Lane 1 - Mercury News posts "Swim world champ from Norway, 26, dies in Arizona. Alexander Dale Oen, a world champion swimmer who was one of Norway's top medal hopes for the London Olympics, died from cardiac arrest after collapsing in his bathroom during a training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was 26. The president of the Norwegian swimming federation, Per Rune Eknes, confirmed the death to The Associated Press in a phone interview on Tuesday. He said it was still unclear what led to the cardiac arrest."
Lane 2 - AZ Central posts "Gary Hall Jr. among inductees into U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Gary Hall Jr. confirmed Monday that he has been informed he's among the new inductees into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame."
Lane 3 - The Independent posts "Pools for US Olympic trials arriving in Omaha. The pieces of the Italian pools that will be used for the 2012 Olympic Swim trials are on their way to Omaha. Werner Enterprises says the containers holding the pieces of the competition and practice pools are expected to arrive in Omaha in late April. They were shipped from Genoa, Italy. The pool assembly process will begin inside Omaha's downtown arena on May 25. The trials will be held
from June 25 to July 2."
Lane 4 - ESPN posts "McDonald’s to unite world for little while. McDonald’s, a hamburger shoppe of considerable global renown, is set to open its largest restaurant ever in London for six weeks during the 2012 Summer Olympics. The structure will be 3,000 square meters (9,842 gallons) in size, giving Mayor McCheese more than ample jurisdiction for hawking his vittles…Anyone who can finish 20 McNuggets faster than the men’s 200-meter butterfly gold medal time will be awarded with a flight back to America, as it’s the only country that will tolerate such behavior."
Lane 5 - CBC posts "When swimming becomes a team sport. For all intents and purposes, swimming is an individual sport. Even when you're part of a four-woman relay, no one can help you but you once you stand up on those blocks for your leg. During a race, it's just you against the other seven lanes, and that's the way it's been for your entire career. So it's sometimes hard to feel like a "team" when you arrive at a meet as team-oriented as the Olympics."
Lane 6 - NPR posts (w/ audio) "Swimmer's Recipe For Olympic Gold: Add More Fun. Four years
ago, swimmer Rebecca Soni won a gold medal in the 200 breaststroke at the Beijing Summer Olympics. She hopes to add to her medal collection at this summer's London Games, where she'll be competing in three events. Now 25, Soni looks graceful when she stands at the edge of the pool. And when she jumps in, it seems to take her just a few strokes to get to the other side of a 25-meter pool." Meanwhile Omaha.com posts "Soni's brilliant stroke. Rebecca Soni's most vivid memory of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha wasn't winning the 200 breaststroke or making the American team for Beijing. It was working out in the practice pool inside the Qwest Center when a storm packing 115-mph winds ripped off part of the roof. She and other swimmers were herded to shelter while civil defense sirens wailed. “That was a Midwest experience,'' Soni said with a laugh."
Lane 7 - Australian Financial Review posts "The tweet smell of sponsorship…Swimmer James Magnussen, nicknamed “the missile”, is another giving regular information that includes nods to his sponsors to his fans via social media. Ever since his star turn at the Australian swimming championships in Adelaide in March, Magnussen has provided regular updates of his relationship with sponsors via his Facebook page. Magnussen has “liked” 11 other Facebook accounts on his page, mostly sponsors such as Mitsubishi, jac5 clothing, Coles and Speedo Australia. He’s also provided links to a competition run by Mitsubishi for fans to ask questions of Magnussen via Facebook and posted pictures of himself at a photo shoot for equipment maker BodyScience…"
Lane 8 - PR Week posts "Speedo calls in Iris PR to refocus as lifestyle brand. Speedo has charged Iris PR with refocusing Speedo as a lifestyle choice and moving the brand from the back pages to the front. The appointment sees the swimming brand part with five-year incumbent Brandnation, which pulled out of the pitch process."