the17thman

Monday's Swim Report: Swimmer Auctions Swim Lane Off For $2.7 Million

Lane 1 - Inside The Games posts "British Swimming unveil Thompson as new women’s water polo performance director .  Graeme Thompson has been appointed by British Swimming as the new performance director for women's water polo, where his primary objective will be securing qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games."

Lane 2 - Brisbane Times posts (w/video) "Hackett cops financial whack over luxury pad.  A buyer is believed to have paid about $2.7 million for former Olympian Grant Hackett's luxury Melbourne penthouse, the scene of an alcohol-fuelled incident that preceded his separation from pop singer Candice Alley.  The price is lower than what the one-time golden couple paid for the sprawling 57th floor Southbank nest four years ago."

Lane 3 - 3AW posts "Ian Thorpe's image being used to promote gay dance party.  Ian Thorpe's image being used to promote gay dance party.  Neil Mitchell says the use of Thorpe's image in this context 'an absurd public insult to Ian Thorpe around his sexuality'.  Thorpe has denied being gay on a number of occasions, and has admitted to a long battle with depression in his latest book This Is Me."

Lane 4 - Daily Mail posts "Oh jeah! Ryan Lochte drinks shots and charms the ladies in first look at new reality TV show.  The 28-year-old is seen shirtless, downing shots and showing off his expensive jewelry during a new preview for his upcoming reality show What Would Ryan Do?, which premieres on the E! Channel on April 21.  Just to add even more intrigue to the thrilling concept, it will also follow the Florida native's desperate search to find a girlfriend."

Lane 5 - The Rice Thresher posts "The Fifth Lap.  The influence of swimming and track and field on the youth.   In many ways, track and swimming are sibling sports. They share similar strengths and struggles. They consistently produce a few global stars who compete alongside a plethora of little-known athletes. And for two weeks every fourth summer, they become the center of the sports universe before receding back to their small but dedicated core group of fans.  They are two sports that simultaneously search for the path to greater success yet these sports must at the same time vigilantly ensure they do not veer off the path of sustainability and risk losing everything.In fact, despite the current star power the sports enjoy, it has become clear during the economic recession that they are indeed vulnerable, both at a collegiate and professional level."

Lane 6 - ESPN finishes up it's series "Summer on the Run.  Relishing my race, and all the prep.  Summer on the Run is a 12-week blog and video series that follows former Olympic swimmer and avid runner Summer Sanders on her journey to train for Disney's Princess Half Marathon on Feb. 24."

Lane 7 - Today Show posts (w/video) "Watch out funnymen: Michael Phelps wants you in the pool. Olympian Michael Phelps dropped by TODAY on Monday and said if he could mentor anyone, it'd be a funnyman.  "I like comedians a lot, so I think comedians would be fun to be able to put them in a pool," he told TODAY.com. "To have the jokes, to keep it kind of light...That would be fun."

Lane 8 - The Heights posts "Plex Swim Program Expands.  The Boston College Masters Swim Program is one of the Flynn Recreational Complex’s best-kept secrets. The team, which is non-competitive, meets several times a week and offers a great cardiovascular workout, focusing on improving swim skills. The program has been active for several years and has had great success, and is now trying to expand and include more of the BC community."

Friday's Swim Report - Who's Hotter? Speedo Clad Firefighters or Speedo Clad Water Polo Players and Some Swim News

Lane 1 - Garmin posts "Garmin Swim-- A Must Have For Anyone In The Pool.  After this week's latest Garmin Swim update, this amazing training aid continues to be one of the industry leaders for swimmers. We have made significant improvements to length count accuracy, we've added some new data fields, some new features like "Countdown Start" (for more precise start timing), and we've even made enhancements to some of its original capabilities."

Lane 2 - Verizon Wireless posts via youtube "Celebrating Your Story - Lia Neal.  Learn about Olympic swimmer Lia Neal's inspiring story."

Lane 3 - Towleroad posts "James Franco Shows Jimmy Kimmel His 'Gay Town' Portraits of Speedo-Clad Water Polo Players: VIDEO."

Lane 4 - NY Times posts "Ask Well: Swimming to Ease Back Pain.  Many people find that recreational swimming helps ease back pain, and there is research to back that up. But some strokes may be better than others.  That said, it does not mean that everyone with a case of back pain should jump in a pool, said Dr. Scott A. Rodeo, a team physician for U.S.A. Olympic Swimming at the last three Olympic Games."

Lane 5 - The Australian posts "Bracing for two key swim reports.  AUSTRALIAN swimming is bracing itself for the delivery on Monday of not one but two reports that broadly will determine the future of Australia's most successful Olympic sport.  Former federal sports minister Warwick Smith, who was charged by the Australian Sports Commission in September with investigating the sport following Australia's muddled performance at the London Olympics, will hand down an 80-page report certain to recommend major governance reforms."

Lane 6 - In Menlo posts "Olympic water polo player Brenda Villa brings new aquatic programs to Belle Haven Pool.  Brenda went from swim lessons to swim teams to coed water polo, all by the age of 8. She came north to attend Stanford, playing water polo for coach John Tanner. She medaled at all four Olympics she participated in — Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012 — and was also on three World Champion teams (2003, 2007, 2009). Named the “FINA Female Water Polo Player of the Decade” for the 2000s, she spent 16 years on the US Women’s national team."

Lane 7 - io9 posts "When Kirk and Spock grew gills and went all Waterworld.  Grab your swimtrunks and your floaties for Star Trek: The Animated Series' "The Ambergris Element."  What do you know, there's intelligent life on Argo! They're the Aquans, green-skinned fish-people who hate the hell out of all "air-breathers," especially "air-breather spies" because of some "ancient records."

Lane 8 - Sun News posts "Speedo-clad Quebec firefighters help save vacationers from blaze in Dominican Republic.  Two Speedo-clad Quebec firefighters rescued fellow Caribbean vacationers from raging flames that partly destroyed a Punta Cana resort this week, leaving several Canadians with nothing but their bikinis."

WATER POLO - Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games: Hungary vs Yugoslavia 2-1

Footage from the game of Hungary vs Yugoslavia (2-1) that decided the first and second place at Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games. Hungary: Dezső Gyarmati, György Kárpáti, Ottó Boros, István Hevesi, István Hevesi, Kálmán Markovits, Antal Bolvári, Mihály Mayer, László Jeney, István Szivós, Sr., Tivadar Kanizsa, Ervin Zádor Yugoslavia: Zdravko-Ćiro Kovačić, Lovro Radonjić, Vladimir Ivković, Zdravko Ježić, Ivo Cipci, Hrvoje Kačić, Marijan Žužej, Tomislav Franjković. Extract from the official report: "The championship was decided on a league basis and quite by chance the last match between Hungary and Yugoslavia was almost a final, Hungary requiring a draw or win to clinch the series. Yugoslavia having drawn with Germany were one point less than Hungary, but a win would have placed them ahead. In a match full of thrills there was little to choose between the teams, one player, the Hungarian goalkeeper Boros, played brilliantly and to him Hungary very largely owed their win."

Sunday's Swim Report - So You Think You Can Swim Without Water?

Lane 1 - The Hollywood Reporter posts (w/video) "'So You Think You Can Dance' All-Star Belly Flops His Way Into Fox's Diving Special (Exclusive Video).  The diving special, which premieres Jan. 9 at 8 p.m., will push its celebrity contestants to new heights as they receive training from experts as they learn the often painful fundamentals that come with performing complicated dives.  In an exclusive first-look clip, So You Think You Can Dance all-star Stephen "Twitch" Boss trains for the special under the tutelage of his coach, Tori, using a springboard and a padded landing as he receives some dry land tips."  Meanwhile the Boston Herald posts "Fox's speedo special.  Chokachi & pals dive right into …Former “Baywatch” hunk David Chokachi’s career has taken a dive — but not in a bad way!  The Plymouth homey, who can rock a Speedo better than Michael Phelps, will compete with other “Baywatch” alums, NFL bad boy Terrell Owens, pro surfer Bethany Hamilton and many more Greg Louganis-wannabes in Fox TV’s “Stars in Danger: The High Dive” on Wednesday."

Lane 2 - ESPN W posts (w/video) "Summer on the Run.  Push ahead, but learn your limit.  Summer on the Run is a 12-week blog and video series that follows former Olympic swimmer and avid runner Summe Sanders on her journey to train for Disney's Princess Half Marathon on Feb. 24. Summer Sanders talks about getting her kids involved as she continues her training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon."

Lane 3 - New Zimbabwe posts "Coventry marries fiancé in traditional ceremony.  FORMER Olympic champion swimmer Kirsty Coventry has told of her pride after her boyfriend Tyrone Seward asked for her hand in marriage during a traditional African ceremony on January 2."

Lane 4 - The Telegraph posts "The lure of hot, bronzed Aussies.  FORGET artwork, these body sculptures by the sea drew a sell-out crowd yesterday.  The Aussie Sharks, sporting gold budgie smugglers, took on a team of internationals for the Water Polo By The Sea tournament at Bondi Icebergs - and fans flocked to the annual pool party of buffed athletes. Although former Olympian Thomas Whalan didn't play in the match he was the driving force behind the event, which is growing in popularity.  "We want to showcase the sport that we love to an audience that may not otherwise be exposed to the game," said Whalan, who is married to former Olympic swimmer Elka Graham."

Lane 5 - All Africa posts "Oussama Mellouli Tops Arab Poll.  For the second straight year, Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli was named best Arab sportsman by pan-Arab daily Al Ahram Al Arabiya."

Lane 6 - Gizmodo posts "12 Ways to Swim Without Water.  While your New Year's resolution to get back in shape is commendable, there's gotta be a better way than on one of these ludicrous dry land swimming trainers. Our friends at Oobject have assembled a dozen of the most outlandish examples."

USC Men's Water Polo - Happy Holidays & Thank You

If you are interested in donating to USC Men’s or Women’s Water Polo go to www.trojanathleticfund.com