Asia is getting amped-up on Swimming and 'Swimming World Magazine' will now have issues in Korean!

Asia is the "new Australia" for swimming pop-culture. With the rise of Park, Kitajima and a bunch of other swimmers whose names I can't spell, they all are truly electrifying the continent. I promise you that Amanda Beard and Michael Phelps will be doing commercials all over Asia real soon which will be amazing for our sport in so many ways.

So, seeing around corners which Swimming World has been known to do, Korea is about to be introduced to Swimming World magazine.

Kara Lynn Joyce describes the emotional transition from devasted to euphoric!

Kara Lynn Joyce is one of the swimmers replacing Jessica Hardy. She placed third in the 100 free behind Dara Torres and Hardy and here she describes what it felt like to not make the team and then in a flash, be included. From the MLive.com: "... She was going to Beijing.

"...I just started crying on the plane,'' Joyce said, laughing at herself. "He just gave me the best news of my life. I think people on the plane thought I was really weird or something tragic had happened, but I couldn't pull it together.

"All my bags and luggage went to Atlanta, and I flew to Palo Alto in the morning. I was living in the same clothes for two days, but I didn't care. I would live in those clothes all summer if I had to.' ...'

Here is a video of her in Go Swim Freestyle with Kara Lynn Joyce. Also, I recommend this Go Swim DVD!

Shout out to Tara Kirk: I support your continued ligitigation against USA Swimming!

Clay Evans wrote me an email today asking, "Why is the blog so grumpy lately?" He also spent a full paragraph defending Amanda Beard and telling me to lighten up, but enough about his problems. ;-)

Here is an article from Lane 9 News regarding the "kangaroo arbitration hearing" that Tara Kirk suffered through so as to get herself rightfully placed on the Olympic team after Jessica Hardy tested positive for a banned substance. This whole mess HAS made me grumpy.

If Tara Kirk does possess an email which she suggested clearly states USA swimming knew about the Jessica Hardy's positive test before the FINA deadline to declare a team, then Tara Kirk should litigate with USA Swimming and get her congressman involved as well.

Here is a link to the Lane 9 News article: [Link]

'Reuters' Ken Wills "test dives" the Speedo LZR

Ken Wills was an age group swimmer in his youth and he got to try the LZR on and swim different strokes: "... I did seem to slide through the water further and faster on the dive -- or was I being influenced by the upbeat 30-minute background presentation by Speedo officials?

Particularly on the butterfly and breast strokes the sensation was, well, buoyant.

But that wasn't really what I was feeling, insisted Jason Rance, worldwide head of Speedo International's Sports Aqualab.

"In terms of buoyancy, we tested it to make sure there is no buoyancy advantage," he said. "The suit's stabilizer helps keep the body position right so you feel you're riding higher in the water." [Link]

- • -
My opinion is that if you feel more buoyant and are riding higher on the water, then you are more buoyant. I think the public relations people don't like that word buoyant even though it is demonstrable that they are. They don't like it because FINA doesn't like it nor want it as an option.

Did you know that if you wear a sppedsuit at the Alcatraz Sharkfest, they put you in the wetsuit division?

Image comes from Science Daily with an article attached about the suit design: [Link]

Five "alternative" ways to watch the Olympics

This blog has a list of sites which may or may not post videos of the Beijing Olympics. From New TeeVee: "... The IOC is aware of this problem and is trying to address it by posting authorized videos on YouTube. Too bad these clips won’t be accessible to folks in the United States. So where will U.S. Olympians go? Hard to say, to be honest. There’s a plethora of options out there, ranging from Chinese P2P services to torrent sites. However, previous sports events, ranging from the recent Euro Cup soccer contest to your regular NBA game, can give us a first idea of what kind of pirate platforms might get the Beijing bump. ..." [Link]

Image above: Creative Commons license. Thanks to Mattias Pettersson at Wikipedia Commons

I question her motives and her perception of taste!

Amanda Beard poses nude again just in time to grab all the attention away from Katie Hoff, Kate Ziegler, Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, Kara Lyn Joyce, etc. etc. etc. and become the de facto showgirl for women's swimming.

The Powerade nudity I posted earlier rules for it's all about celebrating the human body in motion. This PSA for PETA has Amanda Beard posing sexy and nude and though it is an anti-fur ad, it apparently is all about Amanda Beard, her nationality and her sexuality.

I was just starting to like her again too. She worked incredibly hard to make the Olympic team which illustrated an incredible work ethic when you compare her times from a year ago. She did a PSA for shark protection awareness and now this silly PSA for a political organization with a spotty record of their own in regards to animals rights abuse. PETA has even been known to use physical intimidation and battery against those that wear or write about fur. [Link] -- (Though this linked site is hyperbolic, it links to source references.)

Another pop-culture, attention-grab by the "Paris Hilton" of Swimming. If you want to read her; what I believe to be a faked quote regarding fur, it's here in the L.A. Times: [Link]

"Bird nest" stadium review with photo gallery!

I think the reviewer opinions here are pompous, but then again so are mine. For instance The reviewer slams the 1936 Olympic stadium as a symbol of fascism which in my opinion the stadium was more an art deco structure rather than a political statement.

If the Chinese Olympic Stadium or the "Bird nest" is a political statement it would probably be that of "globalization is good" since every venue structure they have was outsourced to western firms whereas most countries who host an Olympics use their own designers and architects.

What makes a country great are it's ideas and contributions. All these ideas were outsourced hence the "globaliztion" theme.

Snipet from the New York Times: "...During sports events, it glows with energy: the hue of its translucent skin shifts from game to game with the colors of the teams. Inside, the steep pitch of the seats creates the impression that the 70,000 spectators are coiled tightly around the field. It’s a masterly way to choreograph the focused hysteria of a soccer match.

But in Beijing, the architects were clearly striving for something more heroic. The centerpiece of a vast Olympic park in the northern reaches of Beijing, the stadium is raised on a mound of earth to give it a more monumental presence. Its matrix of crisscrossing columns and beams was conceived as a gargantuan work of public sculpture.

Viewed from a distance, the contrast between its bent steel columns and its bulging elliptical form gives the stadium a surreal, moody appearance, as if it were straining to contain the forces that are pushing and pulling it this way and that. Philosophically, it suggests the tensions just beneath the surface of a society in constant turmoil. ..." [Link]

LOL - Wow! that shows me!!! What do I know about architecture? (Also, you may have to login for this article.)

British athletes pose for Olympic 'Powerade" ads!

From the Mail Online: " The images will be used as part of an advertising campaign for Powerade, the official sports drink of the Beijing Games...." [Link]

Read the article to see who these athletes are.

Bad ventillation in the Water Cube?

The Australian press is using words like "smog on the water" but I think it's humidity and poor ventilation within the Water Cube. It's a vast structure and has to many intricate shapes to allow for easy ventilation. (It was an Australian architect that designed it too.) Here is what the The Sydney Morning Herald said:

While they were gobsmacked by the striking architecture of the venue, they were also left bewildered by a dense haze that hovered over the pool.

Australian head coach Alan Thompson said while many of his team had spent some time taking pictures of the bubble-clad stadium from the outside, the misty conditions inside had been noticed.

"I am trying to find an answer to that question … I did notice the haze," Thompson said. ..." [Link]

Also mentioned in the article is that Michael Phelps isn't talking to the media - he's focused, he's channeling Spitz, he's under lock-down and amping up for his close-up with history!

I found the photo above at the Beijiner: [Link]

Thorpe sues France! - (France as a defendent is easier to spell than the French paper and the journalist that he is actually suing.)

Gosh it's late, and Wendy from www.off-the-deep-end.blogspot.com sent me this link well before anybody had it this morning. Unfortunately, I had to watch this "scoop" mold into yesterday's fish-wrap because my stupid life got in the way.

Thorpe is still pissed-off about French paper named L'Equipe and a writer therein accusing him of an irregular doping test. Thorpe is suing for defamation and more!

Snippet from RTE: "... Thorpe's lawyer Tony O'Reilly had informed the New South Wales Supreme Court of this on Monday and said that the proceedings would include a claim for infringement of privacy, the statement said.

The court proceedings were adjourned until September 22, when it was expected that preparations would be made for a hearing some time next year, the statement said, adding that no further comment would be made...." [Link]

He is suing in an Australian court - How is that going to work?

Beijing "Water cube" or Munich Olympic Pool? - It's glass versus plastic and why is that ironic?

I prefer glass over polychloride, plastic, bubbles. The bubbles are probably made from the same material that our imported Batman action figures are. Contrast this to the tempered glass at the Munich Olympic pool which lets in an amazing amount of light and tone. The Munich glass structure is more organic and suggests transparency rather than a Made by Mattel aesthetic that you see in the Beijing Water Cube.

As far as I am concerned, the western architect of the the "water cube" should have his artistic license revoked. I know I am in a minority here but in 15-years I will have the last laugh. :-P

Now, the architect of the Munich Olympic pool should be given a 1st class plane ticket to Mount Olympus and given a Speedo LZR by Zeus himself that was blessed by Athena and shrouded in olive wreaths and gold! Now there is a pool!

'Tin-Medal-Tony' scores two more tins but this time they are painted silver rather than bronze!

Tastefully painted in silver and garnished in white plastic, this medal can be yours but you got to be fast enough, and you got to win it at a SPMA Regional meet. Remember, if you don't swim, you can't win.

The next SPMA regional meet is in December at short-course-meters championships. Though an authentic, gold-painted, tin, medal still eludes me, I'll be there to try again and you should too because the swim is always better than the win.

50 lcm free: 28.91
200 lcm free: 2:34.16
100 lcm free: 1:06.62 (5th place)

No stage persona here: This is probably the real Gold Medal Mel!

Gold Medal Mel is in Beijing and in this YouTube you can hear a tinge of anxiety in his voice as he foreshadows that he may be covering topics more serious than usual.

I say this because he mentions that he is spending time with corporate types within the USOC as well as USA Swimming staff. When you start speaking to people at that level, your words have to be measured and your facts have to be solid. I find it refreshing.

Is 40 the new 30 for Olympians? - Duh!

From Reuters: "... Americans Richard Johnson, archery, is 52, Libby Callahan, shooting, is 56, and British horseman Nick Skelton is 50.

French cyclist Jeannie Longo is competing in her eighth Games at the age of 49 and it is the second Olympics for Israeli marathon runner Haile Satayin whose passport says he is 53.

Dr. Michael Joyner, an anesthesiologist at the U.S. Mayo Clinic who studies the effects of ageing on athletes, said normal "physiological" ageing starts at 30 but athletes can delay this until their late 30s or 40s with prolonged, intense training.

He said lab data showed that for physiological factors associated with endurance sports the decline is about 10 percent per decade starting at 30 but this can be halved with continued hard training, especially if it remained intense.

"If you look at top performers in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, the volume of training (hours per day) is sometimes down, but they keep the intensity high. They usually also do things to prevent age-associated declines in muscle mass," he said. ..." ...

"All things being equal the person who can put forth a maximum effort and at the same time relax has a real edge. A lot of it is learning how to compete in a relaxed way when the pressure is on," he told Reuters. [Link]

This says to me that after 30, you can slow down one's degrading endurance issues by 50%. Therefore, at age 76-years old, which is the average life expectancy, you would have the oxygen saturation ability of an average 53-year-old. That seems accurate to me.

Oh, and then there is this "chick" named Dar Torres... ;-)

'Speedo' will potentially supply over one-million dollars worth of "LZRs" to the athletes that request them at the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games!

From the Times in South Africa: "... Asked to comment, Speedo International was optimistic that all swimmers would be fitted. “Fina’s guidelines clearly state that suits must be available to all athletes,” the company said in an e-mail.

“In line with these regulations Speedo is endeavouring to make the Speedo LZR Racer available to all at the Games and, indeed, we have committed to supplying over 3000 suits to athletes at the Olympics which we believe clearly demonstrates our commitment to the sport.” [Link]

At $550-a-suit that could be as high as 1.5 million bucks if the athletes all choose full body suits. I mean, wouldn't you?

I saw two 'Nero blueseventy' suit failures today and now what I believe to be the fastest suit in the world, the 'Speedo LZR'

Bob Strand set a world record for his age group in a Nero blueseventy at the SPMA Regional Long Course Championships hosted by Conejo Simi Aquatics at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. I don't remember his time for I was more interested in what he thought of the suit. Of course he was stoked. Results will be posted soon.

However, I saw two Nero blueseventy suits rip today in the exact same spot, a two inch tear along the seams in the upper thigh area by the gluteus maximus region

By the way, Bob Strand's suit did not fail. I learned today that if you are going to race in a Nero, be sure it is wet; less chance of tearing.

Now, as for the fastest suit in the world: I saw Erik Hockstein set a world record today in the 4x100 LCM free while wearing a Speedo LZR. It was during the opening swim of a relay in a time of 52.20. (Yes, that is blazing fast and it was fun to see.) He later swam in a Nero in the 100 free in a time 52.86.

Now I have to be fair. I did not see a TYR Tracer Light today. I was going to purchase one and wear it but scheduling factors did not permit me to make the 50 mile drive to go buy one. Also, I can't find one online yet. So I am qualifying my experience with speedsuits here. The fastest suit I have ever seen in person is the Speedo LZR. It's faster than Nike Hydra, the Nero blueseventy, former Speedo suits, former TYR speedsuits, Former Arena suits and Diana.

It is a remarkable suit but watching someone put it one on is actually stressful. Especially the zipping up part. It's like setting a mousetrap; you are afraid it will go very wrong and nail your fingers when you go to place it down on the floor.

I am seriously still looking at a TYR Tracer Light or Rise though due to the fact that the LZR has a short shelf life and the Tracer may be the only game in town in terms of quality. Now when I buy a TYR Tracer Light and if it by chance rips or tears, you will hear about it and then we all will be back to square one as to which "dope" is best.

SPMA LCM Regionals being held today and tomorrow - I did a personal best in the 100 LCM free

SPMA Regional Long Course Championships hosted by Conejo Simi Aquatics at Cal Lutheran University are being held today and tomorrow.

In the 100 meter free I put down my personal best as my seed time, a 1:08.23 but I and pulled a Dara Torres and stormed it swimming a 1:06.62.

And speaking of storming it, blogger Joel, the 17th man did a 2:31.67 for the 200 LCM fly and he has never swam long course as a masters swimmer. (SICK! TIME) I am hoping I can somewhat match that time in the 200m free tomorrow.

Jessica Hardy has removed her name from the US Olympic team

Associated Press: "...The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Hardy's decision Friday, saying she did so "in the best interests of the team. ..." [Link]

Now that she has removed herself from the team and will not appeal her removal, what happens to the alternates? This whole episode has been a definitive fiasco in planning by both US Swimming and the US Olympic committee.

A deal must have been struck. I am NOT saying that Hardy is dirty; that is for WADA and USADA to judge, I just have a strong suspicion that a lot of people really want this to episode to go away and to do so quickly. Now, Jessica Hardy has provided an out.

After reading this from Bloomberg, this sort of smells like the deal to me: "...Hardy didn't contest the laboratory findings and was granted additional time by an American Arbitration Association panel to investigate possible causes of her positive test. While she received a two-year ban from competition, Hardy will be permitted to come back to the AAA panel to present evidence which could reduce her period of ineligibility, USADA said. ..." [Link]

Janet Evans is writing for Yahoo Sports! - You should have told me! >.<

Janet Evans on Dara Torres and the 50 free in Beijing: "... The 50 free could be anyone’s race in Beijing. Australian Lisbeth Trickett (nee Lenton) was the first woman to break 24 seconds with a 23.97 at her country’s long-course championships in March. Dutch sprinter Marleen Veldhuis, who posted a time of 24.09 in March, could be a strong contender in this race as well. And we can’t count out veteran Therese Alshammar of Sweden, whose 2007 posting of 24.13 is the third-fastest time – behind Trickett and Veldhuis – in the history of this event.

With her performances from Omaha and the confidence she has gained in the past few days, Torres’ time from Sunday puts her squarely in the race with the three fastest women in the world – all of whom will be competing in Beijing. Although I do not consider her the favorite to win this race, we can never count out Torres and her incredible will to win, especially because this race could represent the first and only individual gold medal of her Olympic career. ..." [Link]

I love that last sentence! It's both informative and a quasi double entendre. Janet, just get back in the water! I want to see you spank, Manaudou, Ziegler and Hoff in the 1500 in London 2012.

(The girls finally get to swim the 1500 in London, right?)

Swanky hotel pool meets Andy Warhol

Wendy sent us this photo because she knows I like art and swimming. I just wish they would have put the stairs somewhere else so you can lap swim. Here is a link to Wendy's blog, Off the deep end: [Link] and here is a link to the review of the hotel in Men Style: [Link]