Exciting news here on Twitter, it is ‘dive day’ for the DeepSea Challenger piloted by James Cameron, going down into the Mariana Trench as 2nd expedition ever in human history, and first solo.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/JimCameron/status/183695650809069570″]
At the Norwegian Short Course Championships today, Henrik Christiansen took gold in 15:16.80, improving personal record with 50 seconds since the same championships last year. Read www.simma.nu/no (if you can :-)
At the French Trials today, Laure Manaudou managed to qualify also in the 200 backstroke, with a time of 2:08.06 ahead of also qualifying Alexianne Castel in 2:08.57. Coralie Balmy earned a spot in the women’s 800 meter freestyle, with a time of 9:28.96 to move to ninth in the world this year. And in the men’s 50 freestyle, (my favorite) Amaury Leveaux won and qualified in 21.93, ahead of Florent Manaudou in 21.95.
Read more here on SwimmingWorld Magazine.
(Picture is of Leveaux’s boots at Rijeka 2008. You’ve got to love those boots)
The women’s 100m backstroke final at Danish Trials 2012, Mie Ø. Nielsen setting a Danish junior and senior record and Nordic senior record of 59.69, first Nordic woman ever under 1 minute in the 100 back. 4th fastest time in the world this year. See result list.
The most anticipated Danish Trials event of this evening, the 4×200 meter freestyle time trial. Splits Mads Glæsner 1:49.46 (53.02), Daniel Skaaning 1:49.04 (52.13), Anders Lie 1:49.09 (52.54) and Pál Joensen 1:47.79 (52.19). Total time 7:15.38, enough to put them in contention for a relay spot at the London 2012 Olympics.
Pál Joensen after his 400 freestyle at the Szczecin 2011 European Short Course Championships. He has a lot more to be happy about now, at the Danish Trials 2012, having qualified for the Olympics in the 400 freestyle, and helped the Danes to be in contention for also an Olympic 4×200 freestyle participation.
On the 3rd night of Danish Olympic Trials, 15-year-old Mie Ø. Nielsen qualified for the Olympics in the women’s 100 meter backstroke, with a scorching time of 59.69, and new Danish junior and senior record, and Nordic record beating Louise Ørnstedt’s 1:00.48 from a home meet in Odense back in 2005. She had actually qualified for the 4×100 freestyle yesterday, when clocking a 55.10 new Danish record and 3rd in the women’s 100 freestyle, but now it is for an individual event too :-) See result list here.
(Mie Ø. Nielsen at the Stockholm 2010 World Cup)
In the men’s 200 freestyle time trials, things got of to a bad start with Mads Glæsner and Daniel Skaaning pushing hard from the start but fading in the end, clocking 1:49.46 and 1:49.04 respectively, the Danish commentators losing hope already midway through the relay. But then Anders Lie kept hope alive, splitting 1:49.09, before Pál scorched the pool in a personal record split of 1:47.79. Relay clocking 7.15.38, to keep them in contention for a London 2012 selection.
No other swimmer made the necessary FINA A standard to qualify for the Olympics, and quite a few of them also missed the qualification time for the Debrechen 2012 Europeans, needed to get that second chance of qualifying for the Danish Olympic team.
All results from today’s finals can be seen here.
Exciting news, the Deepsea Challenger has already been to the deepest point in the ocean, unmanned and unscathed, and now James Cameron might be just hours from attempting his unprecedented solo dive to the Mariana Trench. If seas remain calm, which is a big if, around those corners of the world’s oceans. Read more here on The National Geographic
Emotional. Powerful.
