Author: rokur

At the USA Swimming Columbus Grand Prix in Ohio yesterday, Michael Phelps won the 200 butterfly in 1:55.32, bettering the 4-year-old meet record of 1:57.40 that Kaio Almeida swam in 2008. The 200 fly is just 1 of 4 individual events that Phelps has won gold in at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics (the others being the 100 butterfly, the 200 IM and the 400 IM), but the one that Phelps himself has named as his ‘signature event’. If Phelps should win one of these at the London Olympics, he will be the first male swimmer ever to win…

As listed here on SwimNews.com, after 8 days of trials at the London Aquatics Centre, Great Britain selected 38 swimmers for its home Games squad, with relays to be confirmed and additions to be made at the ASA in Sheffield in June. On the last day of Trials, Daniel Fogg became 3rd Brit ever under 15 minutes in the 1500 free with a 14:55.30, with David Davies also qualifying in 15:00.73. Fran Halsall matched Inge De Bruijn’s fastest ever 50m freestyle in textiles with a 24.13, and Amy Smith also qualified with a 24.80. On an interesting sidenote, Halsall, Hannah…

Icelandic breaststroker and 3-time Olympian Jakob Jóhann Sveinsson and (in white) coach Klaus Juergen Ohk at the Dubai 2010 World Short Course Swimming Championships. Friends we tag along with if possible, you might remember them from the 2011 Faroe Island vs Iceland Dual Meet video interviews. By the way, notice those bolstered seats, I think every single seat in that great Dubai arena was of (alt least) that quality.

When Australia’s best swimmers fight for Olympic selections this week, most including Leisel Jones and Libby Trickett will leave the latest in swimsuit technology on the rack, unconvinced by the Speedo Fastskin3 racing system that they helped launch last December.

Australian swimmers are demanding their governing body declare how much money has been spent to bankroll the return of comeback stars Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim and Libby Trickett amid rumors of “six-figure handshakes”. According to The Daily Telegraph, it is understood that in the team agreements, where rankings determine pay, Thorpe was given AUS $100,000 while triple Olympic champion Stephanie Rice was offered just $12,500. (Image courtesy of Morton Lin, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Interesting fact, courtesy of Elizabeth Simmonds on Twitter Was weird hearing the live commentary underwater during the race.. Very surreal hearing ur 50m split times blasted through submerged space!— Elizabeth Simmonds (@QueenMond) March 9, 2012 And hilarious follow-up tweet Also just got asked by a 6 year old if I would do him the honour of coming to his house to play tomorrow. Best chat up line ever..— Elizabeth Simmonds (@QueenMond) March 9, 2012

Despite of having less than 50,000 inhabitants, it is a common saying here in the Faroe Islands, that you’ll find Faroese where ever you go. Like here at the Dubai 2010 World Short Course Swimming Championships, where we got to meet two Faroese families living there, and where that fair-haired boy with the #1 finger had even swum in the brand new competition pool before Pál.

That boy’s got an outboard motor for legs, splits 34.23 – 37.40 – 38.09 – 37.14 – 36.87 – 37.57 – 37.87 – 37.68 = 4:56.88 (pffft, no kick in the end ;-). Norway’s Gard Kvale predicts him to be 2nd behind Vanderkaay in the 400 freestyle at the US Trials. [blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/GardKvale/status/178333755969249280″]

Really nice video here, it seems from the Copa Pura Vida meet in Pichilemu, Chile. Those starting blocks are hard-core !

On this 7th day of British Trials, Rebecca Adlington clocked a 8:18.54 in the 800 freestyle, Olympic qualifying and faster than anyone ever but Janet Evans, Lotte Friis, Kate Ziegler and herself. Eleanor Faulkner also managed to qualify in the 800 freestyle, with a time of 8:27.11, commenting “Becky [Adlington] is my role model and I’m just trying to keep up with her”. Elizabeth Simmonds qualified in the 200 backstroke with a 2:08.67, and Michael Rock in the 100 butterfly with a 52.02. Read for instance SwimmingWorld Magazine.