Liesel Jones can bend light!

Liesel Jones and Libby Lenton are the Australian "corsage" of the 2007 Fina World Championship of Swimming. They are the only two swimmers from Australia to win gold medals; three so far. I predicted the men would get bruised but they are suffering a slow motion mugging.

Enter Liesel Jones who won a gold medal in the 100 meter breaststroke against a talented Tara Kirk.

From the article: "...It is the Queenslander's fourth consecutive world championship medal in the event. As well as gold in Montreal in 2005, she won bronze in Barcelona in 2003 and silver in Fukuoka in 2001. .."

The Age: [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]

Here is a great recap of yesterday's, or our today's, action from SI

I promise tonight I will talk up the heroic efforts of the Australian women, especially Jones; Lenton; and even France's, Laure Manaudou. For now this article by Sports Illustrated which has comments from Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman; Natalie's reaction; Perisol's; and Hansen which can all be viewed on page 2. [Link]

I just watched the Phelps 200 meter world record race and his turns were lethal

Michael Phelps' world record for the 200 was greatly assisted by his turns. He was easily getting 10 meters underwater before emerging to the surface with absolutely no loss of momentum whatsoever. His turns were so devastating to his competitors that Van den Hoogenband; (silver Medal), would take up to two-and-a-half strokes before Phelps' took his first.

To a master swimmer who competes or even a triathlete who duck dives when entering or exiting to or from an open water event, this accomplishment stresses the importance of doing butterfly regularly.

Herald Sun: [Link]
Sports Australia: [Link]
The Guardian Limited: [Link]
Chicago Tribune: [Link]
This is London: [Link]

Work up this morning to several swim news flashes

1) Michael Phelps breaks Ian Thorpe's 200 free record with a 1:43.86 he beat Van den Hoogenband and Park who came in with a 1:46.28 and a 1:46.73 in that order.

2) Natalie Coughlin lowers her world record in the backstroke to 59.44. She beat Laure Manaudou who came in at a 59.87

3) Aaron Perisol sets a new backstroke record with a 52.98

4) Federica Pellegrini sets women's 200 free record with a 1:56.64

VNSO Swim Workout

Well, it was distance night tonight. The sky was overcast but the water was inviting. Dimitriy coached and the regular crew was all there.

I bought a digital camera tonight, here is my first photo of the VNSO pool. Of course I was hoping for a San fernando Valley sunset but alas, overcast will have to do.

Warm up: 200 yards

Transitional set:
3 x 100s swim/build/drill by 100s
3 x 100s swim/build/drill by 100s

Main set:
3 x 500s - 1:40 base

Pull set:
3 times through
3 x 75s descend 1-3

A new swimmer named Chad sent me this You Tube video of his last swim meet to critique

Chad sent me this and he asked me to give him some constructive criticisms. Well, the first thirty seconds are just iMovie fluff but then it gets down to business. I think his start needs work and his turns are a bit anemic.

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.)

Amanda Weir's kick viewed from above

I was at WCSN.com watching the heart wrenching silver the US got in the women's 4x100 relay and they showed the race briefly from overhead. Amanda Weir's kick is so symmetrical that the wake behind her looked like a DNA helix.

Natalie Coughlin on a mission

"I was really strong," Coughlin said. [Understatement, she was 8 tenths off her world record in the 100 back.]

"I did exactly what I needed to do for tonight. I have a final and semi tonight so hopefully I can get through those and look forward to the final tomorrow." [Read as, consider yourselves "pwned" tomorrow night because I really want this.]

Read it over at Eurosport.com: [Link]

SCAQ Workout - Santa Monica swimming today

My swim club, SCAQ, caters to both Masters swimmers and triathletes. If you are a triathlete in need of swim skills it is a great club to learn and develop aquatic skill sets. Today SCAQ had what is called a Ironman set at VNSO for triathletes; (VNSO: Van Nuys Sherman Oaks pool), but I headed over to Santa Mo for one of Dimitriy's mid distance workouts instead.

I don't remember the intervals but I remember the yardage. Oh, and blogger trevr was there. He has a play coming up on April 13. Go to his website and check it out.

200 warmup
6x50s kick/swim
6 x 75s descending 1-3 and descend 4-6 with a more agressive interval
3x300 with a descending interval.
3x300 with a faster descending interval
6x50s warm down

Total: 3050

Open water races have issues that FINA needs to resolve in regards to World Championships and Olympic events

Though German athlete, Britta Kamrau-Corestein, won a gold medal in the 25k open water race. She was a bit testy with officials after the race.

12.5 Kilometers into the open water event, the race was suspended due to wind and swell. When Britta Kamrau-Corestein exited the water, she claimed that officials told her the gold would be hers. Apparently this may be a FINA rule during an open water event. However after a long "pow wow", officials said something along the lines of, "our bad, you are going to swim the rest of the 12.5 kilometers tomorrow."

Britta Kamrau-Corestein admits the split race probably helped her in the long run but feels rules must be consistent.

From the article:

• American Kalyn Keller took silver and Russia's Ksenia Popova bronze, with that pair prevailing in a sprint finish over German Angela Maurer (fourth) and Russian Natalya Pankina (fifth). [Link]

Australian women beat the USA and Germans in the 4x100 relay

From Eurosport: "...Libby Lenton - formerly the 100m freestyle world record holder - got the race off to a flying start swimming the second fastest 100m in history to put Australia in front of the United States' Natalie Coughlin after the first leg ..." [Link]

Gold - AUS 3:35.48 Course Record
1.)LENTON (53.42), SCHLANGER (53.95), REESE (54.90), HENRY (53.21)

2.) Silver - USA 3:35.68 COUGHLIN (54.13), NYMEYER (53.50), WEIR (54.02), JOYCE (54.03)

3.) Bronze - NED 3:36.81 DEKKER (54.57), KROMOWIDJOJO (54.82), HEEMSKERK (54.13), VELDHUIS (53.29)

STEFFEN (52.65) Fastest time

Gold in the 4x100 relay

The USA stormed it but look at Magnini's time for Italia. Also the race featured two swimmers of African ethnicity: Sicot and Jones. From Eurosport: [Link]

1.) USA 3:12.72 Course Record
PHELPS (48.42), WALKER (48.31), JONES (48.67), LEZAK (47.32)

2.) 2. Silver - ITA 3:14.04
ROSOLINO (49.35), CALVI (49.06), GALENDA (48.45), MAGNINI (47.18) Fastest time

3. Bronze - FRA
3:14.68 GILOT (49.18), BOUSQUET (48.48), SICOT (48.84), BERNARD (48.18)

Manaudou, Park: Gold in the 400 at the FINA World Championship of Swimming

The biggest news here is that Grant Hackett lost in the 400 to Park Tae-hwan. I am really surprised about this.

Manaudou, Eurosport: "I am really relieved," Manaudou said.

"I had to keep my title. On the distance [events] there is more competition, everybody swims faster. It's easier for me to get a very fast start. It makes things psychologically much harder for my rivals. [Link]

Manadou, WCSN: Manaudou showed her rivals a clean pair of heels from the start, opening up a body length's lead on the first lap and racing through the first 300 meters under world record pace before fading on the last 100 meters. [Link]

Park, Eurosport: I wasn't going to go at the pace of Hackett," Park said through a translator.

"Then after 200m I started to push and went even harder in the last 50m. I am mentally really tired but confident after I've got the gold medal." [Link]

Kitajima's beautiful pull and glide breaststroke as seen underwater

Did you know that it has taken me almost three years to forgive Kitajima for doing a dolphin kick during a breaststroke turn against Brendan Hanson in Athens 2006? Now I feel he actually elevated the stroke by getting his interpretation of the breaststroke turn into the FINA handbook.

I forgot to mention...

At the Southwest Masters meet at Pierce college I was beaten by a guy in the 70-74 age group by nearly 2 seconds. He swam a 58 in the lane next to me and I swam a 1:00.33. I didn't feel bad about it because his name was Jeff Farrell, a fellow who won two gold medals at the 1960 Rome Olympics in the 4 x 100 medley relay and the 4 x 200 free relay. (How he got onto the Olympic team after having his appendix removed two weeks before trials is an even more amazing story.)

When Jeff was in the 60-64 age group he swam an American record of 23.28 and was named swimmer of the year in 1997. There is a bio over at the USMS website where you can read all about his great accomplishments. [Link]

Cullen Jones, the new Tiger Woods!

Maybe I am talking about Cullen Jones too much but this photo is so kinetic and to seducing not to link to it. Here is an article at Eurosport.com that outlines Cullen Jones' values in regards to the sport. Tiger Woods is mentioned: [Link]

French presidential candidate, Francois Bayrou, calls for Beijing boycott

That would so suck for Laure Manaudou and the whole French team. You would think that the world would have learned from former President, Jimmy Carter's, blunder when he had the U.S. boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to the Soviet Union's involvement in Afghanistan. Consequently athletes from all over the United States were summarily denied a legacy and/or an accomplishment due to that foreign policy fiasco.

Enter French politician, Francois Bayrou, who feels France should boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics, "if China does not alter its stance on the Darfur crisis in Sudan. ..." Here is a link to the story over at WCSN: [link]

I did a little research and found out that China has $10 billion reasons to look the other way in the Sudan and those reasons are all invested inside of Sudan's oil fields. [Link]

Yet another reason to get the hell out of an oil based economy. I don't care if hydrogen costs more to produce and is inefficient to move around. This bloody stuff called oil pollutes the ocean, the air, our lungs and our politics. Per Popular Mechanics it would take 800 million dollars to go to a hydrogen method of energy production yet we have spent $400 billion in Iraq.

Wiki link regarding Popular Mechanics figures: [Link]

So, if you are French, don't vote for this guy.

Cullen Jones will possibly become one of seven swimmers of Black ethnicity to make it to the Olympic podium

Just how significant is Cullen Jones to swimming? From Swim News.com:

"... Just six black swimmers have made it to the Olympic podium throughout the sport's history: Enith Brigitha (2), Anthony Nesty, Neisser Bent, Anthony Ervin, Malia Metella and Maritza Correia - seven medals for black swimmers out of almost 400 possibilities during the 108 years from Athens to Athens. That's fewer than Michael Phelps on his own. USA Swimming says that less than 1 per cent of America's 232,000 competitors are African-Americans. [Link]

I did a search on some of these names, Anthony Nesty is a coach for the Florida Gators Women's swim team and he beat Matt Biondi to win a gold medal. [Link]

Enith Brigitha pictured to the right was the first female black swimmer to win 2 medals in 1976. [Link]