This is so cool: Your favorite college swimmer has been databased and you can view their stats!

This site; secretly buried at Swimming World, allows you to search up mens rankings, womens rankings, college swimmers, and even allows you to enter you own data.

1) Go to the link: [Link]
2) Select "Search swimmers by college"
3) Select a school name or use the pull down menu: I chose "University of Texas" (Must 'ctrl' click for multiple schools)
4) Click all the preference boxes you are interested in
5) Click "Search" and then you can view the swimmers times, stats and more.

Go there before they bury it!!!

Floswimming Fallout: "Swim site conflict opens debate over sport's video rights"

Remember when Grant McCaffrey got spankd by USA Swimming and then the swim bloggers spanked back? This article covers the fallout.

Merritt of Merittr gets quoted as well. How cool is that? :-)

Here is a snippet from the Missourian: McCaffrey’s conflict has since become a rallying cry for issues those see in the online swimming community with USA Swimming’s new partnership with Wasserman Media Group.

“It’s not a situation ideal for a governing body to be in,” McCaffrey said. “It’s an issue larger than Floswimming. It’s a pretty layered battle, and Floswimming’s just at the tip of it.” [Link]

Cullen Jones freestyle compared with Michael Phelps

I like Cullen's better.

Michael Phelps eats 8k to 10k a day commercial

Michael Phelps: A boy and his dog commercial

Love that dog though English bulldogs are very high maintenance health wise when they get old.

As seen on TV: Grant Hackett's 48 hour diet!

Wendy of off-the-deep-end sent me this article from The Age in response to that photo I posted of Grant Hackett's plushy belly. Here is what he had to say: "...Do I look like I'm really that overweight? I don't really think I am," said Hackett, who was publicly praised in March for his best performances in years at the Olympic swim trials.

"At the end of the day you carbo load, you have 3.5 kilograms of fluid before you start the race . . . (and) there were a whole set of circumstances and (that was) just an absolutely unflattering shot. ..." [Link]

Caught on film, a killer whale hunting a dolphin

In the ocean the Orca dominates all: Gray whales, sperm whales, great white sharks, dolphins, giant squids and anything else that swims are nothing more than menu items to them.

What has me completely astonished is that killer whales know that we are harmless to them and refuse to put us on the menu. In this article the writer recounts how a killer whale actually paraded it's baby for the divers to see after mauling a dolphin.

The image is attributed to The Herald in South Africa. Here is a snippet from the article: "...

“My four clients and I decided to join them in the water. While orcas in the northern hemisphere feed mostly on fish like herring, the species in the south focuses on mammals like seals and dolphins, so we were cautious.

“But they were just curious, and quite friendly. At one point the mother of the calf brought it towards us, shielded against her side as if to show us to it.”

Schimpf, who is also spokesman for the marine conservation lobby group Ocean Messengers, said the event was further evidence that “Algoa Bay offers the best dive opportunities world-wide.... and needs to be protected accordingly.

“It is a heritage of enormous tourism value and has huge potential to support eco-friendly business, for present and future generations. ...”

TYR Athletes talk about the new 'Tracer Light'

One of the athletes is Erik Vendt who recently decided to go Speedo perhaps even before he had a chance to race in the Tracer Rise? Currently he and Larsen Jensen are not sponsored as a result of their decisions to wear Speedo.

I sincerely wonder if their decisions to bail on TYR was a result of mass hysteria in the press regarding the LZR's "magic" or that the Speedo LZR is technologically rigged? I should go look at his times post TYR and LZR and compare them.

FINA's side of the Grant Hackett DQ

FINA is having none of the "they targeted Grant Hackett" excuse. Here is what they had to say: "... In the upset of the day, Hackett finished not only outside the top-ten who qualified for Beijing (he finished fifteenth), but was also disqualified based on the FINA Open Water Swimming Rule 6.3.1, which prohibits any one swimmer from interfering with another swimmer by making intentional contact. Hackett’s first infringement (yellow flag) came at 1hr27mins into the race, while the second was within the last 300m, when swimmers desperately scrambled to find the quickest path to the finish. The Australian team subsequently filed a protest, which was followed by meetings with the head referee Mr. Ronnie Wong, but the protest was not accepted, as both the infringements were confirmed by two other referees. “It’s unfortunate that any swimmer should be disqualified,” Mr. Stephen Cassidy, President of the Technical OWS Committee said about the issue, “but I have no doubt it was warranted and that the referees made the correct decision.” [Link]

Grant Hackett just 81 days away from Beijing

Alex Murdock quoting Ian Pope in The Herald Sun: "... He's in great shape. He hasn't missed a beat," Pope said in Melbourne yesterday.

"I'm only guessing here, because I haven't seen those photos, but after a distance race they do puff up a bit. He certainly wouldn't get pudgy unless he's had a lot of food while he was away and he's normally really good about those kinds of things."

Pope said he believed it was probably Hackett's choice of swimwear that had helped make his figure appear more rotund, giving him the dreaded muffin-top look. ..." [Link]

He looks strong & overweight to me.

Mark Warkentin finishing seventh at the FINA 10k Open Water World Championship

Mark Warkentin, pictured above finishing seventh today at the FINA 10k Open Water World Championship in Savilla, Spain has earned the right to represent the USA in the first ever open water Olympic event.

I was curious as to what suit Mark Warkentin was wearing so I emailed TYR, the suit is wearing is called the Tracer Light Open Water, a suit designed for distance swimming of this nature. The suit has what TYR calls "Energy Cell" pockets to store nutrition/gel packets and customized compression panels. I will try and get pictures of it. Getting food at the aid stations is quite an art and takes up time. The pockets sound like a good idea.

I was told that he was wearing the tights.

The Beijing Olympic Medals

I am surprised how western they are in nature. I like the design of the Olympic torch better. It captures Asia much better.

Australian Nick D'Arcy won't be going to the Olympics but a Drunk, Australian, driver who put a person into a 12-day coma will?

What are you guys thinking down under?

From the Sydney Morning Herald: "... CYCLING Australia admits they're heading for a Nick D'Arcy-style controversy with Chris Jongewaard likely to be selected for Beijing despite being charged over a drink-driving hit-and-run that left the victim in a coma for 12 days.

Cycling Australia will nominate its team on July 4 for ratification by the Australian Olympic Committee. President John Coates will have to decide whether Jongewaard, like D'Arcy, should be kicked off the Olympic team. ..." [Link]

I stand corrected on Olympic open water qualifying

I am the open water student, Munatones is the master. From Steve Munatones:

"... There are 11 remaining spots to fill in the men's 10K at the second qualifying swim in Beijing on June 1st. One of these spots will be allotted to the Chinese representative. The remaining 10 spots will be given to the first 10 finishers; but, each country only gets one spot.

Because Mark Warkentin placed in the top 10, the U.S. does not get any spot. In the same way, countries like Australia , Netherlands , Italy , Greece and Belgium also do not have the opportunity to qualify a second teammate at the Beijing race (because they also placed a swimmer in the top ten in Seville ).

Therefore, Chip Peterson will not be eligible to try to qualify again for the Beijing Olympics. That is, your second paragraph is incorrect (i.e., …if Chip Peterson is going to go…the selection will be up to USA Swimming).

If possible, please clarify this for your readers because this may lead to many misunderstandings and some of your readers will send me emails on this subject, accusing FINA and/or USA Swimming of making the process confusing, misleading, inappropriate or politically based. Like you, I am only trying to promote the sport, its heroes and participants, but I would rather focus on the positive vs. the negative.

In fact, the qualification explanation is quite clear – unfortunately, the entire explanation has not been adequately presented to the general public in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, when picking up bits and pieces of the qualification criteria, misunderstandings are often made. Please help me try to avoid this situation, if possible.

By the way, the only country on the men's side that has 2 swimmers in the Olympic 10K final is Russia . In the same way, the only two countries on the women's side that have 2 swimmers in the women's 10K final are Great Britain and Brazil . On the men's side, there will be 24 countries represented in the field of 25 male swimmers and 23 countries represented in the field of 25 female swimmers. ..." -- Steve Munatones

Go to 10Kswim.com for a primer on open water swimming

2008 FINA World Open Water Championships: Update on Grant Hackett's DQ

I should steal that "spinning siren" that Matt Drudge uses for stories like these. Anything Steven Munatones writes about open water is worth it In this update, Steven goes into specific details as to how and why Grant Hackett was DQed.

Swimming World update: "... The second infraction was committed with less than 250 meters from the finish in the mad dash to the finish. When the pace picked up with less than 1000 meters to go, Hackett was caught in the middle of the surging pack. With every stroke, unintentional collisions were made due to the close proximity of the swimmers to each other. As Hackett tried to create more space between himself and the swimmer alongside him, he apparently slowed down and tried deliberately to go over the back of Chip Peterson's legs. Apparently, the degree of separation between Hackett and Peterson was not enough. Unfortunately for both swimmers, Hackett swam over Peterson in a manner that three referees believed impeded the progress of Peterson. ..." [Link]

You would think that Grant Hackett would have swam like my favorite Russian, Larisa Ilchenko, by surging to the front and staying there. I bet Chip Peterson was pissed about the infraction but then again, look what it took to bring him down, the greatest distance swimmer of our time. Chip will still make it to Beijing I bet.

2008 FINA World Open Water Championships: Warkentin is going to Beijing, Grant Hackett got hammered and DQed!

The qualifying process for the Beijing open water races is awkward. For instance, according to the Steven Munatone's article at Lane 9 News, Chip Peterson did not finish in the top 10. He came close by placing 13th but that did not guarantee him a spot in Beijing. However, Saleh Mohammed, of Syria who placed 23rd will get to go; (rightfully so), since he has rated as the Asian continent's best finisher.

If Chip Peterson is going to go, he needs to race again on June 1st in Beijing in another qualifier race. If Chip does not qualify there, then the selection will be up to USA Swimming.

Here is a snippet from Steven Munatone's Lane 9 News article: "... SEVILLE, Spain, May 4. SIMILAR to the women's 10K championship yesterday, a British Olympic pool swimmer led the entire way until a savvy Russian surged at the end to claim the gold at the 2008 FINA World Open Water Championships. David Davies dragged the entire lead pack of over 40 men around four loops of the 10K course in Seville. Swimming consistently at 41-43 strokes per minutes, Davies lifted up his head every 20-50 strokes as he led the field. ..." [Link]

Above is how close the Open Water race was: David Davies got out touched by Russia's Vladimir Dyatchin by by an arm length. Photo from the BBC. [Link]

In this article by the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian teammate, Ky Hurst, said: "... A lot of the Europeans were rumoured to have said they would target Grant and they unfortunately did, ..."

"Two things came into play with Grant's swim, one he did not have the experience and two he is Grant Hackett and he was targeted big time. ..."

"They swam over him, bumped into the side of him, Grant has a large stroke and bumping into him every time is going to shorten his stroke up and going to hurt him and they were swimming over his legs,"

"That is what they do here, it is not the easiest sport in the world and unfortunately experience comes into play." [Link]

This article from the International Herald Tribune quotes Grant Hackett as to why is was disqualified: "... There were times when there were bodies everywhere — it was that kind of race," Hackett said. "I'm the first to admit that it was never going to be easy and, with 150 metres to go, another swimmer swam over the top of me and pulled me back and I swam over his legs and that's what I was supposedly disqualified for." [Link]

Today was the women's portion of the 10K FINA Open Water World Championships

Larisa Ilchenko of Russia wins again to remain undefeated! Amputee Du Toit of South Africa is fourth - Steve Munatones has an excellent report over at Lane 9 News: [Link]

The Guardian has this report: [Link]
The Glob-and-Mail: [Link]

Above are British swimmers Cassandra Patten and Keri-Anne Payne having some sort of conference with one another. Here is a BBC News report: [Link]

With bridges as spotting targets, I bet this was a lot easier than an ocean swim hence they were a lot of surprises in the final results. [Link]

Though one of my favorites, Edith Van Dijk, will go to Olympics. Top American finisher, Kirsten Groom and Micha Burden did not fair to well in the standings which now makes it really complicated. I thought Chloe Sutton automatically gets to go but I think it is much more involved. I got an email that a test event of some kind may determine who gets go and that test event may only allow one swimmer instead of two to represent the United States. I am looking for a reference to see how it works. (Paging, Steve Munatones! White courtesy telephone please!)

Partial results copy/pasted this from Swimming World:

1) Larisa Ilchenko (Russia): 2:o2:2.70 - qualified for Beijing
2) Cassandra Patten (Great Britain): 2:02:05.8 - qualified for Beijing
3) Yurema Requena (Spain): 2:02:07.2 - qualified for Beijing
4) Natalie du Toit (South Africa): 2:02:07.8 - qualified for Beijing
5) Jana Pechanova (Czech Republic): 2:01:12.6 - qualified for Beijing
6) Poliana Okimoto (Brazil): 2:02:13.5 - qualified for Beijing
7) Angela Maurer (Germany): 2:02:13.6 - qualified for Beijing
8) Keri-Ann Payne (Great Britain): 2:02:14.1 - qualified for Beijing
9) Aurelie Muller (France): 2:02:14.2 - qualified for Beijing
10) Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil): 2:02:16.3 - qualified for Beijing
11) Edith van Dijk (Netherlands): 2:02:18.6 - qualified for Beijing, top European finisher
12) Yanqiao Fang (China): 2:02:23.3 - qualified for Beijing as top Asian continental finisher

17) Andreina Pinto (Venezuela): 2:02:39.8 (37.1 seconds behind) - qualified for Beijing Americas continental finisher

25) Melissa Gorman (Australia): 2:03:18.4 (1:15.7 behind) - qualified for Beijing as top Oceania continental finisher

A suave Frenchman who wears plastic and rubber clothes: HE FIGHTS CRIME!

Seriously, he does! Alain Bernard, French sprinter who held the world record in the 50 free for a short time has joined the military police: "... PARIS (AFP) — French Olympic swimming hopeful Alain Bernard, who broke three world records and won two titles at the European championships in March, has joined the French military police, the central administration for the national gendarmerie (DGGN) confirmed on Friday...."

"...Gendarmes in France are paramilitary personnel who carry out police duties among the civilian population.

Some 90 positions are reserved in the armed forces for top level sports stars, of which 18 are in the gendarmerie, which allows athletes to continue their sporting careers in the best conditions...." [Link]

Here is a link that allows you to steal story ideas for bad, "they fight crime!," television cop shows. Just click the "try Again" link if the cop show idea does not tickle your fancy. [Link]

USA Today: More than half of black and Hispanic kids can't swim

USA Swimming did the study and here is the snippet from the report: "...COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A national, first-of-its kind survey found that approximately six out of 10 African-American children are unable to swim, nearly twice as many as their Caucasian counterparts. Similarly, 56% of Hispanic and Latino children are unable to swim. ..." [Link]

From USA Today: "...The survey found that "children do not buy in to the stereotype that minorities don’t or can’t swim. When asked whether they believed swimming was “just for white people,” over two-thirds of African-American and Hispanic/Latino children aged six to 16 disagreed (68% and 71% respectively), more than 40% of each group disagreed strongly. ..." [Link]

Caption to the photo: (Olympic freestyle swimmer Cullen Jones teaching Tavion Traynham and five other 8-year-olds at a YMCA in Omaha, Neb., in March. Photo by Daniel Johnson via AP.)

Steven Munatones is on the Sand in Sevilla and reporting for Swimming World!

Steven Munatones of 10kswim.com, a former open water champion himself whose site has been reference in the Wall Street Journal is on the beach in Sevilla, Spain covering the FINA World Open Water Championships for Swimming World.

Here are some of his articles:

On Grant Hackett:

"At the pool during practice, they were just swimming at the hip, practicing how to draft and helping each other," said a coach who observed Grant Hackett and Ky Hurst of Australia prepare for Sunday's 10K Olympic qualifying race. "They looked pretty smooth together." [Link]

FINA World Open Water Championships: Pre-Press Conference Coverage
FINA World Open Water Championships: Pre-Race Swimsuit Check
FINA World Open Water Championships: Starting Positions Drawn

Steve if you are out there reading, why is it that the men don't appear to "attack" one another during the races like the women do?