecture de Police de Paris (PP) also made the decision to halt the race on Monday, according to France 24, on commercial grounds.

The Paris police headquarters argued that the race - which takes a total of four hours - in France's busiest river would cause unacceptable delays on the river's busy commercial and tourist traffic and potentially put the swimmers in danger.

[Link]

Commercial: Sprinter Brent Hayden endorsed by Powerade

Canadian sprinter Brent Hayden won a bronze medal in the 100m free in London. This commercial resonates both the work ethic and mindset as to how he got it. Usually commercials feature athletes endorsing products but this one does it backwards to great effect: Powerade endorses Brent Hayden's work ethic and nothing else.

Powerade only sponsors this short profile which is refreshing considering that most sport drink commercials will feature their product in such over the top situations such as an athlete "sweating" the drink all over himself or worst of all having an athlete memorize and recite a script trying to sound like they actually believe what they are saying.

This Powerade spot is inspiring and well edited and directed. I will be drinking some Powerade soon in Santa Monica after my 4:00 PM workout.

Tsunami threat has been lifted!

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has lifted it's advisory - open water swimming is likely safe : [Link]

Ryan Lochte Reality TV Star - Watch him train and work on his fashion line! - Gosh it hurt to say that!

Watching Ryan Locthe train as a swimmer would be educational and enlightening. Watching him interact with kids possibly at a USA Swimming charity would be endearing as well. However, taking this fish out of water and putting him in an environment where he has absolutely NO TASTE, and NO EXPERIENCE will be painful.

Lochte's management has taken this glorious Olympic champion and has seemingly started at the bottom of the pop-culture compost pile by associating him with such "white trash" icons as Joan Rivers, Honey Boo Boo, and Kim Khardashian. (She cut me off on Agoura Hills road the other day with a chrome car. A chrome car... Chrome! These are the people he will be associating with.)

Ryan may or may not make a lot of money as a reality TV star, probably about $35,000 a week, but one thing is for sure his management wants to "face plant" him into the heads of the lowest common denominator and that is going to be painful to witness.

I know I am beating a dead horse, but since the horse is dead anyway: Missy Franklin is starting at the top rather than the "Reality TV" bottom. She is being introduced to America as a champion and sharing what it is like to be an Olympian. She has appeared at the USA Open of Tennis on "Kids Day", The Tonight Show, and has received accolades form internationally recognized recording stars. Her brand is that of an Olympic treasure rather than an Olympic opportunist.

In other words, when Ryan Lochte went to Vegas and partied with a "black sheep" prince, Missy Franklin went to "Kansas" and let people wear her medals.

From The clicker at Today:

"...We're gonna try to work with E! in getting my own reality show," Lochte recently told Celebuzz. "Where pretty much, they follow me on my normal day, just training, doing my own fashion line." ..." 

[Link]

Tsunami warning lifted for Japan, Taiwan, several Pacific islands; warning remains for Indonesia, Philippines after earthquake

Reuters

[Link]

Philipines: 7.9 Earthquake - Tsunami warning issued

Woke up to this 45-minutes ago...

Breaking News: MANILA, Philippines — A 7.9-magnitude undersea quake struck off the eastern coast of the Philippines - A tsunami alert was in effect for the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Guam, the Northern Marianas and Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. 

 [Link]

From CNN:

 The quake, which was about 20 miles deep, struck just before 8:50 p.m., the agency said. Its center was about 65 miles southeast of the town of Guiuan, in the Philippine province of East Samar. 

[Link]

Katherine Star of the website Safe4Athletes: ‘Kelley Davies and I Were Two of Four Texas Teammates Who Had Been Raped by Their Youth Coaches’

Katherine Star of the website Safe4Athletes was interviewed by Irv Muchnik at his site, Concussion Inc. This quote caught my attention. It not only confirms that the David Berkoff's email is true but that his emails may be more credible than his deposition. Here is what he said in an infamous email to Jeff Chida:

"... Denying knowledge of Rick Curl, Mitch Ivey and others banging their swimmers! It’s a flat out lie. They knew about it because we (coaches and athletes) were all talking about it in late 1980’s and early 1990’s. ..."  --David Berkoff

When Katherine Star was asked about these "coaches" and teammates knowing of this abuse her statement was terse and to the point:


From Concussion Inc:

"... I know now that four women on that team [...] were abused by their youth coaches. It was speculated about Kelley and no one took investigative action to look into it,” Starr said. 

“That is the main problem, there is gossip without action. Safe4Athletes want[s] to change that dynamic and give a voice to the athlete that would start that process in place and require deliberate action to investigate and determine if it is fact or fiction. We owe that to every young athlete — to pursue the truth. ..." 

[Link]

And how about that Mr. Berkoff, and Mr. Wielgus!

Missy Franklin - Ryan Lochte: Contrasting the latest news headlines between the two is quite depressing!

At the London Games Missy Franklin over-delivered exceeding her medal expectations. Ryan Lochte on the other hand "under-delivered" due to bold statements such as "...this is my time" which seemingly predicted a bold result in his match-up with Michael Phelps.

When the two returned home to America each were received quite differently especially when you compare their news headlines. The difference is depressing.

Missy Franklin Headlines:

Missy Franklin's Homecoming - The 17-year-old, five-time Olympic medalist is the same kid who left for London this summer. Not that you should have worried.

Missy Franklin announces cameo in Vince Vaughn's [movie] 'The Internship'

Call Me Maybe star calls Missy Franklin 'amazing'

Missy Franklin: Justin Bieber sent me a care package

Novak Djokovic, Missy Franklin dance to 'Call Me Maybe' 

Missy Franklin: A gold medalist's tenacity inside a youthful demeanor 

Ryan Lochte's Headlines:

WATCH: Ryan Lochte Strips Down To His Speedo For Joan Rivers

How Much Would You Pay To See A Photo Of Ryan Lochte’s Alleged Penis?

Biz Owner to Ryan Lochte: Jeah, Right

Ryan Lochte opens up about Vegas pool race with partying prince

Ryan Lochte's Sister Apologizes for Racist Video

Ryan Lochte, Savannah Guthrie heckled by paparazzi on ‘Today’ show set

Navy vet blinded in Afghanistan will swim in the Paralympics

Warning: This article is a tear-jerker. We all must commend the IOC International Paralympic Committee for it's Paralympics work. It's incalculable how much they have contributed to the mental health of those individuals with disabilities and their families at large.

There is a slideshow as well. A must see.

From NBC News:

“During the Olympics, I read about the races, about (Michael) Phelps and (Ryan) Lochte and Missy Franklin. I heard the commentary and used that to pull out the details to produce this image,” Snyder said. “But instead of reading about Lochte, I just implanted myself in there. 

“I imagine stepping onto the block, hearing “take your mark,” the sound of the start, hopping in the pool then just being smooth and strong down the middle of the lane, executing some good turns, and hitting the pad at the end. I’m imagining success. I’m imagining the good feeling that comes with competing well.”

[Link]

SB Nation Bay Area: Olympic gold medalist swimmer Missy Franklin will visit Cal this Labor Day weekend.

Yeah, we Californians are pretty awesome, huh? Just count how many Olympic swimmers have come out of here.

From SB Nation Bay Area:

Franklin likes Cal for a number of reasons. Some of her Olympic teammates went to Cal, her idol Natalie Coughlin went to Cal, and her Olympic coach Teri McKeever went to Cal. The biggest competition might not come from another college (although the Trojans and the Bulldogs are considered very much in the hunt). Her choice likely hinges on whether she decides to turn pro. 

[Link]

Ryan, the second mouse is suppose to get the cheese!

Here is how it works. You see the mistake of the first mouse; (read it as a mouse jumping into a loaded mousetrap to get a mouthful of cheese), and after witnessing the horror of the poor rodent nearly getting beheaded. You look twice, take the piece of cheese he missed, and make a note to avoid mousetraps that are not sprung.

Right now a picture of your anatomy is up for sale. So, tell me, how many celebrities has this happened to? How many celebrities has this happened to after a jilting a lover? Maybe that wisecrack you made about not bringing a girlfriend to the Olympics may have hurt somebody's feelings?

C'mon, get control of this "white-trash" image you are getting branded with and reboot some of your friends with individuals who are smarter than you. I have it on good authority that you have a big heart, are quite generous, and that you are very gracious. Resonate those traits please.

From Deadspin.com:

Deadspin is presently in negotiations with a person who is in possession of a photograph of a penis. The penis supposedly belongs to Olympic gold/silver/bronze swimming medalist Ryan Lochte. The photograph is a neck-down bathroom-mirror self-portrait, in which the tip of the penis almost but not quite reaches into the sink basin.

The provenance of the photo is less than ideal. It was allegedly taken for a now-ex-girlfriend of Lochte's. 

[Link]

To statistically reduce the incidents of sex abuse incidents perhaps men should coach the boys and ladies should coach the girls?

The majority of sex abuse cases we are witnessing within the sport of swimming are generally heterosexual in nature. i.e. Generally male coaches "dating" or more accurately sexually abusing their female swimmers. In other words pedophile crimes.

To be clear, it's my premise that no sexual preference or sexual orientation has a monopoly on ethics or morals and though each sexual orientation has it's problems with pedophiles, I feel gender segregated coaching could create a dramatic reduction in sex abuse crimes.

According to demographer Judy Bradford of the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health, 3.8% of the population is either lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender. That is a small percentage of the population. Hence, if the men coached the boys and the ladies coached the girls, instances of heterosexual sex abuse cases could drop more than 95%?

Of course this can't become a "law" but I see it as an opportunity or guideline to greatly reduce both sexual abuse crimes and civil litigation lawsuits. I also suspect it would open more doors and create more employment opportunities for female coaches as well.

Something for the local swim clubs to consider.

Disney to make a fantasy movie about an Olympic swimmer!

I would have preferred something a little more grounded: Hmmm, how about a little boy from a broken home raised by his mother and two sisters. The only father figure he has is a desperate coach who sees his chance for fame and accomplishment if only he can domesticate this prodigy and produce an Olympian. But wait, the boy has ADDHD and lots of angst... Oh, we saw that movie.  It was called the "Michael Phelps Story."

From the Hollywood Reporter: 

Beached centers on a chubby 4-year-old child who falls overboard during a family outing, is raised by whales and goes on to become an Olympic swimmer. (No, it’s not the Ryan Lochte story.)

[Link]

Missy Franklin and Novak Djokovic sing "Call me Maybe" at the US Open of Tennis 2012

If only her counterpart on the mens team hung out with the good crowd... At the 2:45 mark it gets good.

From USA Today, Game On:

The summer of Call Me Maybe continued Saturday when Novak Djokovic, Mardy Fish and American swimming star Missy Franklin danced to CarlyRae Jepsen's hit along with dozens of ball boys and thousands of fans at Arthur Ashe Kid's Day on Saturday. 

[Link]

Sent to me by Robert Allard, Esq. Lawyers Against the Sexual Abuse of Children (“LASAC")

It's been quite a weekend. I wished this all would have happened on a Monday for I wanted to start working on some swimmer related illustrations and post them onto the blog for comment. However duty calls, and my response to David Berkoff filibustered my time.

Robert Allard, Esq. representing "Lawyers Against the Sexual Abuse of Children" sent me this response after reading David Berhoff's rebuttal and my subsequent retort back to him.

His response is aggressive and mentions that two separate branches of the FBI are "...looking into accusations of sexual molestations."

 Dear Mr. Austin:

The deposition testimony of Mr. Berkoff demonstrates that he is a mere politician stating what suits him and more particularly, USA Swimming, at the time of publication.   

You see, in deposition it benefitted Mr. Berkoff (and USA Swimming) to downplay the existence of the "abuse subcommittee" which was ostensibly formed in the early 1990's by declaring that it was not a "subcommittee" at all and otherwise never formalized. This "subcommittee" was portrayed by Mr. Berkoff in deposition as nothing more than a concept that did not come to fruition. In fact, Mr. Berkoff could not even remember whose idea it was to form this “subcommittee” nor is there any indication in USA Swimming’s meeting minutes to prove that any action was taken. This testimony helped facilitate the shameless defense advanced by USA Swimming in nationwide sexual abuse claims because it tended to show that the topic of sex abuse was not at the forefront of discussion at the time; ergo no need to formally create a subcommittee. Mr. Berkoff eagerly participated in the perpetration of this fraud during multiple deposition sessions because it advanced the interests of the entity writing his paychecks. “Just some people getting together to talk about something that was interesting” is basically how Mr. Berkoff’s summarized what happened with this “subcommittee”.

Now, when you question his character, Mr. Berkoff suddenly reverses course and cites this "subcommittee" as an example of how he has championed the rights of sex abuse victims. In truth, Mr. Berkoff abandoned the Kelly Davies of the world when they needed him the most by quitting the Board in the early 1990's because the combination of (former USA Swimming Executive Director) Ray Essick and (longtime ASCA Executive Director) John Leonard proved too formidable a foe for the meek Olympic champion. Based on what I know, an untold number of swimmers were sexually abused as a direct result of this feeble act. When the going got tough, the weak left town, and that is just what our hero did.

Mr. Berkoff has shown that he is a charlatan in the mold of Chuck Wielgus, which is ironic since Mr. Berkoff, when it suited him at the time (when he was not employed by USA Swimming), accused Mr. Wielgus of being an unworthy leader of USA Swimming and guilty of, in his words, "perjury" when addressing sexual abuse issues. Indeed, Mr. Wielgus has denied under penalty of perjury on a least three occasions that USA Swimming had any knowledge of pedophile swim coaches when in truth extensive information had been acquired concerning each of them. Mr. Wielgus himself was intimately involved in two investigations into these coaches, so it is inconceivable that he did not know of the falsity of these statements when he made them. Now, since he works for him, Mr. Berkoff has once again changed his tune and sings the praises of the venerable Mr. Wielgus as being a good and worth leader.

Like seemingly all other leaders of USA Swimming, Mr. Berkoff has sold his soul for the "cause", which is the achievement of Olympic glory, and consequent monetary gain, at all costs, even the known raping of minor girls. If this is the kind of person who you want leading your sport, than you are to blame for the disgrace that is coming down the pike for this organization, including possible federal investigations and indictments (two separate FBI branches are looking into accusations of sexual molestations). If you want what is right, there is no choice but to remove Mr. Berkoff from office, along with his cronies Chuck Wielgus, Pat Hogan and Mike Unger. At this point, there is no other alternative if we are to ensure the protection of our youth from the evils of sex abuse.

Robert Allard, Esq. Lawyers Against the Sexual Abuse of Children (“LASAC") San Jose, CA

David Berkoff and USA Swimming enter the SCAQ blog - Big mistake!

This BLOG POST is what sparked a 740-word rebuttal from David Berkoff, Technical Vice President, of USA Swimming. If you havn't read it, please do.

Note, the fact that he put his title in his signature leads me to believe that David Berhoff is speaking for both himself and USA Swimming.

I include Berkoff's rebuttal in block quotes and my responses to his comments are beneath those block quotes.

Dear Tony:

"... I am disappointed that you continue to post inaccurate blog comments about me without having the decency to even call me. My telephone number is listed and I am in the USAS Directory. I’m not hard to find. ..."

I won’t respond to this slam on my character. Instead I want to zero in on the exaggerations and the falsehoods that both you and USA Swimming have made in this signed letter to me.

"... As for the 2010 email you posted, this is old news. Robert Allard has been circulating that email for two years. More critically, what I wrote was true as to my recollection of 22 years ago. There were rumors. I heard them. However, I had no first-hand knowledge of whether these rumors were true. Instead, I did what I could. ..."

The “rumors” you heard were not rumors, they were real instances of sex abuse upon a minor that lasted for several years. Even per your emails it is patently obvious that you believed these “rumors” and your responses illustrate this. to wit:  “...I was sick and tired of this crap. No one was standing up. No one was willing to take on these perverts...”

Those were your words and you were right, no one did stand up.

Mr. Berkoff you are a lawyer and the idea that you must have a “victim” come forth to report a crime simply does not wash especially if it is a crime against a minor. This “victim-only” rule is an “old wives tale” that the USA Swimming organization keeps pushing and has been trying to pass off as a fact for far too long.

Though it is inconvenient to accuse an innocent person of abuse, it is far worse to allow a child to be abused because you are reluctant to speak out. The suspicion of a crime can be reported anonymously. Let the professionals based upon the anonymous report determine what happens next.

"... 22 years ago—when I was a 24 year old swimmer—I confronted a problem that I saw as unjust. I formed the first abuse subcommittee in 1991 and the committee’s work formed the basis for the Code of Conduct. I quit the Board for several reasons in 1992. ..."

I read the transcript of a video deposition you gave on January 26th of 2012 - You were NOT on a “Sex Abuse Sub-Committee in 1991 nor were you a USA Swimming board member during 1991. You admitted as such in your deposition. What you were doing during that period was training for the Olympics. [Page 178]

Though you state emphatically that you “formed the first [sex] "abuse sub-committee" in 1991,” a statement you mentioned in emails to Ken Stopkotte, Mike Saltzstein and this rebuttal post, you testified under oath of doing NO such thing.

Moreover, there are NO official committee meeting minutes or otherwise that can be presented and after going over your deposition I could only find this "shred" of an explanation that you gave regarding the formation of this “Sex Abuse Committee”:

Question: Whose idea was it to form this subcommittee?

David Berkoff: I don't know if it was mine or whether somebody just said, hey, who is interested in doing this. I don't recall. [Page 178] 

In January of this year you had no idea if you formed this “abuse sub-committee” or not but in this rebuttal letter you produce a firm date, which was not only incorrect but you take credit for being the originator. Repeat, under oath you have NO idea if you formed this “abuse sub-committee” at all.

Question: [When Asked about a letter to Ken Stopkotte and Mike Saltzstein]  Quote, As you all know, it took seven years from the date we formed an abuse subcommittee in 1992, end quote. 

When you say "we," who were you referring to when you wrote this in July of 2010?

David Berkoff: Yeah. Probably U.S.A. Swimming in general.

Question:  And why did you use the words "abuse subcommittee"?

David Berkoff: I really didn't know what else to call it. It wasn't a formal committee. All I know is it was a group of us who I recall meeting once, maybe twice discussing these issues in a very frank and open manner. And what I recall of it I've testified to before, and the only person I can recall actually being there was John Leonard [...]

Question:  Was the topic of implementing a formal Code of Conduct discussed during this meeting?

David Berkoff:  I don't know if there was actually some discussion of a formal Code of Conduct. I do believe that we did discuss the issue of whether or not we should have some kind of formal statement on abuse of swimmers.

What stands out the most for me is the “...Formal Code of Conduct...” that you so brazenly take credit for in your rebuttal. What you said in your rebuttal is that “...the committee’s work formed the basis for the Code of Conduct...” but this completely conflicts with what you answered in your deposition above. When asked directly about this “formal code of conduct” you make it clear that it may have never been discussed.

"... I got back into the USAS arena in 2010 (17 years later) largely because the athlete protection issue seemed to need more work. I drafted several versions of a new athlete protection policy before ever stepping onto the Board. These drafts were shared with the Board in July 2010 and 6 of the 7 concepts I proposed were adopted in substance and redrafted for consistency with the established Code of Conduct. In September 2010, I stood on the floor of the House of Delegates with other USAS members and advocated for the passage of these new rules. I advocated for mandatory reporting, a reporting hotline, defining sexual misconduct, education, and no statutes of limitation. That year USAS passed the most ground-breaking and cutting edge athlete protection policies of any NGB. ..."

Claiming USA Swimming’s child protection policies are the most ground break cutting edge athlete protection policies of any NGB - (National Governing Body) would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious. I suggest you look at the Little League for a class act in regards to child protection policies.

"... In 2011, I helped the athlete protection officer formulate the updated background check program and to cut costs as best as possible. That included dozens of conference calls during a time when my wife was hospitalized in Minnesota for a third hip replacement surgery. In 2011, I also helped advocate for the passage of USAS’s anti-bullying rules as well as some important additions to the athlete protection rules. I again advocated these changes on the House floor. I will be proposing legislation this week that will add more power to the Board of Review to rid our sport of pedophile coaches. ..."

After reading your deposition, I don’t believe you. Your accomplishments within USA Swimming seem to be a "multiple choice option".  When under oath you seem non-committal, when running for office or defending your positions you seem self-assured and confident.

"... Furthermore, you and your readers should know that because of the amount of work I am doing for USAS, I resigned from my position as a Partner at a law firm that I had been a part of for 15 years. I did this to spend more time of USAS issues. I made a choice—continue to take on a Partnership workload at a big firm for money or leave the firm and dedicate time and energy to USAS for no pay.

In choosing the latter, I lost about $50,000 in income per year, gave up my interest in a $16 million building, lost my equity in the partnership, lost most of my clients, and had to start over on my own. Tony, this kind of decision is not easy when your wife’s health is in question and you have two kids.

However, because of this choice, I dedicate about 800 hours a year (at least) to USAS projects and tasks. I chair, help manage, or participate in 11 different committees—more than any other Vice President. I have traveled all across the country to go to meetings and conferences. I spend dozens of evenings reading USAS proposals, reports, and information. I donate time and money to the USAS Foundation. On top of it all, I miss time with my family. I do all of this because I care about USAS and want to make a difference. ..."

When faced with the terrible adversity that befell my family, I took 5-years off and cared for them. I will leave it at that.

A word of advice, swimming is a recreational sport; I acknowledge that you love this sport but plesae keep it in perspective. Family is more important than any recreational sports activity, period!

"... Unfortunately you have interpreted my silence in the blogosphere as inaction or apathy. Far from it. I’m not the kind of guy who likes to toot my own horn, but since you have attacked my character, I am giving you the full monty. I frankly don’t have the time or inclination to get sucked into yellow journalism, rumor and speculation, or conspiracy theories, and so this is my first and last response to you. I hope you have the decency to post this reply and let your viewers judge me fairly. ..." 

I think my record of hard work speaks for itself. If I am voted off the Board, so be it.

David Berkoff 

Technical Vice President, USA Swimming

Not only do I have the decency to post it, I made my response an official blog post so now your rebuttal and my answer back to you is in a permanent archive that can be referenced for years to come.

Justin Bieber sends a "CARE" package to Missy Franklin.

Contrast Missy Franklin's to Ryan Lochte and we have two polar opposites in our Americana pop culture spectrum. Though each has a big heart, there is one who is poised, graceful and exuberant. The other is somewhat awkward, excited, and a bit "zippy."

 Missy Franklin has an admirer with a huge following and this is will bring more attention to our sport. 

From USA Today, Game On:

Bieber, who tweeted Franklin congratulations after she won her first Olympic gold medal, sent the 17-year-old swimmer a personalized present, Franklin told NBC's Today show Friday.

"He sent me a huge care package, which was so awesome," she said. "I walk home and my mom is so cute; she took everything out and set it out on the table. I had T-shirts and CDs and posters and all that stuff." 

[Link]

Missy Franklin set for a cameo role in a new Vince Vaughn movie called "The Internship"

The movie is called "The Internship." According to IMDB.com:

From Zap to it:

"... "I got a cameo in the upcoming movie 'The Internship,' it's with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn and I am so excited about it," Franklin gushes.

But when asked for details about the role, she laughs and says, "You're gonna have to wait and see!" ..."

[Link]

According to IMDB.com the Internship is about "...Two recently laid-off men in their 40s try to make it as interns at a successful Internet company where their managers are in their 20s. ..."

I hope she "storms it" and I hope she starts taking acting classes.

Another email from USA Swimming board member David C. Berkoff regarding rampant sexual abuse in our sport - John Leonard is mentioned!

The above s a screen shot that was sent to me 2-hours ago. It is a letter from USA Swimming board member, David C. Berkoff, to Jeff Chida sent on 7/26/2010 at 6:15 PM. Herein he states he personally knows witnesses that told him Mitch Ivey was sleeping with a specific swimmer. That Rick Curl was molesting Kelly Davies and he heard this by unnamed swimmers in Texas. That John Leonard was on a sub-committee and told Berkoff that  "... he was opposed to an all-out ban on swimmer/coach relationships because he had married one of his former swimmers. ..."

It is time for David Berkoff to resign or be voted off the board. USA Swimming has the appearance of protecting it's own at all costs and that stinks of the "Sandusky/Paterno/PennState" scandal. I see many similarities.

In no other sport would this be tolerated but not only is it tolerated, those that knew who the victims were, knew who the perpetrators are, have been granted greater visibility and responsibility within the sport.

I call for David C. Berkoff to resign. I call for John Leonard to either refute or acknowledge his statement below and for the members of USA Swimming and it's more reasonable board memebers to get rid of the people that tolerated this "dirty animal" called sex abuse that entered our house.

Herein David C. Berkoff states:

From: David C. Berkoff [mailto:dcberkoff@GARLINGTON.COM]
 Sent: 07/26/2010 6:15 PM
To: 'Jeff Chida' 

Subject: RE: Norm Havercroft

Denying knowledge of Rick Curl, Mitch Ivey and others banging their swimmers! It’s a flat out lie. They knew about it because we (coaches and athletes) were all talking about it in late 1980’s and early 1990’s. I was told by several of Mitch Ivey’s swimmers that he was sleeping with Lisa Dorman in 1988. I heard the whole Suzette Moran story from Pablo Morales over a handful of beers and nearly threw up. I was told Rick Curl was molesting Kelly Davies for years starting when she was 12 by some of the Texas guys. That was the entire reason I formed the abuse subcommittee. I was sick and tired of this crap. No one was standing up. No one was willing to take on these perverts. 

John Leonard was on the subcommittee and told me he was opposed to an all-out ban on swimmer-coach relationships because he had married one of his former swimmers. I finally threw in the towel out of frustration because no one wanted to stand up for background checks or banning coach-swimmer relationships.

Boston: Five swimmers test a 20-mile prototype for a new marathon swim event.

Five swimmers got together and "beta tested" a pretty formidable swim. The Boston Globe reports it would be a 20-mile swim but no specific race map was published.

From the Boston Globe:

"Connor started last at 3:50 a.m. and made it to Provincetown in 10 hours and 22 minutes."

"... It was nice, I was enjoying myself,” he said, adding that the first hour was the hardest of the entire swim. “I’d say, ‘I don’t think I can, I want to quit.’ It happens all the time. I just have to push through the first hour...."

Before yesterday’s triumphant swim, many had attempted the same route, but only one had succeeded battling the Cape Cod current. Russell Chaffee of Sayre, Pa., was 41 when he completed the swim in 14 hours and 40 minutes in 1968.

The swimmers followed the rules set up for those who want to swim the English Channel: They were allowed to wear a swimsuit, cap, and goggles, but could not have any assistance during the swim other than an escort boat. Swimmers were given food at regular intervals, and were not allowed to touch the boat or crew during the swim. ..."

[Link]

David Berkoff in an email to Jeff Chida discusses the rampant sexual abuse in the sport - Does he allude to Rick Curl?

David Berkoff is both an Olympian and currently sits on the Board of Directors at USA Swimming. When running for the position of board member he was highly critical as to how USA Swimming was addressing the rampant sexual abuse within the sport and summarily made promises as to what he would do if elected.

I endorsed him when he was running and I even turned my head the other way when he borrowed form this blog in a long "manifesto" he posted in the comments section to a Swimming World article.

Once elected, it was as if all his rhetoric in those private emails and the postings on message boards was nothing but election rhetoric. He signaled "left" but he turned "right."

Here is an email written by Berkoff to Jeff Chida which demonstrates this.

From Concussions Inc.  

“...Denying knowledge of [REDACTED] and others banging their swimmers! It’s a flat out lie. They knew about it because we (coaches and athletes) were all talking about it in the late 1980′s and early 1990′s. I was told by several of [REDACTED] swimmers in 1988.… I was told [REDACTED] was molesting [REDACTED] for years starting when she was 12 by some of the Texas guys. ...”

Once again I remind readers of what 1988 and 1992 Olympic medley relay gold medalist David Berkoff said in a 2010 email to Jeff Chida, a swimming parent, shortly after ABC’s 20/20 blew the cover off USA Swimming’s decades-long cover-up of coach sex abuse.

Was Berkoff talking about Rick Curl, now on “provisional suspension” after exposure last month of his molestation of his swimmer Kelley Davies through the early 1980s at the ages o 13, 14, and 15 – followed by Curl’s payment of $150,000 in hush money to the Davies family? Berkoff won’t say. Now USA Swimming’s technical vice president, Berkoff defiantly maintains that the organization takes care of its own because it is “family.” Graham Spanier, the disgraced former president of Penn State, probably believed the same of his institution. So did Don Vito Corleone. ..." 

[Link]

This article is shocking and goes into explicit detail about how Rick Curl allegedly groomed his victim and allegedly abused his victim for years all from the alleged victim's point of view.

Shades of Moby Dick - Diana Nyad forced to abandoned her Cuba to Florida Swim!

This swim is more formidable then climbing Mount Everest. In fact, to convert this task into a more pedestrian activity,  it would be like going on a 400-mile run. If it were on bicycle it would be like going on a 2,000 mile bike ride without sleep.*

After four attempts at this remarkable and most likely unobtainable goal, Diana Nyad, is pulled out of the water by her team.

From NPR:

In a new post on Nyad's website, her team reports she was "fully alert and articulate" when she got into the escort boat and wanted to get back in the water to finish the swim. But "with lightning, thunder, and roiling winds tossing her tiny escort vessel up and down on the waves like a paper cup" it was decided that "for the sake of the safety of her team and herself" they needed to motor on to Key West. 

[Link]

One reader in an email suggested that this swim reminded him of  Herman Melville's classic, Moby Dick, and I think the comparison is appropriate. For those who may have never heard of the book, let alone seen the movies, it's about an arm-less captain named Ahab who lost his arm to a white whale during a whale hunt and he is out to get revenge. His relentless chase of the whale is much like Diana Nyad's relentless pursuit on all four of her Cuba to Florida swims. However, to her credit, she listened to her crew whereas Ahab would have none of that and all but one of his crew members sank to the bottom of the ocean.

" …to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee...." -- Captain Ahab, Moby-Dick - 1851

It was hate, arrogance and revenge that killed Ahab but it was Diana's respect, smart choices, and desire  that left this whale for another day or another swimmer.

[*I am judging these calculations based upon pool-times-versus-track times-versus-cycling-times. For instance, the 400-meter dash world record (WR) is timed at  :43.7 whereas a 100-meter free WR is times :46.9 and finally the 1-kilometer cycling time trial WR is logged at: :58.875]

Put Michael Phelps near a Louis Vuitton bag and he suddenly looks quite dashing!

A plushy couch, a little tea, a chess set in the lower middle left, and finally a Louis Vuitton bag guarded and out of the way under his leg.

I like how he is working that tie. I hope those shoes don't have square toes?

He looks stylish, relaxed and comfortable. It's a good look. Best photo I have ever seen him in.

Diana Nyad Cuba to Florida Swim - Uh oh, off course?

Diana Nyad has seemingly hit a rough spot at the time of this posting. I see that she changed course and at one point was heading south rather than north. Later she makes a correction to head north . Still this anomaly is distressing.

The photo above is a close-up of Diana Nyad's GPS Google Map which shows the anomaly. I watched the whole episode unfold and could not get my head around it.

For the most of the swim she has been fighting a westerly current and this current is going to build. However, if she can make it to the half point in the swim, the swell direction will favor her greatly as it changes to the north.

How do I know this? I found an animted current prediction model from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which is located here: Scroll down to watch the next 180-hours unfold it: [Link]

I took a screenshot of a single frame and placed it below Diana's map as a reference.

After looking at the NOAA animation I think this is still doable but I would have have been positively sold this could be completed if they had had started the swim 120-miles east of Havana.

Her Twitter Page says the following:

"...At 8pm EDT "all hell broke loose here." Out of nowhere, a squall "blew up very quick." blowing Diana off course ..."

[Link]

 
Think good thoughts.

Teen Swimmer crosses Lake Ontario!

In 27-hours, Annaleise Carr "beasted" a 32.5 mile swim. Swimming in fresh water is not easy, it is not as buoyant as saltwater, it reacts more to the wind, and it is colder due to less density. (Those are my experiences with it)

"... Teenage swimmer Annaleise Carr has arrived at Toronto’s Marilyn Bell Park, making history by becoming the youngest swimmer to cross Lake Ontario. 

Carr was welcomed by fans and well wishers at 8:58 p.m. local time Sunday, marking the end of her grueling 52.5-kilometre swim that started in Niagara-on-the-lake on Saturday evening.

[Link]

Diana Nyad - Cuba to Florida Swim: The first 24 hours: Steve Munatones shares his observations of Diana Nyad

Confidence is high, she is nearly a quarter of the way at the time this video was created.

Diana Nyad Swimming through jelly fish swarms!

Diana Nyad's site is posting frequent updates and it floors me how relative good news can be for her during this Cuba to Florida swim. For Diana Nyad good news is getting a 5-minute break in-between jellyfish attacks.

That is definitely "a glass is half-full" attitude.

The Google GPS Map says she is about 30-miles into into the swim at the time of this posting.

• [Google GPS Map: Link]

From Diana Nyad's site:

Angie Sollinger, Christi Barli, and Candace Lyle Hogan are staying up all night to report the good news: At her 3:15 a.m. feeding, Diana asked for pasta and hot chocolate! Minutes later, Danny Lintz, one of the boat crew ferrying various personnel to and from their shifts on the escort boat, says over the VHF: “Good news: the organism swarms are getting fewer and far between—now coming only every five minutes.”

[Link]

Diana Nyad is swimming from Cuba to FLorida right now so think good thoughts!

Diana Nyad, has box jellyfish scars and still goes back into the drink to nail that Cuba to Florida swim.

She is so tough and resilient ! I once said she swims like a boss; strike that that, she swims like a "pirate" and a "Spartan!"

I hope she makes it. She is predicting 60-hours.

From Huffington Post:

..."I've been surprised at the fact that the human is the worst athlete on Earth in many regards, compared to our animal brethren, yet we are superior at the endurance of continuing at a high threshold of effort for days and even weeks at a time.

I've found myself in a state of rapture to let the mind go free out in the deepest of oceans. The sensory deprivation caused by tight caps and fogged goggles, the metronomic slapping of the hands on the surface for 20, 30, 40 hours of training, no matter how one tries to persist with concrete progressions of counting and singing, takes the mind way out into the cosmos. You just can't conjure thoughts about the edge or the infinity of the universe at dinner conversation as you can when under the extreme physical and mental distress of a long, isolated swim.

There exists pure sport in this quest. Extreme adventure. Outrageous personal discovery. The thrill of unexplored territory. ..." 

[Link] 

CNN: [Link] 

Real TIme Coverage: [Link]

Remote control lifeguard saves the day - Can "swim" faster and bring in multiple rescues.

This is so lame it's golden: Ryan Lochte to trademark ‘Jeah!’ catchphrase!

I can see it now: the the word JEAH emblazoned with a customized graffiti font on the side of a pair of shoes. Etched in glass at the bottom left-hand-corner of a pair or tinted pair sun glasses. Grills, Cargo pants, bottles of beer! - JEAH!

From Zimbio:

"... He apparently hopes to "use the word on sunglasses, workout DVDs, gift cards, mugs, drinking glasses, trading cards, calendars, posters, swimsuits, swim caps, sports hats, and water bottles." As if you'd ever want to own a swim cap that DIDN'T say "Jeah!" on it.

Lochte joins a unique list of celebs who have tried to gain ownership of their own words. ..." 

[Link]

Michael Phelps and Misty May-Treanor get Wheaties boxes

I think Keri Walsh should have got the cover instead or that they both should got this box cover as a team. From USA Today:

Limited edition Wheaties boxes featuring Michael Phelps and Misty May-Treanor will be on shelves next month. 

[Link]

As an interview subject I contrast Missy Franklin with Kirsten Stewart

Above, Missy Franklin is being interviewed by Jay Leno; Kristen Stewart is interviewed by David Letterman.

In my opinion Missy Franklin has equal amounts, or arguably more, charisma than Kirsten Stewart of Twilight fame. Franklin did great on the Tonight Show and I hope she draws attention to our sport.

They are both young and successful and the two of them are outstanding icons within their respective groups. Both are considered elite in their fields; (elite in Hollywood is defined as a strong box-office draw whereas with swimming, it has to be an Olympic gold medal for no other medals count), and finally both inspire their followers.

Stewart seems poised, guarded, and measured. Franklin seems exuberant, quick with her answers and is more interested in Jay Leno than the Audience. (The interview is for them, not Jay Leno.)

These icons are so much more palpable then the dross we suffered through in the early apart of the decade with "celebrities" named Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan. I hope Missy Franklin is just as successful as her pop culture counterpart, Kristen Stewart.