the17thman

Monday's Swim Report - Swimitarian Of The Pool

Lane 1 - Europe Online posts "FINA: All 518 Olympic doping tests return negative.  All 518 doping tests carried out on athletes in aquatic events at the London 2012 Olympics returned negative, the sport‘s governing body FINA said on Sunday. The FINA said ahead of next week‘s short course world championships in Istanbul that Olympic athletes from pool, open water and synchronised swimming, diving and water polo underwent 433 urine tests and 85 blood tests."   

Lane 2 - RTV posts via youtube " Battle of Sexes hits pool as Euros feature mixed relays.  Russia's fast-rising swimmer Vladimir Morozov says mixed-gender relays are 'fun', as the new event hopes to enter World Championships and Summer Olympics."

Lane 3 - ComputerWorld posts "NSW Institute of Sport casts IP camera eye on swimmers.  Captured camera data will be used to help state swimmers prepare for 2016 Olympics.  A swimmer takes to the pool in Sydney’s Aquatic Centre. As he or she glides through the water, four IP cameras installed in the roof capture body movements and times — vital information when preparing for the Olympic Games where even a split second can mean the difference between winning gold or silver.  NSW Institute of Sport ICT manager Greg Baxter told Computerworld Australia that the cameras help coaches analyse swimmers' strokes and also reveal if a swimmer can keep a straight line in the pool."

Lane 4 - The Mirror posts " Whoops! Olympic great Ellie Simmonds' name spelt wrong on Walk of Stars honor.  Her surname appeared as Simmons on the replica gong but the four-time champ ignored the mistake at a glitzy ceremony."

Lane 5 - Albany Times Union posts "Santa Speedo Sprint 2012"

Lane 6 - 7 News posts 'Ian Thorpe wins human rights award.  Olympic champion Ian Thorpe has won this year's Australian Human Rights Medal for his charity work with Indigenous children.  The Australian Human Rights Commission says Thorpe has been a "passionate advocate for Indigenous people" for over a decade.  Thorpe's charity, Fountain For Youth, works with Indigenous children in the Northern Territory across 20 communities, with a focus on health and education.  The charity looks to address what it says is "a human crisis in our own backyard".  Australia HRC posts via youtube " Acceptance speech - Ian Thorpe - 2012 Human Rights Awards winner.  Ian Thorpe is the winner of the 2012 Human Rights Medal, presented by the Australian Human Rights Commission."

Lane 7 - Gay Star News posts "Making a splash: San Francisco Tsunami Aquatics
GSN meets one of the world’s first LGBT aquatics clubs.  With major events such as the Gay Games and the World Out Games now well established fixtures on the sporting calendar, and a growing number of LGBT sports clubs in countries around the world, GSN catches up with one of the teams that started it all - San Francisco Tsunami Aquatics."

Lane 8 - Chicago Tribune posts "Berlin is dripping with pools.  Winter or summer, it's a swimmer's dream.  This city is a lap-swimming dream. With almost three dozen pools — some you might call pool palaces — spread throughout Berlin, a swimmer never needs to go far, winter or summer. I chose to swim my laps at pools within easy biking distance from my host's Prenzlauer Berg apartment, plus the 1936 Olympic stadium pool in a different part of the city.  Berlin pools are gloriously long and crystal clear. Water temperatures don't stray far from a sublime 82 degrees."

Sunday's Swim Report - Grab Your Red Speedos And Dash

Lane 1 - 5 News Online posts (w/video) "Rogers Swimmers Get Special Visit.  The Rogers and Rogers Heritage Swim Teams had a special visitor last Friday.  Three time Olympic Swimming gold medalist Rowdy Gaines came to their swim practice to talk about his swimming experiences."

Lane 2 - The Boston Globe posts via youtube "Santa Speedo Run 2012.  Hundreds turn out for the 12th annual Santa Speedo Run to raise money for the Play Ball! Foundation."

Boston.com posts "SANTA SPEEDO RUN 2012 PICTURES"

Lane 3 - The Guardian posts "Hannah Miley puts foot down after Olympics ruined by Chinese whispers.  Swimmer says doping allegations about 16-year-old Ye Shiwen of China at London 2012 were unfair.  Everybody knows that they [the Chinese] have got past history of it [doping], it's a very difficult line to tread. For me I don't think that she is dirty, that she's doping. I just think that it's down to a lot of hard work. It's very unusual for a girl to come back so fast in that last 100m but it might just be that she's found something in training – or that's what I like to believe anyway. For me to put an opinion out there whether she's on drugs or not I can't really say. I'd like to say no, I don't think she is."

Lane 4 - The Sun posts "Jamieson blasts Olympic Blames.  MICHAEL JAMIESON has told his fellow swimmers they have to share the blame for Britain’s Olympic nightmare, insisting: Don’t blame the system.  The Scottish ace produced the best performance in the pool by a Brit as he stormed to 200 metres breaststroke silver at London 2012."

Lane 5- Trinidad Express posts "Russian ATM 'eats' Bovell's credit card.  Top Trinidad and Tobago swimmer George Bovell had some money troubles when he landed in Instanbul, Turkey yesterday ahead of the 11th FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships. But attempting to get some money from a cash machine, the machine took his card but did not return it.  On Facebook and twitter, Bovell wrote: "ATM ate my credit card as soon as I arrived in Istanbul, spent my last $ on a taxi and Russian Visa today. Alone abroad, no friends, no $$."

 

Lane 6 - Guardian Media posts "Roberts defends Couva venue for aquatic centre...no land left in the west says Sport minister.  Sport Minister Anil Roberts says the George Bovell III Aquatic Centre that was proposed for Powder Magazine, Cocorite, was never a government project—it’s his family’s private venture. He said promises were made by several entities over the years to complete it but they were never fulfilled."

Friday's Swim Report - Counting Down To Santa Speedo

Lane 1 - USA Today posts "Michael Phelps says 'Call Me Maybe' video was key for Olympic swim team.  "It's funny to say it now, but that Call Me Maybe video we did really brought us together," Phelps told Costas."

Lane 2 - Courier Mail posts (w/video) "Underwater rugby league rivalries.  On-field rivalries are taking a plunge ahead of the Kangaroos one-off rugby league test match against New Zealand."

Lane 3 - Financial Times posts "Back in the swim.  Weeks after her controversial gold at London 2012, 16-year-old Ye Shiwen was in action at a remote Chinese meet.  There was no evidence that she had ever used drugs but her speed over the final length, which she swam faster than the 6ft 2in-tall American Ryan Lochte, who won gold in the men’s medley, fuelled intense speculation that she had been cheating. John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, lent a voice of authority to the doubts. “Any time someone has looked like superwoman in the history of our sport they have later been found guilty of doping,” he told the Guardian.  The International Swimming Federation came to Ye’s defence, pointing out that she had passed four drugs tests in the past year.   High quality global journalism requires investment.  But for many people in China the speculation touched a raw nerve. It betrayed a “lack of respect for athletes and for Chinese swimming”, according to Xu Qi, the head of China’s swimming team. “We recognise and accept the existence of extremely talented swimmers in other countries. Can’t China, with its huge population, produce such talent?"

Lane 4 - Adelaide Now posts "Meet the villains we love to hate.  FOR all the joy we have as sports fans, there's always a slew of villains we seem to encounter. 10. JAMES MAGNUSSEN.  BEFORE he became the poster boy for Australia's screw-up in the pool at the London Olympics, Magnussen earned the ire of South Australians by thumbing his nose at a decision to hold the Olympic trials in Adelaide.  "Olympic trials 2012 in Adelaide. What an absolute joke! Can't wait to swim in front of crowd of 10 and that will only happen if the entire city turns out to watch," Magnussen wrote on his Facebook page.  Magnussen later apologised after being told to pull his head in by fellow swimmer Brenton Rickard.  Geoff Huegill also chimed in, saying: "It's not all about you, mate."  To make matters worse, Magnussen - part of an Australian 4x100m freestyle relay team that dubbed themselves the Weapons of Mass Destruction - laid a pair of eggs in the pool in London, coming home without a gold medal."

Lane 5 - China Daily posts " Down Under gets a bit closer.  One of Australia's best coaches will lead a camp for top Chinese swimmers in Thailand facility  Overseas training programs always seem a little better when they are close to home.  Training in Australia has been a great benefit to Chinese swimmers in recent years, but the long trip Down Under remains a headache.  Now, the country's elite swimmers won't need to go quite so far for the Aussies' expertise as they have found a much closer base in Phuket, Thailand."

Lane 6 - Boston.com posts "Prepping for the Santa Speedo Run.   The Santa Speedo Run is not just one Saturday in December for Matt Napoli and Steve Roge. It's a 365-day-a-year commitment ... a mission ... simply a way of life. RadioBDC was able to catch up with the pair during a pre-race training at Boston Common earlier this week. Not only do get up close and personal with a duo that is partaking in their 13th Santa Speedo Run, we learn about numb legs, pulled hammies and being comfortable in one's ... uh ... own skin. And tiny bathing suits."

Sunday's Swim Report - When Santa's In Speedos Attack

Lane 1 - ChiTownView posts via youtube "Santa Speedo Run 2012, Half Naked People Running Through Chicago's Gold Coast.  It's rare that it's as warm as it was in Chicago this December 1st so I was out strolling through Chicago's near north side not far from Rush St. All of a sudden I heard some shouts and general commotion. I looked up to see hordes of half naked mostly men but some women running right towards me. It turns out to be the annual Santa Speedo Shuffle an annual event to raise money to fight diabetes."

Meanwhile check out photos from ChicagoPride.com "Santa Speedo Run 2012."

Lane 2 - Star Tribune posts "Swimmer still showing her mettle.  Minnesota holds a soft spot in the heart of Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders, because she was here "a few times for meets when I was a swimmer, back in the day." Of course, her signature accomplishment was winning two golds, a silver and a bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.  Protecting the heads of kids recently brought Sanders back to the metro. The mother of two gave away helmets at Richard Green Central School in her role as Schwinn Bikes brand ambassador for the "Helmets on Heads" campaign. Schwinn's partner in the initiative is ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation."

Lane 3 - Eurosport Yahoo posts "Six-time Olympic medalist Swimmer Rebecca Soni speaks during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion's Awards Ceremony at the Wynn Las Vegas on November 30, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada."

Lane 4 - Herald Sun posts "How you can get fit with Stephanie Rice.  SHE may have three Olympic gold medals to her name but swimmer Stephanie Rice struggles when it comes to early morning workouts.  In the first part of her 12-week diet and fitness regime designed for The Sunday Telegraph, Rice details how readers can find motivation and set goals for achieving the body they've always dreamed of."  "It's great that I'm going on this journey like everyone else. For me, it's about getting generally healthier and feeling good about myself."

Lane 5 - Daily Mail posts "Who needs black tie! Olympian Rebecca Adlington won't win any medals for her playsuit outfit at formal ball.  We're used to seeing Rebecca Adlington in a swimsuit or Team GB tracksuit.  However, on Saturday night, the Olympic swimmer made a style statement as she opted for a blue playsuit instead of formal wear at the Emerald and Ivy Ball.  At just 23, the gold medallist was going for a more youthful look than some of the other guests in traditional, floor-length couture.  And if she was a little chilly the blonde starlet didn't show it as she rubbed shoulders with some A listers, although her style wasn't going to earn her any medals."

Lane 6 - The Australian posts "Medley man Kenneth To thrives on short-course switch.    WHEN Kenneth To missed selection for the Australian Olympic team this year, just seven weeks after an operation to remove his appendix, he could have been forgiven for thinking his year was over.  The multi-talented To had burst on to the international scene the previous year, reaching the final of the men's 200m individual medley on his world championships debut in Shanghai, and seemed prepared to make a leap towards the medals in London before fate intervened.  But despite the bitter disappointment of missing selection for his first Games (he finished fourth at the trials), Hong Kong-born To did not let that setback define his year. Instead he regrouped and redirected his energy towards the short-course season which will culminate at the world championships in Istanbul next week."

Lane 7- Goldcoast posts "Blair's Coast move to boost career.  A DECISION almost two years in the making is already paying dividends for Olympian Blair Evans.  The 21-year-old made the tough decision to pack up and move from Perth to join Southport's elite swimming program and is confident she'd made the best move for her future."

Lane 8 - ISHOF posts via youtube "In Search of the Broadripple Pool.  The Broadripple swimming pool in Indianapolis, Indiana was, in its day, the world's largest concrete pool, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the mid-west and host to many of the nation's top swimming meets. In this pilot for Swimming World Television, ISHOF's CEO Bruce Wigo sets out to find this historic swimming pool."

Thursday's Swim Report - Tis The Season To Don Your Red Speedo

Lane 1 - Eye On Annapolis posts "Santa Speedo Run 2012.  Break out the speedos and head to Stan & Joe’s at noon on December 15th for the Annual Santa Speedo Run! This is one of Annapolis’ most quirky traditions and a must-see event (but shield your eyes).   Registration is only $25 and it includes a commemorative t-shirt!"

Lane 2- The Telegraph posts "British Swimming pulls out of Splash Awards support over inappropriate timing following 'poor' Olympics.  Organisers of the Splash Awards claimed that British Swimming pulled their financial support of the annual end-of-year event as they didn’t want to be seen celebrating “after a poor Olympics”.

Lane 3 - Legacy Lion posts via youtube "LLTV - Michael Phelps - Interview.  We got the opportunity to sit down with the most decorated Olympian of all time, Mr. Michael Phelps. Michael reflected on the last year which has seen him rise to legendary status. We also spoke about his retirement plans - he may have hung up his swimsuit, but let's just say he hasn't quite given up sport…yet!"

Lane 4 - TMZ posts "Ryan Lochte - I'm a Speed Demon On Land Too!  The swimming champ was pulled over by cops in Gainesville, FL recently -- near where his parents live -- after officers say he was going 49 in a 40.  According to court records, Lochte was issued a $119 ticket ... which he can probably afford. If not, he can always sell his diamond-encrusted grill."

Lane 5 - Belper News posts "Ross resists calls for him to extend career.  Olympic swimmer Ross Davenport has admitted that some people have expressed surprise at his decision to end his glittering swimming career.  The former Belper School pupil announced his intention to step down from the sport last week at the age of 28."

Lane 6 - The West Australian posts "Swimming Australia boss backs head coach.  Swimming Australia (SA) has thrown its support behind head coach Leigh Nugent as the fallout continues from the national team's disappointing and controversial London Olympic campaign.  SA chief executive Kevin Neil suddenly resigned on Thursday amid an ongoing independent review of what went wrong before and during the Games.  It is understood Neil was told on Friday he would be stood down from the role, although newly-elected SA president Barclay Nettlefold insists the chief executive had left voluntarily."

Lane 7 - Texas Longhorns posts via youtube "Ian Crocker embraces new role with Women's Swimming program. Texas-Ex and Olympic gold medalist Ian Crocker shares his wisdom and swimming experience as a volunteer assistant coach with Carol Capitani's women's swimming program."

Lane 8 - News.com posts "The 12 biggest failures of 2012 and how they cracked the internet.  3. James Magnussen's attempts at humility.  "Brace yourselves," we were told, as James Magnussen promised a world record at the Olympics. Magnussen also told us how thrilling it was to wake up every morning knowing he was the world's fastest swimmer. That's awesome and all, but like all great cocky champions, you need to back it up with results. Australia could have stomached Magnussen's Olympics "almost" had he shown a shred of humility. We might love to cut down tall poppies but we also hate a brat.  4. James Magnussen Just, in general."