the17thman

The Longest Swim - Interview of Ben Lecomte with FYI Fort Worth

http://www.facebook.com/thelongestswim Local news FYI Fort Worth interviews Ben Lecomte who is preparing to swim across the Pacific Ocean.

Wednesday's Swim Report - It's Time For A Swimcation

Lane 1 - Daily Mail posts "Everyone has their Jaws moment! Brit swimmer Payne reveals perils of open water.  ayne herself has encountered dead dogs in China and jellyfish off Melbourne and poor water conditions as well as a field of ferocious competitors.  The 24-year-old admits the event requires a particular type of character and said: 'I think to be an open water swimmer you have to have a certain amount of 'hard' to you. You just have to expect it.  'So many things are thrown at us on so many occasions, you just have to kind of get on with it."

Lane 2 - ninemsn posts (w/video) "Hackett catches up with Olympic stars.  Grant Hackett catches up with a number of Olympic stars, including basketballer Liz Cambage, tennis player Lleyton Hewitt and long-jumper Mitchell Watt."

Lane 3 - Vancouver Sun posts "Swimmer hardwired to win.  Top of the podium is the spot Ryan Cochrane is aiming for at the Summer Olympics."

Lane 4 - NPR posts "She's 100 (Almost) And Still Swimming: Another Centenarian To Admire…Marie Kelleher in Virginia, who at the age of 99 is still setting swimming age-group records. Counted as being 100 because United States Masters Swimming rules "use the swimmer's age as of December 31 for competitions held in 25-meter courses," according to Virginia Masters Swimming, she just became "the oldest known American woman to have competed at a USMS-recognized meet."

Lane 5 - ninemsn posts (w/video) "Going for gold.  Four years ago our synchronised swimming team finished 7th at the Beijing Olympics. When the ladies line up in London, they're hoping for a medal and as TODAY reporter Alison Ariotti discovered they're putting in long days to make it happen."

Lane 6 - Guardian UK posts "Top 10 swimming holidays.  Long-distance outdoor swimming was once the preserve of elite athletes or eccentrics such as 'Big River Man' Martin Strel, but a growing number of us are making swimming the focus of a holiday, be it by joining a boat-supported tour of lakes and coasts, or entering a race abroad. Here's our pick of swim trips to suit all levels."

Lane 7 - All Africa posts "Virgin Active Joins Forces With Ryk Neethling and Chad Le Clos to Develop Virgin Active Swim. Virgin Active launched its latest training innovation - SWIM. Developed by Olympic Gold medalist Ryk Neethling and endorsed by Commonwealth Games and world champion Chad le Clos, SWIM is a coaching programme designed for just about every one - young, old, fit or unfit."

Lane 8 - London24 posts "Leading swimwear brand Speedo announces its Forman’s Fish Island base during Olympics.  Speedo has booked two adjoining suites at the entertainment venue, overlooking the Olympic Stadium, to cater for its corporate guests and swimming stars."

Monday's Swim Report - The Hardy Boys: The Case of Swimmer & His Secret Events

Lane 1 - ESPN posts "Michael Phelps keeps events secret.  Michael Phelps knows what's on his schedule this summer.  Just don't ask him to share it.  "Can I ask a question? Why is it such a big deal what I'm swimming?" Phelps said Sunday. "You guys ask me every time."

Lane 2 - LA Times posts "Gwen Jorgensen of U.S. Olympic team a convert to the triathlon.  A swimmer and runner while in college, she is headed to 2012 London Olympics in a sport that at first didn't interest her. Now she's on the fast track."

Lane 3 - Voxy posts "Swimming NZ announce London Olympics support staff.  The coaches and support staff for the New Zealand swimming team for the London Olympics has been finalised.  Swimming New Zealand coach Mark Regan will be the team coach and will be joined fellow High Performance Centre coach Scott Talbot and the Wellington Region High Performance Coach Gary Hurring as assistants."

Lane 4 - It Takes A Suit! Washington Post has "After failing to earn a medal in his first 5 events, Lochte sets meet record at 200 IM.  Ryan Lochte tossed aside the swimming brief and got down to business Sunday.  Switching to a regular racing suit for the first time in three days of competition, Lochte salvaged an otherwise underwhelming weekend performance by winning the 200 IM and setting a new meet record at the Charlotte Grand Prix on Sunday."

Lane 5 - STL Today posts "Coughlin ready for another run at Olympics.  The wait is killing Natalie Coughlin.  You'd think that with age comes patience and that a swimmer as successful and seasoned as Coughlin would be in no rush to validate her place in U.S. swimming history. But Coughlin, 29, can't wait until late June, when she gets yet another chance to prove her worth at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb."

Lane 6 - msnbc posts "Underwater volcano erupts in pulses.  One near Tonga collapsed, grew in height by football field in two weeks."

Lane 7 - Daily Star post "SYNCHRONISED SWIMMERS JENNA & ASHA SPARKLE AS THEY PREPARE FOR OLYMPICS.  IT’S the sport where ­competitors wear heavy make-up and sequinned costumes underwater.  But sisters Jenna and Asha Randall say ­synchronised swimming is less a beauty contest and more an ­ underwater ballet.  The sisters, from Ascot, Berkshire, are among nine girls in Britain’s Olympic ­synchronised swimming team.  Jenna, 23, who will compete in the team event and as a pair with partner Olivia ­Federici, 22, said: “People are starting to realise there’s a lot more to it.  “It’s like running a 1,500-metre race while holding your breath on a 100-metre sprint, moving your arms around and making it all look effortless."

Lane 8 - Marketwatch posts "U.S. Olympic Committee and Allstate Unveil U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, Class of 2012 Olympic, Paralympic, Team and Special Inductees to be honored on July 12 in Chicago.  The list of inductees includes Gail Devers (track & field), Jean Driscoll (Paralympic track & field), Gary Hall, Jr. (swimming), Lisa Fernandez (softball), Kristine Lilly (soccer), Dan O'Brien (track & field), Jenny Thompson (swimming), the 2004 U.S. Olympic Women's Softball Team, Ed Temple (coach - track & field), James Connolly (veteran - track & field) and Ted Stevens (special contributor)."  The class of 2012 Olympic Hall of Fame inductees are announced at the 2012 Team USA Media Summit pictured below...

Sunday's Swim Report - Is The End For The Party Boy Swimmers?

Lane 1 - Brisbane Times posts "Hackett hurt by party-boy portrayal.  GRANT HACKETT has been painted as a party boy with drinking issues by some sections of the media who have been reporting about his marriage bust-up with pop star Candice Alley. Today he is speaking about the matter for the first time - and be sure Hackett is choosing his words with some care; the depth of his hurt and anger will be known to friends and confidants - but he was keen to set the record straight. Firstly, he was not booted out of the family home.  The relationship had not been working for months and in the end the couple had no choice than to go their separate ways."

Lane 2 - Times Union posts "The rise and fall of John Trembley.  An addiction to drugs and "fantasy communications" has derailed the coaching career of one of the Capital Region's most accomplished athletes…Four months later, the school revealed why: Trembley had been using his university email account to exchange sexually explicit messages, including one with a user who claimed to be a 17-year-old boy.  "I can (have sex) all night when I also enjoy (meth) which I have here. I will pay for ur cab both ways and we can party and play most or all night," he wrote to the user in an email obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel."

Lane 3 - Chicago Tribune posts "Phelps finds the positives in his last event before the Olympic trials.  Phelps finishes second in 200-meter butterfly at Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix on Saturday."

Lane 4 - Boston Globe posts "Open-water swimmer focusing on the Olympics.  It’s not as though he was the first guy to splash around in Walden Pond. Henry David Thoreau paddled across it, generations of skinny-dippers have immersed themselves, and triathletes train there. But when Alex Meyer does his extended up-and-backs at the Concord swimming hole, he eventually attracts a cadre of the curious.  Just getting in some outdoor work while he preps for this summer’s Olympics in London, where Meyer will be the only US male in the 10-kilometer open-water swim. Because of the recent unseasonable conditions, he hasn’t been making the trek to Walden. He has had to use the “endless pool’’ - essentially a chlorinated treadmill where Meyer can go nowhere fast for three hours at a time - at his alma mater’s indoor facility next to the river."

Lane 5 - Brisbane Times posts "Lay-off was just the ticket for Trickett.  espite numerous swimmers making comebacks, only one made it to London, writes Daniel Lane.  S he had to settle for bronze at the world championships three years ago but Libby Trickett was struck by a rare moment of serenity in Rome after realising missing out on the gold medal did not really matter."

Lane 6 - Denver Post has "Swimming phenom Missy Franklin has parents to thank for her success.  The home of the best 17-year-old female swimmer in the world looks like the home of the best 17-year-old female swimmer in Centennial. Or the best 17-year-old flutist. Or debater.  The Franklins' home in this quiet suburb is tastefully decorated with Asian and Native American art. Ruger, the 110-pound Alaskan Malamute, lopes around apparently looking for live cattle to eat.  The lone evidence that this is a swimmer's habitat is a couple of framed magazine covers and four Golden Goggle Awards over the mantle. Given to the best swimming performers in the U.S., they're merely the sport's Oscars. Stacks of articles she has never read and the Franklins haven't bothered to display fill boxes and file cabinets."

Lane 7 - The Daily Beast posts "Dalai Lama Fears Shark Attack.  Being reincarnated as a shark is one thing—being eaten by one is another. “Long flights, those I really feared, but now I’m used to them,” Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, revealed in a new profile in The Telegraph. “The fear now is that I never learnt to swim so if the plane crashes on water, I would immediately go deep under the sea and be enjoyed by a shark.”

Lane 8 - "Trojans Beat Bruins: Maddy Wraps It Up - usctrojans.com" via youtube

Friday's Swim Report - Move Over Angry Birds and Make Room For Angry Swimmer

Lane 1 - News.com posts "Candice Alley says her twins have saved her since split with Hackett.  CANDICE Alley said her twins have saved her as she approaches her first Mother's Day as a single woman after splitting with husband Grant Hackett last week."

Lane 2 - WSJ posts "Trials and Tribulations of the Angry Swimmer.   Disqualified From the Beijing Games, 100-Meter Breaststroke Champion Jessica Hardy Seeks Redemption.  Jessica Hardy is still fuming.  Four years after her energy-drink sponsor allegedly spiked Hardy with a banned substance, disqualifying her from the 2008 Olympics, Hardy is still swimming angry. When others reminisce about medals they won in Beijing, her fury grows."

Lane 3 - UT San Diego posts "OLYMPIC DISTANCE NO PLACE FOR DRAFT DODGERS.  Controversial practice will be part of the action during bike portion of Mission Bay races"

Lane 4 - The Washington Post has "Aussie swimmer ‘Missile’ Magnussen aims to be the Big Kahuna of the Olympic pool.   James Magnussen held the biceps-bulging flex a little longer than he usually would, emphasizing the time he’d swum and how it set him up for the Olympics.He already had the world title in the 100-meter freestyle, and been given “The Missile” nickname to add some zing to his growing profile. But he’d been sick all week and hadn’t even bothered shaving down for his shot at Cesar Cielo’s world record of 46.91 seconds, which most pundits expected to stand for a long time because it was set in one of the now-banned rubberized suits."

Lane 5 - CNN posts (w/video) "Swim lessons help minority children break cycle."

Lane 6 - SI posts "Japan will continue altitude training despite fears."

Lane 7 - Gawker posts (w/video) "Olympic Flame Went Out During the Opening Torch Ceremony; Olympics Are Canceled Now."

Lane 8 - Chicago Tribune posts "Michael Phelps a global icon, proud Baltimore native.  After 14 gold medals, Olympian from Rodgers Forge still cherishes time at home"

Tuesday's Swim Report - Swimmer's Got Talent!

Lane 1 - STV posts (w/video) "Britain’s Got Talent: Olympics themed synchronised swim inspires Simon.  A quartet of synchronised swimmers brought out Simon’s patriotic side as they took to the water.  Aquabatique, made up of former international synchronised swimmers for Great Britain – Emily, Zoe, Jazmine and Elizabeth – performed in their outdoor “human aquarium” in the pouring rain for the Britain’s Got Talent judges."

Lane 2 - The Sydney Morning Herald posts "Nick D'Arcy fulfilled selection criteria: AOC.  Even if Swimming Australia had struck a deal with Nick D'Arcy, it would not have guaranteed him a place at the London Games, the Australian Olympic Committee says.  Swimming Australia has denied allegations made by former swimmer Simon Cowley that it agreed to include D'Arcy in future teams after he allegedly threatened to sue the body for excluding him from the 2009 world championships."

Lane 3 - Diana Nyad posts "Got Ensure? Diana Nyad Xtreme Dream 2012" via youtube.

Lane 4 - Juneau Empire posts "Olympic champ Gaines plunges into Pillars series.  Masters swimmer Rowdy Gaines has maintained his love of the sport and drive to compete three decades after winning three Olympic gold medals.  “It’s the continued passion,” Gaines said."

Lane 5 - Arena & Swim Outlet posts "Day In The Life - Janet Evans" via youtube.

Lane 6 - MSNBC posts "New ad gives Olympic (and regular) moms their due.  When you think of Olympic heroes, you think of those gold-medal winning performances. That record-setting swim race. The lightning-fast relay. The nerve-wracking penalty kicks that resulted in goooooaalll, and victory.

But a new ad from Procter & Gamble puts the spotlight on an entirely different  hero: The Olympic mom. The ones who got up earlier than everyone else to feed and drive their little athletes to pre-dawn practices for all those years."

Lane 7 - nine/msn posts "Australia's Sharks shooting for gold.  Australia first competed in the Olympic men's water polo when the Games were last in London in 1948 and are yet to win gold in the event."

Meanwhile, The Washington Post has "FINA announces water polo draw at London Olympics, groups defending champion Hungary with US.  Swimming governing body FINA has announced the draw for water polo at the London Games, grouping men’s Olympic champion Hungary with the United States, Serbia, Romania and host Britain."

Lane 8 - International Business Times asks "Shark Attack: Would You Dare Dive to Save a Dead Mate’s Body from a Killer Shark? Friends of an Aussie man who died while free-diving off Moreton Island in Queensland did not need much time to second guess themselves on whether they would retrieve their mate's body in the ocean. They jumped in to dive down 24 metres despite being aware that the shark that attacked their friend was circling their friend's dead body. They were determined to not leave their mate on the sea floor."

Sunday's Swim Report - The Forgotten Golden Girl

Lane 1 - Philly.com posts "Fran Crippen's spirit still motivating open-water swimmer Frayler.  When Fran Crippen introduced him to open-water swimming a few years ago, Arthur Frayler "freaked out." As they swam alone in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida, the youngster wouldn't let his mentor get more than a few feet away."

Lane 2 - WDTN posts (w/video) "2 NEWS talks with olympic swimmers.  With less than 100 days until the 2012 London Olympic games, 2 News Today spoke with two members of the U.S. swim team, Janet Evans and Ricky Berens."

Lane 3 - NINEmsn posts "Tribute to Murray Rose."

Lane 4 - WCNC posts (w/ video) "Charlotte swimmer chasing Olympic dream for the third time.  Nick Brunelli has spent the last eight years pursuing his Olympic dream. In just a few weeks, his hard work and determination will be tested at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska.  There's only one way Brunelli will make the Olympic team in an individual event--he'll have to come in first or second in Omaha."

Lane 5 - Daily Record posts "Forgotten Olympic golden girl Belle Moore remembered 100 years after landmark win.  She is the forgotten golden girl of Olympic swimming.  Isabella “Belle” Moore hit the top at the 1912 Stockholm Games – the first year women’s swimming was permitted at the event.  She was just 17 years and 226 days old and remains Britain’s youngest woman to win gold at the summer Olympics. She is also Scotland’s only female swimmer to achieve the ultimate prize."

Lane 6 - Old Post Gazette posts "Delmont swimmer prepares to conquer Gibraltar Strait.  Darren Miller of Delmont plans to swim the Gibraltar Strait, the fourth in his quest to be the first person in the world to swim the Ocean's Seven, on May 1.  The Ocean's Seven challenge is the brainchild of Steven Munatones, a swim coach in Southern California, who created in 2008 a counterpart for endurance swimmers to the Seven Summits challenge for mountain climbers. In the Seven Summits challenge, mountain climbers climb the highest peaks on each of seven continents. To complete the Ocean's Seven, swimmers must swim what Mr. Munatones thinks are the seven most difficult ocean channels."

Lane 7 - NINEmsn posts "Swim rivals can't get near Magnussen.  James Magnussen's international rivals are doing little so far to suggest they are any hope of catching the 100m freestyle world champion at the London Olympics."

Lane 8 - Stuff posts "Gary Hurring looks to make Olympic splash.  Twenty-eight years after he went to the Olympics Games as a swimmer, Gary Hurring is to return as a coach.  And to make the story even better his two star pupils in Wellington, backstroker Gareth Kean and 4x200 relay swimmer Samantha Lucie-Smith, will be in London with him.  Hurring, 50, admitted yesterday he got a kick out of his inclusion in the New Zealand coaching setup."

Wednesday's Swim Report - The Lonelier Side of Competitive Swimming

Lane 1 - WTSP posts (w/video) ""Swim Across America" to fight Cancer at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.  Breaststroke, butterfly, free style- different strokes, but all for the same, great cause.   On May 5, 2012, Pier 60 in Clearwater will host hundreds of swimmers as they take part in "Swim Across America Tampa Bay" to raise money for cancer research at Moffitt Cancer Center.   Brooke Bennett, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Tampa native, will be at the event. She is on the organizing committee, and will also host one or two swim clinics."

Lane 2 - Chicago Tribune posts "Franklin pre-Olympics TV star.  Now all 16-year-old has to do is win events at U.S. Olympic swim trials and Summer Games.  The hype machine got in gear one day late last September when an NBC Sports senior vice president came to Missy Franklin's house in suburban Denver to meet her and her parents to talk about the network's plans for the 16-year-old swimmer leading up to its broadcasts of the 2012 Olympics."

Lane 3 - The Verge posts "Winner of Google Photography Prize documents the lonelier side of competitive swimming.  After receiving entries from 20,000 students in 146 countries, Google has a winner for it's 2012 Photography Prize. Viktor Johansson's series of images capturing a competitive swimmer's demanding training regimen took the grand prize, and the 24-year-old student of Sweden's Nordens Fotoskola Biskops-Arnö photography school will now have his work featured in an exhibition at London's Saatchi Gallery. Further, he's also won the opportunity to shoot anywhere in the world with the assistance of a professional photography coach, according to Google."

Lane 4 - Middle East Voice posts (w/video) "Lebanese-American Swimmer Aims for Olympic Glory in London.  Lebanon has not won an Olympic medal since 1980. But Lebanese-American swimmer Katya Bachrouche hopes to change that at this year’s London Games in July, where, as a dual citizen, she plans to compete for her ancestral homeland. Katya has been swimming since she was a child, won All-American honors in high school, and helped lead the University of Virginia to four conference titles in her college career."

Lane 5 - Echo News posts "Olympic swimmers attend sprint camps.  QUEENSLAND-BASED swimmers will play a big part as Australia's bid for Olympic relay golds begins in earnest.  Australian swim team members are at the AIS in Canberra for two sprint-relay camps, aimed at ensuring the men's and women's teams are ready to perform in London this July."

Lane 6 - Bay News 9 posts (w/video) "Olympian Ryan Lochte not defined by swimming.  Two-time Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte gives his fans more than just a race in the pool.  The University of Florida & Spruce Creek H.S. graduate carries every bit of a laid back personality."

Lane 7 - NPR Posts "Olympic Stars May Overshadow Other Athletes.  The Summer Olympic Games in London start in 93 days. Of the 10,500 athletes, the attention is on at least two of them: swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt."

Lane 8 - Jacksonville.com posts "Masters in the water.  A Jacksonville team will bring a lot of experience to this weekend’s U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships in Greensboro, N.C.  Tiger Holmes, 90, John Corse, 88, Ed Graves, 88 and Bill Adams, 86, will swim individual events in their respective age groups and together as a relay team. The meet includes 1,962 swimmers competing in age ranges from 18 to 90-plus."

Tuesday's Swim Report - Who Wants to Be an Olympic Swimillionaire?

Lane 1 - Lo Hud posts (w/video) "Olympic gold medalist Ervin talks to kids at diversity clinic.  With a full head of curly brown hair, two sleeves of tattoos draped down his long, lanky arms, and pierced ears, Anthony Ervin might not fit the profile of an Olympic swimmer.  The 2000 Olympic gold medalist visited the Ossining Aquatics Center on Sunday to speak to about 100 aspiring swimmers on the Spartans Swim Team at Metropolitan Swimming’s diversity clinic.  Ervin, who is of both African-American and Caucasian descent, became the first United States swimmer from a racially diverse background to win an Olympic gold medal."

Lane 2 - The Telegraph posts "American swimmer Missy Franklin expected to cause a splash at Games.  Missy Franklin is a teenage swimming sensation with 'built-in flippers’,  Missy Franklin is American swimming’s latest swimming sensation, a 16-year-old whose steep arc of development suggests she is going to take the Olympics by storm this summer."

Lane 3 - France24 posts "Russian swimmers out to banish Olympic nightmare.  Russia's swimmers go into their national championships on Tuesday with not only Olympic places at stake but also a determination to go on to London and erase memories of the team's dreadful performances in the 2008 Games."

Lane 4 - Huff Post has "Swimming as a contact sport -- Who knew? As I mentioned in a previous blog, I have already set my 2012 fitness goals. One of these is to participate in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco on June 10. Many have told me I am crazy for wanting to do this event."

Lane 5 - WSJ posts "Swim, Spin, Flow: An Olympian's Road to Gold.  Dripping by the edge of the pool, at the end of her intense, two-hour morning workout, Rebecca Soni feels her heart racing. But not long ago a quickened heart beat was slowing down the Olympic medalist and her furious pace in the pool. The 25-year-old American swimmer suffered from supraventricular tachycardia—a rapid heart rhythm she was born with that ramped up during exercise. "I felt the SVT was getting in the way of my training, making it so much more difficult," she says. "

Lane 6 - Watertown Daily Times posts "Olympians Crocker, Marshall to appear at WHS.  Former U.S. Olympic medalists Ian Crocker and Christine Marshall will be part of a swim clinic scheduled for July at Watertown High School.  Crocker, who swam in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, and Marshall, who swam in the Olympics in 2008, will demonstrate swim strokes and techniques as part of the Mutual of Omaha Breakout Swim Clinic on July 14."

Lane 7 - Ottawa Citizen posts "Mark Tewksbury returns to the Olympic fold as Canada's official representative in London.  He will be the face of Canada at this summer’s London Olympics.  The quintessential prairie boy turned gold medallist turned gay athlete standard-bearer turned Olympic rebel turned motivational speaker.  That’s more turns than he ever made in that Barcelona pool 20 long, hard years ago when Mark Tewksbury became a true Canadian hero by touching first in the men’s 100 metre backstroke."

Lane 8 - The Futon Critic posts "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" Celebrates the U.S.A. With "American Pride Week," April 30 - May 4 and May 7.  U.S. Olympic Medalists Dominique Dawes, Jonathan Horton, Dara Torres and Ryan Lochte will all appear as contestants."

LAVA Serious Triathlon - To Test a Wetsuit