The 'TYR Tracer Titan' - The first suit to use 'Yamamoto SCS-Fabric BRS MARK-III' fabric!

Has the Tracer Rise been replaced by a far superior version? Most likely for the subhead on the Tracer Titan product sheet makes it clear that they are using the next generation of hydrophobic fabric coming out of the Yamamoto Corporation, a company that provides Yamamoto SCS fabric for such speedsuits as the blueseventy, Rocket Science and the Jaked suit.

The Yamamoto SCS-Fabric BRS MARK-III has 34% less drag than the previous SCS Fabric, is a much thinner fabric, absorbs 0.5% less water, and TYR has it first. I am unclear if the fabric will be available to other suit makers.

I find this very exciting news for their former suit, the Tracer Rise, was setting world records for the past six months and now they have "leapfrogged" that technology with a suit that on paper looks even better! I can't wait to pour myself into one of these.

Check out this comment from their product sheet that clearly suggests that latic acid can be "dampened?"

The flexible Titanium alloy layer provides optimal thermoregulation which aids in the reduction of lactic acid in the blood, optimizing muscle performance. Titanium is recognized for its high strength-to-weight ratio which allows the material to contour to the natural shape of each athlete, significantly reducing stress and fatigue on the muscles.

[Link]

Some thoughts: I think the phrase, thermoregulation, is a fancy way of saying it will keep you warm. Well, the suit definitely looks sexy and TYR has proven in numerous meets these past six-months that their suits set world records too. I want to see this one in action for I like the cut, the color and I want one for SCY Nationals!

I have no clue when they are for sale.

The suit will be available at the NCAA level and I was told by TYR PR that they are shipping off tons of these 'babies' to colleges everywhere so as to make them available per the FINA rule regarding suit availability.

Here is a snippet from an NCAA memo release from CollegeSwimming.com:

In light of the recent proliferation of new models and designs of technical swimsuits, international bodies have begun discussions on implementing scientific measures to be used for approving swimsuits for competition. In mid-January, FINA announced it was temporarily halting the intake of approval requests from manufacturers designing new swimsuits. As a result, the committees have been forced to reevaluate using FINA’s list as the resource for approving swimsuits for intercollegiate competition.

Since the NCAA does not currently have the capability to test swimsuits, and since there seemingly is no discernible justification for treating any one technical suit differently from any other for purposes of use at intercollegiate competition, the committees have decided to permit all technical swimsuits for all 2009 NCAA swimming and diving championships.

[Link]

The biggest question here is if the fabric is stronger than the previous Yamamoto SCS fabric and is it elastic enough to avoid suit malfunctions? I will catalog any failures I see.

These are the most courageous start dives I have ever seen!

Ouch 1 from Glenn Mills on Vimeo.


Ouch 2 from Glenn Mills on Vimeo.


Ouch 3 from Glenn Mills on Vimeo.

USA Today: Double Amputee fitted with a mermaid tail!

I love these sorts of stories where technology or craftsmanship suddenly allows a disabled person to be gloriously effective at sport. I just love it.

From USA Today:

"... A prosthetic is a prosthetic, and your body has to be comfortable with it and you have to mentally make it part of yourself," said Vessey, who has been swimming in a pool and Auckland Harbor.

"It was absolutely amazing," said costumer Lee Williams. "It's beautiful to watch Nadya swim and to see that dream come true and to be a part of that. I feel quite blessed. ..."

[Link]

Ian Thorpe considers the FINA speedsuit meeting a mugging or "beat up."

Ian Thorpe is pro-speedsuit and he wants swimming to move forward with them. According to Ian, the FINA meeting last weekend was a "mugging" whereas several several speedsuit manufacturers were "beat up." Here is what he had to say:

"If you look at it historically, swimsuits have progressed since the early 1900s," Thorpe said. "When we talk about the swimsuits now the claims of how much they improve performance have been less significant than some of the claims that have been made in the past.

"It's something that's just beat up over and over again. For most of the swimmers, we're happy to swim in them. The only question that I may agree with some people is the fairness at that kind of intermediate level, when we are talking about kids wearing these things.

"We know that they are more expensive and so that people have equal access to what they swim in, I think we can make some new judgment and assessments on that kind of level."

[Link]

One attendee told me that Rocket Science was never shown any measurable data, nor any hard evidence as to why long arm suits should be banned. None. No studies, no side-by-side comparisons, or drag tests. I spoke with another attendee and he said FINA's attitude was, "well, we have to give [the governing bodies] something!"

I am beginning to think that the meeting was a political "dog and pony show" to appease the national governing bodies rather than the swimmers at large. I think masters will ignore the ban and FINA will look the other way or make special rules for masters swimmers.

I feel the sport will grow as as a result of speedsuits; I think it will contract without them. To ban or heavily restrict speedsuits will result in fewer sponsored swimmers, fewer meets, fewer open water events, and way less money to spend on swimming related products.

These images are the closest representation I have seen of open water swimming along a coastline!

Asako Narahashi has a series of photos he took while swimming/filming in and around places in Japan. I love the Mount Fuji shot with the solar flares bouncing off the droplets on the lens.

As usual originally found at Notcot.Org but you can see it directly at Booooooom.Com:

[Link]

Alain Bernard, Laure Manaudou, and Coralie Balmy in a group hug but who is that scary guy in the back?

It's not Jason Lezak! The headline for this French article at Pure People: "Coralie Balmy, en passe de prendre la place de... Laure Manaudou!" or Coralie Balmy, on the way to replace… Laure Manaudou!

This article sort of explains why and here is the Bablefish translation. Note, Babefish is not grammatically accurate:

"... More glamour, more powerful, more bankable and especially more… here: the swimmer Coralie Balmy has just carried out a good operation while becoming ambassadress of the Adidas mark. She joined the armada thus stars who carry already the colors of the mark to the three bands in the greatest sporting disciplines…

... Coralie Balmy is a sure value of tricolour swimming, and, therefore, a sure value… for the investors. It also presents the great interest… to continue its activity and the competition, while at the same time Laure Manaudou took a run out powder to try to regain a footing...."

[Link]

Meet new swim journalist, Roland Schoeman, for 'Sport 24!'

Glenn sent this to us and he is friends with Roland and he even filmed him for Go Swim Sprint Freestyle with Roland Schoeman.

Besides being one fast swimmer, Roland Schoeman is a snappy dresser! Dig that trendy speedsuit in the photo to the right.

Snippet from Sport24:

Cape Town - Sport24 are proud to announce SA Olympic gold medallist and multiple world record holder, Roland Schoeman as our newest columnist. ..."

Read Roland's first column HERE

Here ia snippet from a fast, ad hoc, interview they did with him:

Sport24: Finally, who is the hottest woman currently in world swimming?
Roland: There’s a Finnish girl, Hanna-Maria Seppala. Got to love the Finnish swimming federation!

Schoeman’s column will feature on Sport24 every second Tuesday, starting today, and users are encouraged to leave comments. Roland has promised to respond to the ones that don’t say anything bad about his beloved [Blue] Bulls... [Rugby]

I admire this Josh Keyes shark illustration on many levels!

I actually call it a shark illustration because I am aquatically biased but it really is a brute force illustration about global warming.

Oil has condensed atop the ocean surface and the dorsal fin that protrudes out of the water is suddenly ablaze due to the surface temperature from the sun. The shallow bottom where the shark is trolling is obviously a city street and Josh Keyes suddenly makes the event look like the shark is contained in a fish tank.

[Link]

Found originally at NotCot.org

"Ryan Lochte: Aubrey's next victim?" - Watch this post get a billion hits!

Aubrey O'Day is seen sitting next to Ryan Lochte; if you don't who O'Day is, well, she makes Gwen Stefani, or Madonna look like lazy slackers. O'Day extraordinarily industrious entertainment-wise and though she does not have the money that the aforementioned icons have, the depth of her resume is way more impressive.

Snippet from New York Post Pop Wrap:

I do not appreciate the way Aubrey O' Day is looking at Ryan Lochte -- doesn't she know he's spoken for? And I was actually starting to like the ex-Danity Kane singer following her winning appearance on Chelsea Handler's TV show.

[Link]

I spent three days working on getting a news source at the table in Lausanne, Switzerland for the FINA speedsuit meeting and then an additional 3 hours writing the articles. However, if I spend just 15-minutes on a swim gossip story, I get up to 2,000 unique views in just one day more than 5-times the response when compared to the suit articles.

Craig Lord: "Death Of Performance-Enhancing Suits Nigh?"

I think Craig is in denial: FINA is proposing so few rules that it seems obvious that suits like the blueseventy, and the Tyr Tracer Light, will have to make little to no "mods" even if every single proposed FINA rule is passed next month in Dubai.

From Swim News.com:

The end of performance-enhancing suits may be nigh: after its meeting with suit makers, coaches and others in Lausanne today, FINA issued a statement that effectively sounds the death knell for at least some of the 2008-model suits that placed the sport on artificial fast-forward. Buoyancy tests will surely do for some current suits, while restrictions on permeability of material - which could send the Speedo LZR into extinction - will not be in force until 2010.

[Link]

I am in guessing mode here: I will say that I am unclear on the tech specs for the Speedo LZR. FINA did mention that in their propose rules that: The application of different materials shall not create air trapping effects... This makes me wonder if this was the reason why the Speedo R&D head, Jason Rance, asserted aggressively how non-buoyant his suit was in the Telegraph article.

I heard a rumor that Speedo was actually working on a long sleeve version much like the Rocket Science suit and obviously that design will be on hold if the rumor I true.

Nonetheless speedsuits are good for 2009 and I am sure suits at the masters level will remain perfectly okay for longer than that.

World Federation - Sporting Goods Industry issues press release regarding FINA speedsuit meeting!

Well, I guess that shows the governing bodies: Both the money and FINA are behind speedsuits.

Lausanne, February 20th, 2009: Major swimwear manufacturers responded to the invitation of FINA (Federation Internationale de Natation) and met today in Lausanne with FINA officials, athletes’ representatives and coaches to discuss the on‐going evolution of the sport and FINA Requirements for Swimwear
Approval.

The manufacturers appreciated the positive and open nature of the discussions during which a broad consensus was reached on a number of issues. The manufacturers look forward to working further with FINA, athletes and coaches to ensure the broad proposals outlined can be translated and implemented in a detailed and effective way ensuring a positive outcome for everyone.

“We all have a mutual aim, to increase the participation in swimming and the profile of swimming, athletes, coaches and federations” says Robbert de Kock, WFSGI Secretary General. “New technologies are being used in all areas in aquatics and in sport generally and it creates an
excitement for the sport”.

The sport of swimming has benefited from extraordinary exposure in the last year and the WFSGI and the brands look forward to working with FINA to build on this success.

[Link]

FINA Releases Proposed Ammendments for Speedsuits!

Swimming World Snippet:

Material:

• The material used shall have a maximum thickness of 1mm;
• When used, the material shall follow the body shape;
• The application of different materials shall not create air trapping effects;
• BUOYANCY: The swimsuit shall not have a buoyancy effect of more than 1 Newton (100gr)

[Link]

I am breathing a sigh of relief.

Speedsuits: An informal FINA speedsuit meeting just happened!

I was thrilled to get a call from Lausanne, Switzerland just an hour ago from a individual who just attended the FINA swimsuit manufacturers meeting. This is a pre-meeting the manufacturers decided to have so as to be on the same page before meeting with the FINA officials tomorrow. A final announcement about the fate of speedsuits will be rendered in Dubai next month.

Here is are some snippets from a TVNZ article about the meeting that will take place tomorrow:

The manufacturers have never had it so good and they will not want any bans imposed.

Strong, persuasive argument is expected from all sides and FINA will need to be tough and unrelenting in its pursuit of the right answer. About 20 manufacturers will be present in Lausanne along with a number of coaches, athlete representatives and the FINA technical committee.

FINA will announce its decisions at a meeting in Dubai early next month so that the new laws will be introduced before the world championships in Rome in August. It would be a huge surprise if a ban on multiple suits is not imposed, along with strict guidelines on the area of the body which can be covered, but whether FINA is prepared to go much further than that is the major question.

[Link]

I was told that all the suit manufacturers are on the same page in that they want a de facto buoyancy test, suit thickness guidelines, a rule to ban multiple suits and/or duct tape "mods" and most importantly clear cut rules so that suit innovation can take place without the fear of a nebulous interpretation wiping out bundles of money in R&D expenses at the last minute.

I was surprised to hear that they are all getting along and that each company is going to make it clear that they will support FINA and will promote swim meets and open water events in the future.

Apparently Speedo is being the most vocal of the bunch and Jason Rance, the "mad scientist" who runs Speedo R&D, was interviewed by The Telegraph and made himself heard:

But Jason Rance, who headed the Speedo research and development team that produced the all-conquering suit with the aid of NASA scientists, has denied that it offers any extra buoyancy and is willing to prove it in a laboratory.

"What I can be clear on is that Speedo has always tested for buoyancy because we don't believe it's fair to have a suit that basically allows you to float on the water," he said.

"We would welcome an independent buoyancy test to make sure that our suit is not buoyant because I think that is something that people have jumped on."

[Link]

I asked about the TYR people and the blueseventy people since I really don't care about the Speedo people and they repeated that confidence is very high, each manufacturer wants swimming to do very well and all they just want are clear rules so they can support their swimmers and FINA swim events in the future.

I want to thank the person who called me, it was quite thrilling to get a call from the other side of the Atlantic especially about a subject I am very invested in.

MSNBC: Science proves you can boost your immune system with these 9 foods!

I have had a cold for 3-weeks and of course I finally run into this article just when I am in the finishing stages of it. So, ... I will cut to the chase with these three snippets from MSNBC.

Keep in mind they are just snippets so go check out the full text for each food:

• Yogurt: "... In an 80-day Swedish study of 181 factory employees, those who drank a daily supplement of Lactobacillus reuteri — a specific probiotic that appears to stimulate white blood cells — took 33 percent fewer sick days than those given a placebo. ..."

• Sweet Potatoes: "...To stay strong and healthy, your skin needs vitamin A. "Vitamin A plays a major role in the production of connective tissue, a key component of skin,..."

• Black tea or Green Tea: "...Immunologists at Harvard University discovered that people who drank five cups of black tea a day for 2 weeks transformed their immune system T cells into "Hulk cells" that pumped out 10 times more cold and flu virus-fighting interferon — proteins that defend against infection — than did the immune systems of those who didn't drink black tea. Green tea should work just as well. ..."

[Link]

Photo: Black tea Taken by Ultratomio at June 28, 2004(JST). Wiki Commons [Link]

Pool vandals cause $30k in damage then post photos of themselves doing so on "Facebook!"

If you vandalize a pool, I have to call you a dumb-ass because that is what you are and these dumb-asses posted their crimes on FaceBook.

Consequently, the cops found out who they are and now they are in the slammer charged with breaking-and-entering, arson and using an axe to destroy pool tiles beneath the surface.

Here is a snippet from the Daily Telegraph:

Councillor Mark Greenhill said the acts of these "grubs" were disgusting.

"Not only did they take an axe to the bottom of our pool but they set fire to playground equipment, surrounded by bushland, during a heatwave," he said.

The teens face charges of arson, malicious damage and break, enter and steal.

[Link]

Side note: I don't get social networking sites like FaceBook or MySpace. I understand how important these social networking sites can be for those people selling something like their music or a "widget" but for the majority of users who are not selling anything whatsoever, those individuals are literally filling out a database regarding their personal lives, their professional lives, and even their secret lives!

Talk about permanent record!

Do you want your employer knowing you have a vintage gun collection, that you have posted your resume on Monster, or that you have social connections with his hostile competitors at Linkedin?

How about your girlfriend knowing you made a "new friend" with a redhead named "hanky-panky?"

How about that photo of you in a speedo or that picture of your house and/or your car in the driveway up on Flickr?

When you surf all these social networks together a complete definition of who, where, and what you are becomes overly visible.

Google did a white paper about the potential risks of belonging to numerous social networking sites: [Link]

Football player, Jarron Gilbert, jumps out of a pool and onto the deck!

Heck of a swim drill and mighty dangerous too. Found originally at Digg.com

John Payne provides "opportunity and motive" as to why Libby Trickett changed her stroke

John Payne at ix3sports quotes me in his blog post about Libby Trickett's new straight-arm freestyle and as usual I start out sounding really smart till you get the typo and then I finally sound like the idiot I really am.

With this in mind, I am linking to the post, not to illustrate my typo; (which I fixed), but rather the motive behind Trickett's stroke change. John Payne has done the homework and here is a snippet about what he deduced:

"...I think Trickett’s change in stroke mechanics are a calculated move made less on “body-type and/or physical abilities” and more on taking advantage of bleeding-edge, but controversial, swimsuit technology available to swimmers today. She and her coach are betting that some of the advantages - if not all - conveyed to swimmers by the new technology will remain in place after the upcoming FINA meetings regarding swimsuit construction. ..."

[Link]

I am guessing that the crux of his argument is that speedsuits maintain momentum more efficiently and consequently you have less speed loss when taking that additional lunge needed to generate more torque. Correct me if I am wrong.

I have included a trailer to Glenn Mills, Go Swim Straight-Arm Freestyle with Olympic gold and silver medalist Scott Tucker to illustrate how the stroke is executed. Here is a link to the DVD if you are interested:

[Link]

Libby Trickett's Tattoo!

It reads Light of the World and includes a star hand drawn by her husband, Luke Trickett. Found at sunrise.seven's photostream at Flickr.com. Here is a direct link to the photo: [Link]

Random sand pattern creates a "mermaid fossil" at Horgabost beach, in the Scottish Isles!

Numerous isles in Scotland. If they were not so windy they would be a "Celtic" version of the Caribbean." Found here at Flickr/Scotland: [Link]

'TYR' Swimmers have made a difinitive statement lately - 'TYR' is having a 'Tracer' equipment give-a-away drawing too!

TYR Swimmer, Mary DeScenza, has produced some totally inspired swims: DeScenza won the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke at the US Grand Prix in Columbia, Missouri . She set a meet record there in the 100 back and I believe her "worst finish"; (that is called sarcasm), was a second place to Katie Hoff in the 200 IM.

Then there was Eric Shanteau, after battling cancer just 6-months ago, was barely edged out by Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM LCM placing second in a time of 2:00.88 to Lochte's 2:00.59 but Shanteau then went on to win the 200 breast in a 2:13.74.

There was Amanda Weir who won the 100 free swimming in a time of 55.13 at the same meet and of course there was Peter Marshall in Europe and many other meet records and WRs in Tracer equipment as well.

[Link]

So, with all this in mind, TYR is having a drawing where you can win a Tracer Light speedsuit, Tracer goggles, and TYR cap. I signed up and you can to right here:

[Link]

Even if you don't win, TYR will send you a 20%-off coupon just for signing up.