Author: bartal

Under Maps Labs in Google Maps, which can be found in the lower left corner, is a measuring tool that can be activated. You can choose the geeky option and measure the distance based on the size of Olympic swimming pools, for example. The English Channel is at least 822 pools in width :-)

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Check out Ryan Lochtes reaction when the swedish, (blonde?) female reporter asks him: “…and you are talking about the Olympics, is that right?”  (around 30-50 sec mark). But to be fair, Ryan wasn’t 100% clear in his statement :-)

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Press play to see the men’s 1500 freestyle final presented in google motion chart. Sun Yang’s and Grant Hackett’s record paces are in lane 4. The chart default state is set to resemble top view of the pool. However, the axis, bubble size and colours and the chart type can be modified. For example if the y-axis is set to “Split” instead of “Lane” the bubbles will trail each other up and down in a virtual ‘pace pool’.

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Norwegian swimmer, Alexander Dale Oen, mourned the victims of the recent tragedy in Oslo and Utøya in Norway. He set the fastest time (59.37) in the 100 breaststroke semi-finals at the XIV FINA World Championships in Shanghai today. [Music: “Death of Aase” by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg]

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Dumb luck or respect, Pál Joensen got to swim totally alone at the Yuan Shen Natatorium in Shanghai yesterday at noon. Afternoon training was packed though, with all the big countries in the pool, and the deck crowded with camera crews filming Tae-hwan Park, USA et al.

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